Tool Tuesday; tobacco

[johan_steele]

I have smoked a pipe for as long as I can remember; most likely since I was about ten years of age. Until the Legion I smoked cheap disposable clay pipes until France when I ended up with my first briar pipe. In north Africa I experienced my first briar and when passing through Turkey on the way to the Crimea I purchased a simple meerschaum pipe. Of them all I enjoyed the meerschaum most but it was the most expensive and most difficult to procure.

In the Crimea I lost a friend who willed me his Swiss briar. It is precious to me and I still use it. It smokes well even now though it has began to smoke a little too hot and I may well need to retire it. There are many pipe fitters in this part of the country as well as quality mass produced pipes sold in hardware and apothecary shops.

Quality tobacco is plentiful now that the war has ended. I believe the finest comes from the south. North Carolina tobacco in particular is quite fine. But local Minnesota and Iowa tobacco is quite fine as well. During the war we traded coffee and newspapers for twists of tobacco. It was almost always good tobacco. I would typically smoke two to three bowls a day. I knew others who never took their pipe from their mouth.

In the south tobacco was everywhere and everyone used it on daily basis. Women smoked their fine porcelain pipes that would break in a strong breeze. If they did not smoke a pipe they often chewed tobacco instead which is a heartily unpleasant sight. The well off tend to favor cigars, but they are too expensive for my taste. Some Texans would roll cigarillos but I firmly believe that a rather effete practice, though I would never say that out loud. Since the war the use of the cigarillo has spread to the point where few would call it an effete practice. I personally believe it to be a passing craze that will not take hold.

Just give me my pipe and a sifter of fine Cognac or Scotch and life is bearable at even the worst times.

 

[George1863]

I would love to know who you are quoting. This gentleman has prioritised life about right. Over here in England we grow up believing that Virginia tobacco is the best; in fact, about the only available. In the 1860s, Englishmen smoked a variety of briars, including a long-stem known as a 'reading pipe' or 'churchwarden' which stuck out enough to prevent broadside newspapers being burned in gentlemen's clubs. I had one about 18 inches long which broke in the bottom of a rucksack. I disagree with your source on cigarillos, however. Surely the tobacco mode of choice for civil war soldiers in need of a quick, cheap fix.

 

[johan_steele]

I would love to know who you are quoting. This gentleman has prioritised life about right. Over here in England we grow up believing that Virginia tobacco is the best; in fact, about the only available. In the 1860s, Englishmen smoked a variety of briars, including a long-stem known as a 'reading pipe' or 'churchwarden' which stuck out enough to prevent broadside newspapers being burned in gentlemen's clubs. I had one about 18 inches long which broke in the bottom of a rucksack. I disagree with your source on cigarillos, however. Surely the tobacco mode of choice for civil war soldiers in need of a quick, cheap fix.

It's a composite from several men. Even into the 1870's cigarettes were seen as a passing craze.

One of the more amusing endeavors I have undertaken is to find a consistent definition of a woman's pipe.

Tobacco, was grown all over the US as it was a profitable. It wasn't seen as destructive to the soil until later. There were decent sized tobacco crops as far west as Iowa and Minnesota. I've read it was sweeter and sharper than southern tobacco. True or not I don't know.

 

[Sheltowee]

Wikipedia states that 70% of US burley is produced here in Kentucky.

I would be hard-pressed to confirm that. Yes- 30 years ago, the stuff was grown everywhere. But tobacco fields are much fewer today- and a lot of the tobacco warehouses gone.

 

[7thWisconsin]

Central NY was a major tobacco producer up to the early 20th century. Mostly made into cigars. I knew an elderly woman (30 years ago), whose first job as a teenager was working as a cigar handroller. She talked about how to roll cigars, repair cracks with a little bit of leaf and water. They were allowed to smoke for free on the job. What a perk!
The heroine of George Bizet´s 1875 opera ¨Carmen¨ is a gypsy who works in a cigarette factory. The cigarette girls sing an ensemble number early in the opera about their lives being ¨Only smoke!¨

 

[nc native]

Wikipedia states that 70% of US burley is produced here in Kentucky.

I would be hard-pressed to confirm that. Yes- 30 years ago, the stuff was grown everywhere. But tobacco fields are much fewer today- and a lot of the tobacco warehouses gone.

The tobacco fields I grew up around in Wake County, North Carolina are growing cookie cutter houses now. It is sad seeing the golden leaf that put food on the table and clothes on the backs of so many of my family members disappear along with the agrarian lifestyle that went with it. I can still smell the bulk barns full of curing tobacco in my memory at least. Wilson County, where my father grew up, used to be known as the tobacco market of the world according to a license plate slogan you would see on vehicles there. Now the tobacco warehouses are empty for the most part and the auctioneers who used to sell the lots of tobacco with their rhythmic chants are gone.

 

[reading48]

Tobacco... I would like to taste the real tobacco without all the additives placed in tobacco today. The taste that Native Americans had while sitting around an open fire under the stars, The way it is portrayed in early Western Movies.

 

[George1863]

From what you gentlemen are saying about where tobacco is traditionally grown, am I right in thinking that tobacco was not essentially a 'slave crop' in the 1850s? It is often cited over here (in England) - with the cotton crop obviously - as to why the upper south seceeded. I get the impression that there is little about the southern climate uniquely favourable to the glorious weed. True?

@nc native - that is a sadly beautiful reminiscence.

 

[nc native]

Tobacco... I would like to taste the real tobacco without all the additives placed in tobacco today. The taste that Native Americans had while sitting around an open fire under the stars, The way it is portrayed in early Western Movies.

I believe the additives along with the chemicals that were used in the fields are probably the major culprits behind tobacco use causing cancer in so many people who use it. I believe genetics plays a role in whether one is at risk too. My paternal grandfather smoked cigars and chewed tobacco from the time he was a boy throughout his adult life. He lived to be eighty-seven years old. I was an over a pack a day smoker for around twenty years and since then I used smokeless tobacco for around fifteen years until just recently. So far there are no signs of cancer in my body. Hopefully I inherited my father's paternal low risk cancer genes. My family used to tell me I was a carbon copy of my paternal grandfather when it came to my temperament and mannerisms.

 

[Sheltowee]

From what you gentlemen are saying about where tobacco is traditionally grown, am I right in thinking that tobacco was not essentially a 'slave crop' in the 1850s? It is often cited over here (in England) - with the cotton crop obviously - as to why the upper south seceeded. I get the impression that there is little about the southern climate uniquely favourable to the glorious weed. True?

@nc native - that is a sadly beautiful reminiscence.

I would say not exclusive to the South. But a labor- intensive crop. Hence- perhaps, the relationship to slavery.
Same can be said for hemp.

 

[Sheltowee]

Tobacco... I would like to taste the real tobacco without all the additives placed in tobacco today. The taste that Native Americans had while sitting around an open fire under the stars, The way it is portrayed in early Western Movies.

Perhaps some twist chews are pretty close? King-B twist is pretty raw.

 

[7thWisconsin]

The first tobacco I ever smoked was a twist I bought from G Gedney Godwin at Yorktown 200th in 1981. I broke off a nub, crushed it up and packed it in a brand new clay pipe. And I quickly learned 2 things: 1) you need to stay close to a candle or put a small coal on your pipe because it won´t stay lit and 2) It will get you pipe drunk. I broke out in a cold sweat, had spots in front of my eyes and the tent spins. I thought if I went for a walk in the evening air it would clear my head and I promptly got lost in the sea of thousands of reenactors and camps. I finally found the shoreline, walked along it until I found the British siege works and wandered back to my tent. About an hour I think.
I had another twist that I infused with Irish whiskey a few years ago. It took 6 months, but it was very nice.

 

[CowCavalry]

Tobacco, was grown all over the US as it was a profitable. It wasn't seen as destructive to the soil until later.

I have read differently, that it was recognized as soil depleting early on, that was one of the main factors in the constant move west on the continent, in search of new ground to plant tobacco. If not mistaken, I believe Jefferson was searching for ways to restore land that had been "used up" by the planting of tobacco. I also recall reading that they could only get some few years, maybe 4-5, before yields fell off so dramatically that they would move onto new ground.

 

[nc native]

When I used to smoke, I tried several different brands of cigarettes and the strongest I've ever smoked were Half and Half filtered cigarettes with pipe tobacco. They were only available for a few months but the first one you lit in the morning would knock you for a loop. My friends and my significant other at the time were wondering if they were half tobacco and half cannabis because of the strong scent that came from them.

 

[CowCavalry]

When I used to smoke, I tried several different brands of cigarettes and the strongest I've ever smoked were Half and Half filtered cigarettes with pipe tobacco. They were only available for a few months but the first one you lit in the morning would knock you for a loop. My friends and my significant other at the time were wondering if they were half tobacco and half cannabis because of the strong scent that came from them.

A friend from NC told me that when he was young, the strongest chewing tobacco was a plug type called "Black Mariah", he said it was like tar, he worked with a guy that kept a chaw in his mouth all time, even while eating...........

 

[Sheltowee]

A friend from NC told me that when he was young, the strongest chewing tobacco was a plug type called "Black Mariah", he said it was like tar, he worked with a guy that kept a chaw in his mouth all time, even while eating...........

would love to try……

https://aziomedia.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/black-maria-a-good-black-chewing-tobacco-2.jpg?w=366&h=&zoom=2

 

[7thWisconsin]

Half and Half will ring your bell. I could never smoke it.

 

[Bur Oak]

Tobacco... I would like to taste the real tobacco without all the additives placed in tobacco today. The taste that Native Americans had while sitting around an open fire under the stars, The way it is portrayed in early Western Movies.

I'd settle for being able to find a cigar that tasted like they did as late as the '80s or early '90s, before the "yuppies" ruined the market. Once they decided that it was cool to be seen smoking a cigar (but they evidently couldn't handle the flavor), several things happened. The extra demand caused prices to soar, and may have caused manufacturers to rush the process to meet the demand. The tobacco wasn't aged properly, reducing the flavor, making them even more popular.

Now, they don't smell right unlit, they don't smell right when lit, and most have little or no flavor. I used to enjoy a nice Fuente or Punch. I was even able to identify a Fuente second sold under a different name by the distinctive taste. The last Fuente or Punch I tried, I could only tell if it was lit if I saw smoke. I used to pay $42 for a box of delicious Fuente 8-5-8s, but now it's around $150 for a box of tasteless sticks I wouldn't waste my money to buy.

 

[EJ Zander]

I have read differently, that it was recognized as soil depleting early on, that was one of the main factors in the constant move west on the continent, in search of new ground to plant tobacco. If not mistaken, I believe Jefferson was searching for ways to restore land that had been "used up" by the planting of tobacco. I also recall reading that they could only get some few years, maybe 4-5, before yields fell off so dramatically that they would move onto new ground.

Agreed. Tobacco depletion of nitrogen and potassium is particularly bad. From what I have read Jefferson did experiment with crop rotation using wheat, corn, clover (fixes nitrogen) and fallow breaks. The decline of potassium made the soil acidic. A Virginia grower Edmund Ruffin advocated using marl, which is an alkali made from crushed oyster shell, to off set the acidity. He died in 1865 so it was recognized early on.

 

[George1863]

It's a composite from several men. Even into the 1870's cigarettes were seen as a passing craze.

One of the more amusing endeavors I have undertaken is to find a consistent definition of a woman's pipe.

Tobacco, was grown all over the US as it was a profitable. It wasn't seen as destructive to the soil until later. There were decent sized tobacco crops as far west as Iowa and Minnesota. I've read it was sweeter and sharper than southern tobacco. True or not I don't know.

Ladies' pipes over here were known as 'cutties' and occasionally show up at antique auctions. From the web, the common theme seems to be a very slender stem, often elaboratley curled but with a hefty 'meerschaum' style bowl styled on feminine lines such as you might associate with post-Imperial France (less the exposed boobs). Easily broken, one would think.