ANCIENT HABIT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 April 1940, Page 6

ANCIENT HABIT

SMOKING OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS OLD. The habit of enjoying the smoke from slowly burning vegetable matter by no means lias its origin in the fact that Sii - Walter Raleigh found the American Indians to be nicotine addicts. The habit is of much older origin. The ancient Greek, Herodotus <4B4 — 425 8.C.) recounted the following about the savage Scythes, who dwelt on the shores of the Black Sea: "From this hemp the Scythes take the seeds, creep into their tents of felt and throw them (the seeds) on heated stones. When the seeds are thus heated such a vapour arises as may only bo equalled by a Hellenic steam-bath and the Scythes murmur and cry out in pleasure at the aromatic smoke.” At the time of Columbus’s landing. natives of the West Indies and of the eastern coast of South America wore quite unaware of the delights of the pipe. They enjoyed their tobacco in a form rather like our modern cigar, rolling the loaf into a firm cylinder, which was covered with an' outer sheath of maize leaves. The Indians called these cylinders “tabngo." mid hence the universal name today. The Spaniards became ’passionate addicts Io tobacco even from the first year of their conquests. First the feverstricken and ailing took- to smoking, to alleviate their pain and misery. And soon halo and hearty conquistadores took up smoking—just for the pleasure it gave them. Presently they began Io cultivate the delectable weed raising new varieties and developing new flavours. Already at the end of the sixteenth century the West Indies. Cuba. Trinidad, etc. were well covered with, tobacco plantations. From there the now pleasure was introduced by Spanish, English and Dutch seamen, ic the I Old World