MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 193 



the crop. The use of manure for increasing the yield of both crop as well as 

 constituents should proceed with a good deal of caution until we know more 

 about the subject. 



HARVESTING THE CROPS. 



As drugs represent the different parts of the plant they are harvested in 

 different ways and sometimes more than one crop may be obtained in the 

 course of the growing season. There are certain general rules however which 

 might be followed for each class of drugs, classifying them according to the 

 parts of the plant which are used. 



1. Seeds. Sometimes the principal object is the seed, as in mustard, 

 which by the way can be sown in the open thus yielding a crop in 8 or 10 

 weeks. When most of the fruits are mature the plants are cut down by means 

 of a scythe, collected, and carried to the drying shed or barn, where they 

 are spread out and allowed to dry. The seed is threshed out and the chaff 

 separated by winnowing. Seeds are collected when fully ripe. 



2. Fruits. Fruits are usually collected for pharmaceutical purposes 

 when full grown but unripe, i. e., while green and of maximum size. At this 

 stage the active principles are at the maximum. The fruits are collected by 

 hand., those being selected which are at the right stage of maturity, leaving 

 the plant undisturbed. At times it may not pay to make this selection and 

 the main stalk, with the fruiting branches can be cut down with a scythe 

 and the fruit stripped off at the convenience of the worker. This is rather 

 important to remember, as it may save undue exposure to the hot sun and 

 enable the farmer to collect the drug during the cooler part of the day, pre- 

 paring it afterward under more favorable conditions. This procedure was 

 followed with conium. In the case of this plant the leaves are also used in 

 medicine so it is possible to cut down the entire plant, separating the leaves as 

 well as the fruits and thus securing a double crop. It is possible to secure 

 about 500 pounds of leaves and 100 pounds of fruits per acre. 



With the opium poppy it is customary to scratch the surface of the 

 green capsule, causing a light yellowish brown milky juice to exude. This 

 juice when scraped off constitutes the opium of commerce. It was not pos- 

 sible in the experiments this past summer to carry on this operation and so 

 the capsules were cut off and allowed to dry. They should yield from 0.2 to 

 0.3 per cent of morphine. We do not know as yet what the alkaloidal content 

 of the capsules raised in Michigan will be, but we are determining this at 

 the present time. In addition however to the morphine content of the cap- 

 sules considerable interest attaches to the seeds contained in them. These 

 seeds commonly known as maw seeds are very rich in a fixed oil. This is 

 without narcotic properties, of a straw yellow color, pleasant almond taste 

 and an appearance resembling olive oil. The seed contains from 50% to 60% 

 of this oil which may be obtained by expression. It is also used in the manu 



