396

MANUFACTURES.

Man jfac- In preparing a batch of snuff, the ingredients are firsttures. vve ll mixed together, and placed in heaps to ferment, apro-cess which generally begins to take place in a short timeafter the mixture is made, but much depends upon thestate of the weather. Soon after the fermentation com-mences, the tobacco heats very rapidly, and must be im-mediately turned by a shovel or the whole would bevery quickly spoiled; this, for a time, impedes the processof fermentation, but in a few hours afterwards the actionagain commences, and the tobacco must again beturned. Upon the manner of performing this operation,depends in a great measure the peculiar quality of thesnuff; and it is, therefore, one which calls for the greatestattention of the manufacturer, the more particularly asthe state and rapidity of fermentation is so much in-fluenced by the weather.

Lumhfoot The celebrated Lundafoot snuff derives its particular

snuff flavour, chiefly from having the fermentation carried toa very high pitch before the batch is turned ; and it issaid that its first discovery was owing to the neglectof the man attending upon the batches, and who, bygetting drunk, made his master’s fortune.

Another story also prevails with respect to the disco-very of this snuff so much esteemed by inveterate snuff-takers, which attributes it to an accidental fire, which byscorching some hogsheads of tobacco, gave them a pe-culiar flavour when manufactured. This story is, how-ever, evidently without foundation, as the snuff manu-factured by Lundafoot still continues to retain a peculiarflavour which cannot be imitated by other manufac-turers ; a circumstance which is not likely to continue ifthe effect simply depended upon the degree of drying

When the ingredients have been a sufficient lengthof time under the process of fermentation, they are takento the snuff-mill to be reduced to the required degree offineness. In some cases the whole batch is groundinto one sort of snuff; but different degrees of qualityand fineness may be produced from the same batch bysifting in different states of the grinding process. If itis required to have several sorts, the batch, after havingbeen for some time exposed to the action of the pestlesand mortars, is passed over a sieve to separate thefiner portions. This first produce will be much darkerthan the two remaining, and will consist chiefly of theleaf, owing to the stalks being harder and not so readilyacted upon by the pestles. The residue which does notpass through the sieve is again ground, and sifted toproduce a lighter coloured snuff, and so on for a thirdor for any varieties that may be required.

(548.) There are, also, considerable varieties in the Machinery,tobacco used for smoking, but the number is by nomeans so great as of snuffs; they chiefly depend P.^ re "fupon the quality of the tobacco, while snuff, al- t( J£ a g C0 .though, of course, depending in a great measure uponthis circumstance, is more particularly indebted for itspeculiar flavour to the processes of the manufacture.

The greater part of smoking tobacco is of two kinds,shag and returns. Both are made from the same caskof tobacco, the lighter leaves being chosen for thereturns, and the darker ones for the common tobacco.

The only difference in the manner of preparingthem being, that the former is slightly sprinkled withwater previous to pressing, while the latter is dippedleaf by leaf into water so as to be thoroughly moistened.

The remaining kinds of smoking tobacco owe theirflavour entirely to the leaf they are made from, andgenerally bear the name of the Country from which thetobacco is exported.

Another form of smoking tobacco, which within afew years has become very common in England, is inCigars . The duty on those of foreign manufacture isvery high, and a great many are in consequence madein this Country, although their quality is said to bemuch inferior to those made abroad. We have not beenable to obtain any precise account of the process em-ployed, on account of the secrecy observed by the makers;but it is probable, whatever secret there may be in it, thatit consists only in the preparation of the leaf, as the paf-ticular form given to the cigar is performed by hand,simply by rolling up the leaf.

The other processes employed in the manufacture oftobacco are so simple as scarcely to need description.

The tobacco called pig-tail employed for chewing is madeby a wheel similar to a rope-maker’s which is turnedby a boy. A table, or platform, is situated level with thecentre of the wheel, at which the workman stands withan instrument consisting of a flat board with a handleto it, by which he keeps adding to the rope of tobaccountil it is of sufficient thickness, when it is rolled upand pressed. The black colour is given to it in variousways, but generally by a solution of tobacco in water.

Tobacco in other forms, viz. nigger head, &c., usedfor chewing, is not manufactured in this Country ; andthe duty upon foreign manufactured tobacco of thiskind is so very high as almost to amount to a prohibi-tion, so that its use is very limited. An imitation of thistobacco is made in England, and sold under the samename, but it is much inferior to the foreign.