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of alcohol. Besides this there are sugar-maple, sugar-beet, sugarsorghum,
etc. as sugar-yielding plants.
292. Nicotiana tabacum, L., Tobacco, Jap. Tabako ;
an annual herbaceous plant of the order Solanaceae cultivated in
fields. Several varieties are produced in different places,
and the
ways of cultivation are different in every place. Generally the
seeds are sown in spring and transplanted in fields in summer, but
in warm regions they are sown in the beginning of winter and
planted in fields early in the following year. In summer the
stems are 4-5 fts. high and produce many flowers at the top.
The stems are, however, generally cut at the top before flowering,
and the leaves are taken off from time to time. The harvested
leaves are dried and preserved to make smoking tobacco by cutting
or rolling.
293. Humulus lupulus, L. ,
var. cordifolius, Max.
,
Hop,
Jap. Karahauaso ; a perennial climbing herbaceous plant of
the order Urticacea3 growing wild in mountainous districts of
northern regions. Jt is much improved by cultivation. Male and
female flowers open on separate plants. In summer the male
plant produces flowers in loose drooping panicles, while the female
plant grows scaly cones or cutkins. At the base of the scale there
are included small round seeds, which are bitter and fragrant, and
constitute what are called hops used by brewers and bakers.
Note. The processes of preparing tea, sugar, and tobacco are
impossible to be described completely in these limited lines, and
so they were briefly mentioned here. Besides those mentioned in
the foregoing numbers, roasted barley, beans, and coix, and also
cut and slightly roasted sea gardle are used in the same way as
tea, and so these may be included in this chapter. The leaves of
Sterculia platanifolia, pines, etc. are also used as a substitute of
tobacco, but they are omitted here.