“Tumbeki.—This word, under a multitude of forms, is the common name in several Eastern languages (Bengali, Hindustani, Telugu, Sunda, Javanese, Malayan, Persian, Guzerati, Deccan) for ordinary tobacco. But in Asia Minor, it is applied to a narcotic leaf which is spoken of as distinct from tobacco, and is separately classified in the Consular Returns. Botanical authorities are at variance as to the plant which affords it, some attributing it to a _Lobelia_, while others consider it a kind of tobacco. The latter appears to be the more correct supposition. The flower resembles the tobacco in being trumpet-shaped; the leaf is broader, larger, and rounder than that of the tobacco raised in Turkey, and is also wrinkled like the inner leaf of the cabbage. The plant is raised from seed in nurseries, and when it has 4 or 5 leaves, is planted out in April in the prepared field, and watered sparingly. It is ‘set’ in a day or two, and is then hoed occasionally to free it from weeds. After inflorescence, and when the plant is sufficiently ‘cooked,’ it is cut down, or pulled up bodily, and re-set in the ground till the leaves are wilted. These leaves are dried, and, after exposure to the dew, are pressed heavily, when they undergo a kind of fermentation which develops the aroma. It is exceedingly narcotic: so much so, that it is usually steeped in water before use, and placed in the pipe (a _narghilé_ or water-pipe) while still wet. The exports of this article (the produce of Persia) from the port of Trebizonde are considerable:—In 1877, they were 13,342 bales (of 1¾ cwt.), value 106,736_l._, to Turkey; in 1878, 11,571 bales, 92,568_l._, to Turkey; in 1879, 9659 bales, 77,272_l._, to Turkey, and 866 bales, 6928_l._, to Greece. Aleppo, in 1878, sent 4 tons, value 320_l._, to Turkey, and 11 tons, 880_l._, to Egypt. The exports of the article, the produce of the interior of Persia, from Resht to Russia, were valued at 5000_l._ in 1877, and 3846_l._ in 1878.” It will be interesting to compare this with Holmes’ paper read before the Pharmaceutical Society on February 10, 1886:— “Tumbeki is the name under which an article of regular commerce between Persia and Turkey is mentioned in the consular reports, especially in that for Trebizonde. “Two or three years ago an inquiry was made at this institution concerning the nature and botanical source of umbeki, and the only information I was then able to give was that in the ‘Treasury of Botany’ tumbeky is stated to be the narcotic leaf of a species of lobelia.