Washington state can boast of possessing many beautiful birds. Their
beauty consists not only in bright and brilliant plumage, but also in
sweetness of song. The old favorites are here; those whose liquid notes
are so familiar and so dear to every American ear. There are the
yellow-vested meadow lark, robin red breast, the blue bird, black bird,
linnet, cat-bird, and a great many little warblers whose names I cannot
mention. Ah! there is Miss Jennie Wren, for whose sake Sir Cruel Sparrow
“with his bow and arrow,” slew Mr. Cock Robin. Then we have Mr. Wee
Tomtit. Of course we have the-ever-to-be admired humming bird.
Of other birds whose plumage is not noted for its brilliancy, and whose
notes are not melodious, we might mention the ebony-hued crow, the noisy
yellow-hammer (or flicker), the impudent magpie, the harsh-voiced blue
jay, the intrusive kingfisher and the loud-whirring night jar. But the
list would be too long should we attempt to enumerate all the birds,
great and small, whose home is in Washington.
However, I must not omit from the list the lively little Water Ousel.
This bird is not numerous in this state. In fact, the Ousel is quite
scarce. It is found nowhere else but along small water courses. Along
only a few of the streams is the Ousel met. One of the favorite streams
along which this little creature lives is Kettle river, which flows
through Stevens county, and empties into the great Columbia. A few may
be seen along Colville river at certain times, generally during the
summer and early fall months. This bird is not noted for its power of
song, nor yet for its beauty of plumage. But withal, the Water Ousel is
an interesting and attractive bird.
The Water Ousel of eastern Washington is nearly as large as the ordinary
field robin. Its body is short and plump. The tail is short and broad.
Though much larger, the Ousel reminds one of the little wren. Of course
the color is not the same; but an Ousel looks like an “enlarged wren.”
Their bodies are similar and also their actions.
As to color, the Ousel is a brownish-black, dark snuff hue. The plumage
of the male is much brighter and more pronounced than that of the
female. In some of the males, the color is of a darkish-blue and almost
as glossy as that of the male blackbird.
Grace and sprightly action characterize the Water Ousel. It is as quick
as a flash. The bird never deserts the stream. No difference how
attractive may be the wooded banks, it does not lose itself in the
sylvan depths.
Along the pebbly and sandy margin it makes its home. If disturbed, or
suddenly frightened, the Ousel will flit up or down the stream.
Sometimes the bird will wing its way to the opposite bank. It delights
in the water, and spends hours in wading about and seeking its food
among the pebbles and sand. The cute little fellow bathes almost
constantly. Every few minutes it will dip its plump little body under
the water, and then shake its feathers.
The bird is always cheerful and full of action. Never for an instant is
the Ousel at rest. It is always on the move, uttering its short,
plaintive chirp. The Ousel is not wild, nor even timid. Occasionally one
can approach within a few yards and the little chap will eye you sharply
in a half saucy way, very much like a starling. If you come nearer, he
is off in a twinkle. Whenever the bird alights it invariably takes a dip
in the water, chirping gaily to itself.
These birds are rarely seen in pairs except during the mating period. I
have never yet been able to discover an Ousel’s nest, but those who have
made a close study of the habits of this interesting bird claim that
they build their nests in the banks, burrowing for that purpose a small
hole.
J. Mayne Baltimore.
TOBACCO.
(_Nicotiana tabacum_ L.)
Pernicious weed! whose scent the fair annoys,
Unfriendly to society’s chief joys.
The worst effect is banishing for hours
The sex whose presence civilizes ours.
Thou art indeed the drug a gardener wants
To poison vermin that infest his plants.
—Cowper: Conversation, line 251.
The tobacco plant is a tall herbaceous annual with large simple leaves
and terminal inflorescence, belonging to the nightshade family
(Solanaceæ), the members of which resemble each other in that they are
more or less poisonous and in that they have a disagreeable, nauseous,
heavy odor.
There are several species of tobacco, of which the above is the most
highly valued, and they are all natives of warm countries, as southern
Asia, India, South America and the West Indies. Tobacco is very
extensively cultivated in nearly all warm countries, especially in the
southern United States and the West Indies.
The history of the cultivation and use of tobacco is shrouded in
uncertainty. Some authorities affirm that it was extensively used for
smoking and as snuff and cultivated on a large scale in China, many
centuries before the discovery of America. Meyen, the botanist, in
studying ancient Chinese sculptures noticed the same form of pipe in use
at the present time. Even if this be true, and the statement is
questioned by other authorities, the fact nevertheless remains that
tobacco was unknown to Europeans until after the discovery of America.
Columbus found that the natives of the West Indies smoked cylindrical
rolls of tobacco leaves wrapped in maize leaf, to which the name
“Tobako” was applied. This name was also given to the tobacco tubes used
by the ancient Mexicans. That tobacco was employed since the remotest
antiquity by the natives of the western continent, from South America to
Canada, has been satisfactorily proven from the examination of burial
mounds. In 1492 the natives of Cuba used tobacco for smoking, both as a
narcotic stimulant and to drive away mosquitos, as snuff and as a
medicine.
The monk Romano Pane, a companion of Columbus, gave the first
description of the plant. Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo was the first to
bring seeds to Spain, where tobacco was cultivated as an ornamental
plant until Nicolo Menardes began to extol its medicinal virtues. Soon
thereafter it began to be used for smoking and as snuff. Shakespeare
makes no reference to the use of tobacco, though it was well known in
England during his time. The price was very high and it was used in
small quantities by the rich only. The pipes used for smoking tobacco
were very small and are known to antiquaries as “elfin pipes.” The smoke
was expelled through the nostrils and not the mouth, as this produced
the most pronounced narcotic effect.
It seems that from the very first strong efforts were made to prevent
the use of tobacco, excepting as a medicine. Popes Urban VIII and
Innocent XI issued bans without effect. Priests and the sultans of
Turkey declared smoking a crime; Sultan Amuret IV decreeing its
punishment by the most horrible death. In Russia during the earlier part
of the seventeenth century the noses of smokers were cut off. King James
I of England issued a “Counterblaste to Tobacco” in which he described
its use as “a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful
to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume
thereof nearly resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is
bottomless,” to which all users of the weed are condemned. All
opposition was of no avail and the use of tobacco has increased steadily
up to the present time, and is still on the increase in spite of all
boasted civilized progress. Turks and Persians are the greatest smokers
in the world. In India all classes and both sexes smoke; likewise in
China and Japan. When it was found that even the most cruel death
penalty did not prohibit, efforts were made to check its use, and to
this effect some ridiculous laws were made. For example, according to a
Puritan Blue Law it was a criminal offense to smoke within ten miles of
any habitation. Yet it will be recalled that tobacco was extensively
cultivated in the colonies, and history informs us that England sent
shiploads of “fair maidens” to America to be bartered for with tobacco
leaves. Each eligible Puritan planter had the privilege of choosing a
maiden who became his property in exchange for from forty to as much as
ninety pounds of good tobacco. This barter is referred to in the opening
chapters of that interesting novel “To Have and to Hold,” by Mary
Johnston.
Historically it is stated that Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh the
gallant favorite of Queen Bess, introduced the custom of smoking into
England. One day a servant on entering the study in which Sir Walter was
quietly smoking, believing his master on fire, rushed forward and dashed
a bowl of water over him. It is also stated that Sir Raleigh made a
wager that he could give the weight of the smoke made from a pipe full
of tobacco. He carefully weighed the tobacco before putting it into the
pipe, smoked it, and then weighed the ash; the difference he said was
the weight of the escaped smoke. The wager was, however, not justly won,
as Raleigh did not take into consideration the oxygen of the air which
entered into chemical union during smoke formation.
Tobacco requires rich soil and careful cultivation. The seed is sown in
a hotbed or in a sheltered place in the open. The plants are set from
April to June. The ground is carefully tilled, freed from weeds and the
plants watched for cut worm and the big green tobacco worm, which are
very destructive. Worms and eggs must be removed and destroyed. To
increase the size of the leaves and hasten maturity, the flowering tops
are broken off. When the leaves are matured, which is indicated by a
yellowish mottling, the plants are cut off close to the ground, fastened
in groups of six to eight and dried. Drying must be done carefully, as
upon this depends the aroma of the tobacco. The leaves are also taken
from the stalks and dried. In either case they undergo a “sweating
process,” which must be carefully regulated. According to recent
observation the sweating process, which develops the aroma, is initiated
by microbes and that the special aroma of each brand or culture variety
of tobacco is the result of the action of a certain species of microbe.
German scientists have succeeded in developing the flavor or aroma of
Havana tobacco in tobacco raised in Germany by adding the sweating
microbe of Havana tobacco. Further experiments in this line are in
progress.
At the present time tobacco is cultivated on an enormous scale, the
United States producing more than all European countries put together.
Southern England is well suited for tobacco growing, but since 1660 it
has been unlawful to grow tobacco for use, because of a statute then
passed in favor of the American colonies, which law, remarkably enough,
has not been repealed. The West Indies produce enormous quantities of
highly prized tobacco, the Havana tobacco and cigars having a worldwide
fame for delicacy of aroma.
Tobacco is prepared for use in various ways. The leaves are more or less
finely cut for smoking, powdered for snuff, pressed into various forms
for chewing and rolled into cylinders for smoking. The leaves may be
used pure or flavored with different substances, as licorice, syrup and
molasses. Tobacco is also extensively adulterated with other leaves, as
cabbage, cherry, peach, carrot, beet, etc. The very poor employ various
substitutes, as red clover heads, dried corn silk, various leaves, even
finely cut hay. Enterprising boys may be seen smoking dried cornstalk
pith, twigs of the grape vine and other porous plant branches.
[Illustration: TOBACCO.
(Nicotiana tabacum).
FROM KŒHLER’S MEDICINAL-PFLANZEN.]
Description of Plate: _A_, flowering stem; 1, floral parts; 2, stamen;
3, pollen; 4-8, ovary and pistil; 9, 10, seed.
The price of crude tobacco and prepared tobacco varies greatly,
depending upon the quality, judged by the delicacy of the aroma, the
quality of the leaf and the manner of preparation. Some flavors are not
the result of the sweating or curing processes, nor yet due to the
quality or variety of the tobacco, but to foreign substances added or to
the modification of the curing method. The peculiar flavor of the
so-called “Latakia tobacco” is due to the smoke made of the wood of a
pine (Pinus halopensis), to which it is exposed for several months. This
tobacco is said to consist largely or wholly of the flowering tops and
even the seed bearing capsules. In the manufacture of cigars and better
grades of smoking and chewing tobacco the mid-ribs are removed, but are
not thrown away, but generally added to the cheaper grades of smoking
tobacco and snuff tobacco. Crude as well as prepared tobacco is subject
to deterioration after curing. For example, Havana cigars pronounced of
excellent quality on leaving the factory will deteriorate in flavor and
aroma after having been stored for some time. This is supposed to be due
to the development of a microbe producing a different aroma.
No substance, whether animal, vegetable or mineral has been the cause of
so much discussion and variation of opinion as to its utility as
tobacco. As one extreme may be mentioned an eminent older botanist who
questioned the desirability of the discovery of America by Columbus
because as a result was introduced into the civilized world this
poisonous weed. Others again cannot find words suitable to laud its
virtues, considering it a plant especially created for the benefit and
pleasure of man, without which life would be dull and profitless.
Similar differences of opinion exist today. To get a reliable opinion on
the value of tobacco one must not take the fanatical rantings of those
who believe every crime is to be laid to the use of tobacco, nor yet the
addle-brained vaporings of those whose systems have been for years
steeped in nicotine and the oil of tobacco. As an example of the latter
may be cited Kipling’s poem, “To My Lady Nicotine.”
The use of tobacco may be summarized as follows: Tobacco contains a very
powerful poison, nicotine, named after Jean Nicot, the French ambassador
to Spain, who was instrumental in introducing the plant in Spain and
France. Further, it contains oil and odoriferous volatile substances. To
one not accustomed to the use of tobacco even very minute doses of
nicotine (1-7 gr.) produces severe symptoms of poisoning, accompanied by
very depressing nausea, vomiting, feeble pulse, muscular weakness,
extreme pallor and cold sweat; in brief, there is an “all gone” feeling.
As a rule the system recovers quite rapidly from the awful depression. A
tolerance to the effects of tobacco is readily established, as all who
are addicted to its use can testify. I have seen a tobacco chewer
swallow the entire quid without any noticeable ill effects.
All unprejudiced authorities are agreed that the habitual use of tobacco
acts injuriously upon the system, no matter in what form or manner it is
used. It is stated that there is no nicotine in tobacco smoke, that is
during the combustion the nicotine is changed chemically, but it is
nevertheless true that there are more or less poisonous gaseous
compounds in the smoke. Not only is the tobacco habit injurious to the
system, but it is also nasty and filthy. The tobacco stench not only
permeates the clothing, but also the entire system, the breath and the
atmosphere about the users of tobacco. While all tobacco habits are
filthy, there are degrees of filthiness. “Snuff dipping,” which is
extensively practiced by men and women of the poorer classes of the
south, is unquestionably the most filthy habit. A stick moistened with
saliva is dipped into snuff tobacco and rubbed on gums, teeth and
tongue. Next in filthiness is the old fashion of putting snuff into the
nostrils; a habit which we are pleased to note is rapidly dying out.
Next follows the chewing habit, which is very extensively practiced by
laborers, with whom smoking is inconvenient or forbidden; as sailors. I
remember an inveterate user of tobacco who smoked and chewed at the same
time; he kept a quid in his mouth during his meals and took a big
mouthful just before retiring. The breath of tobacco chewers is
sickening, and the discolored teeth and tobacco stained mustache and
beard is disgusting to behold, to say nothing of the filthy
expectoration. Of the various forms of smoking the cigarette habit is
the most disgusting and the most injurious. Cigarettes are extensively
smoked by young boys, and those who continue on a large scale become
physical and mental weaklings and criminals. Pipe smoking, as already
indicated, dates back to remotest antiquity. Pipes with short stems are
more injurious because more poisonous volatile substances are inhaled.
The long stemmed pipes of German students are less injurious. In a short
time the bowl of the pipe becomes saturated with tobacco oil and emits a
horrible stench. Cigar smoking is usually considered less vulgar and
less disgusting than smoking a pipe, but there is certainly nothing more
disagreeable to the nostrils than the conglomerate stench from a poor
cigar. The well diluted aroma from a good cigar is very pleasant at a
distance.
The injurious effects resulting from the continued habitual use of
tobacco may be summarized as follows: If the habit is begun very early
in life (five to ten years) the mental, moral and physical development
is checked or stunted. At all times the habit is apt to produce chronic
dyspepsia; the heart’s action is weakened; there will be palpitation,
irregularity of beat and sooner or later there is fatty degeneration;
that is, there are a series of changes in the heart designated as
“tobacco heart.” Those with tobacco heart cannot undergo the usual
hardships and they are more apt to succumb to disease. The optic nerve
and retina are acted upon, producing weakness and dimness of vision
known as “tobacco amblyopia,” which may result in total blindness. The
mental powers are lessened; there will develop various neuroses,
twitchings, tremblings of hands, etc. One of the most common results is
“smokers’ sore throat,” which cannot be cured unless the use of tobacco
is discontinued.
Medicinally tobacco is but rarely used now. With non-smokers it is
useful to relieve asthma. Formerly it was quite extensively employed in
spasmodic affections and in parasitic skin diseases. Tobacco will be
excluded from the next issue of the United States Pharmacopœia.
A few words in regard to anti-tobacco and anti-cigarette crusades. They
are too generally conducted by those who in their efforts approach the
fanatical and who are greatly lacking in scientific learning and who
therefore cannot present the subject in a rational and effective manner.
If parents will set a good example and teach the true injurious effects
of tobacco and tobacco habits to their sons and daughters, they will in
all probability not be tempted to use tobacco. All children need careful
watching by intelligent parents in order to keep them from acquiring bad
habits. This does not apply more nor less to a possible acquisition of
the tobacco habit than to any other habit. An illy fed, neglected boy,
who is allowed to roam the streets and gutters, who chooses his own
companions and who never receives any good advice or kind words from any
one, will very likely learn to smoke, besides acquiring other bad
habits.
Albert Schneider.
Among the beautiful pictures
That hang on memory’s wall,
Is one of a dim old forest,
That seemeth best of all.
—Alice Carey