ason for its use. The consumption,
about fifteen thousand tons a year, is confined almost wholly to the
countries named.

=Tobacco.=--The tobacco of commerce is the prepared and manufactured leaf
of several species of plant, belonging to the nightshade family. Most of
the product is derived from the species known as Virginia tobacco
(_Nicotiana tabacum_) and the Brazilian species (_Nicotiana rustica_).
The former is cultivated in the United States, West Indies, the
Philippine Islands, and Turkey; the latter has been transplanted to
central Europe and the East Indies.

The use of tobacco was prevalent in the New World at the time of
Columbus's first voyage, and was quickly introduced into Europe. The
prepared leaf contains a substance, nicotine, which is one of the most
deadly of poisons when swallowed, and an intense narcotic stimulant when
inhaled. On account of the evil effects arising from its introduction,
its use was forbidden by the Church and also by sovereigns of several
European states. The latter, however, finding that its use was becoming
general, made it a Crown monopoly. In Great Britain its cultivation was
forbidden in order to encourage its cultivation in Virginia.

Tobacco does not thrive best in a poor soil, but the latter produces a
thin, half-developed leaf, which in other plants would be called
"sickly." It grows in almost any kind of soil, but requires warm summer
nights. In many instances the tobacco of temperate latitudes yields a
more salable leaf when grown under cover. The flavor is due partly to
soil and climate, and partly to skill in curing. The choicest product is
obtained in only a few localities of limited area. It sometimes happens
that the products of two plantations almost side by side, and similarly
situated, are very unlike in character and quality.

[Illustration: TOBACCO]

The choicest cigar-tobacco is grown on the Vuelta Abajo district in the
province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba; another very choice Cuban leaf is known
as Partidos. Cuban-made cigars of fine quality are commercially "Havana"
cigars, although tobacco from Manila and Porto Rico is apt to be largely
used in their manufacture. In order to avoid the very heavy duty on
cigars, which is not far from six dollars per pound, a great deal of the
Havana tobacco is exported to points along the Florida coast, mainly Key
West and Tampa. The unmanufactured tobacco pays a comparatively small
duty, and the cigars made from it are co