Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/256

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22SJ TOB with a pint of water-gruel, and in- jected as a clyster (being occasion- ally repeated), Dr. ¥. states, that it will a<F(jrd great relief in obsti- nate constipations of the bowels.-— The smoke has, for ages, been ad- ministered in the form of injection, as a sovereign remedy for the dry- beUy-ach, prevalent in the "West Indies. Beside the varieties of this herb already described, there is another, termed English Tobacco, or Nicotiana jninor v. rustica, L. : it is originally a native of America ; but, Jiaving been raised in some British gardens for curiosity, its leaves are frequently substituted for the genuine drug. They pos- sess similarnarcotic properties with the Hkn-bane ; and may be dis- tinguished from foreign tobacco, by the pedicles which abound on them, and also by then: smalluess and oval shape, Jt is remarkable, that the daily- smoking of tobacco, is a pradice which has only within the last cen- tury become general throughout Europe, especially in Holland and

  • Germany) where it constitutes one

of the greatest luxuries with which the industrious, poor peasants, as well as the more indolent and Wealthy classes, regale themselves and their friends. In Britain, how- ever, hc lower and middle ranks, only, appear to be attached to such fumigations j which, though occa- sionally useful in damp and mephi- tic situations, are alivays hurtful t<j persons of dry and ligid fibres, weak digestion, or delicate habits j but particularly to the young, ple- thoric, asthmatic, and those whose ancestors have been consumptive ; or who are themselves threatened with pulmonary diseases. In proof of this assertion, we shall only re- TOL niark, that a few drops of- the oil' distilled from the leaves of this powerful plant, taken internally, have operated as fatal poison : and, a considerable portion of such, oil being di.->engagcd within the tuba of lotaavco-pipes, during combus-- tion, the noxious etJe6ts of inhal- ing and absorbing it by the mouth, may be easily inferred. — See alsa Smoking. Lastly, the ashes of tobacco may be applied tomany economical pur- poses : they not only extirpate those small and noxious vermui, earth- slugs, but at the same time ferti- lize the soil, when strewed on it early in the spring. — Farther, by scattering them occasionally over the food of horses and geese, the health of these animals is said to be greatly benefited : they also afford a good tooth-powder; a strong ley; pot-ash J and an useful in- gredient in the manufacture of glass. — We understand that consii- derable quantities of tobacco-ashes might be easily procured from the King's warehouses established for this merchandize, in I,ondon, and other sea-ports; where large par- cels ot' spoilt d leaves arc frequently committed t« the flames. ToMs. See Chilblain, and COKNS, TOLU, or Balsam of Tolu, ah esteemed drug which is obtained from the Toluijera lalsamurn-, h. a native of South- America, whence it is imported in small gourd-shells. This balsam is of a transparent, reddish-brown or yellow colour; of a thick, tenacious consistence} and acquires such a degree of brit- tleness by age, that it may be ea- sily reduced to powder. It pos- sesses a very fragrant odour, slight- ly resembling tlxat of lemons ; and has a warm, sweetish taste. — The virtues