mostly in the parish of St. James,
La., and derives its name from an old Spanish navigator who settled in
St. James parish in the year 1820. His first attempt at raising
tobacco, for his own use, succeeded so well and gave him such a fine
result, (the plant developing itself to a great extent and being very
rich,) that he concluded to devote all his time to the culture of
tobacco, in order to make a living out of it.

The seed first used by him was the Kentucky, but this was subsequently
changed for the Virginia, which has been in use up to this time, being
renewed every four or five years. The tobacco originally put up by
Perique was twisted by hand and placed under press for three or four
days, then taken out, untwisted, retwisted and replaced in the press
for five or six days. After undergoing the same process three or four
different times, it was finally left to remain under press for six
months, and then taken out for use. Mr. Perique, however, soon made a
capital improvement in the mode of putting up his tobacco; for, as
early as the year 1824, we find the tobacco in beautiful rolls of four
pounds, and as hard as a "Saucisson de Boulogne."

This tobacco, which has retained the name of its producer, is still
manufactured in the same manner as it was fifty-four years ago, the
work still being done entirely by hand. The plant is cultivated as the
Virginia tobacco by about a dozen small planters in that part of the
Parish called "Grande-Pointe," seven miles from the Mississippi river.
A small quantity is also raised on the banks of the river in the same
parish by a few planters. The growers of Perique tobacco have tried
Virginia, Kentucky, and Havana seed, but prefer the former--Havana
producing too small a plant without a much better flavor.

Tobacco is grown in other parishes of the State; it is however of
inferior quality, and is used only for smoking or snuff. Perique
tobacco, when cut for smoking, is very black in appearance,
exceedingly smooth, and of peculiar odor. It is probably the thinnest
tobacco cultivated; and is strong, but of agreeable flavor.

PERUVIAN TOBACCO.

John Gerard gives the following description of the tobacco of Peru:

"Tobacco, or henbane of Peru, hath very great stalks of the
bigness of a child's arme, growing in fertile and
well-dunged ground of seven or eight feet high, dividing
itself in sundry branches of great length; whereon are
placed in most comel