DICOTYLEDONS S3 



contain a certain amount of opium, for cases have 

 been recorded of poisoning by the seeds only of 

 the poppy. 



The most harmful application of opium is for 

 intoxicating purposes ; as by orientals in smoking 

 it ; but the terrible abuse of morphine (contained 

 in opium.) is the practice of taking hypodermic 

 injections, and is quite as bad. 



Laudanum, as prepared from opium, is, of course, 

 a most deadly drug, and can only be used with the 

 greatest caution. 



There are, unfortunately, several ways in which 

 mothers are accustomed to quiet their infants ; as 

 by " cordials," " soothing syrups,'* decoctions of 

 poppy-heads, etc., all of which contain a certain 

 amount of stupefying opium, and have frequently 

 proved fatal. " Poppy-heads," or the dried capsules, 

 retain the poisonous principle, and numerous cases 

 are on record of infants dying from the adminis- 

 tration of an infusion made from them by their 

 parents, who are, of course, totally ignorant of the 

 strength of the infusion given. Thus, one or two 

 teaspoon fuls of the water in which a poppy-head 

 had been boiled, proved fatal to two children in 

 eight hours. 



" Syrup of Poppies " as sold by the chemists is 

 equally dangerous. It is believed to be a mixture 

 of the tincture or infusion of opium with simple 

 syrup, and, as Dr. Taylor observes, is of variable 



