36 



or six grains of chandoo, or prepared opium, while the old 

 practitioners will consume 290 grains ' daily. 



The practice of opium eating does not seem to be 

 gaining ground in this country, though a contrary opinion 

 has been entertained by some individuals. 



The plant called Indian Hemp contains a narcotic resin, 

 and is manufactured into a substance called bang, which is 

 much used throughout Egypt, Persia, Arabia, and Hin- 

 doostan, as a powerful and peculiar inebriating agent. It 

 produces tranquillity of mind, and a singular kind of 

 exhilaration — in fact, a pleasant species of intoxication, 

 without stupor or giddiness. Emaciation and nervous 

 debility result from its continued use. 



The areca, or betel preparation, is another kind of narcotic 

 stimulant, which is almost universally used by the inhabitants 

 of the Indian continent and islands where the tree yielding 

 the betel nut grows. The whole preparation consists of 

 the pungent and aromatic leaf of a species of pepper vine, 

 a small quantity of terra japonica, a minute portion of 

 quick lime, and, above all, the fruit of the areca palm. 



The amanita muscaria, a kind of fungus or mushroom, 

 is, perhaps, the most singular kind of narcotic stimulant 

 with which we are acquainted. It grows in Kamtschatka, 

 and the north-east of Asia, and is used by the inhabitants 

 in several ways to produce a kind of intoxication. They 

 prepare a liquor from the fungi, and they collect them in 

 the hottest months, and hang them up to dry. One or 

 two small fungi are a common dose to produce intoxication 

 for a whole day. The desired effect comes on one or two 

 hours after taking the fungus., and giddiness and drunken- 

 ness result in the same way as from wine or spirits. 

 Cheerful emotions of the mind are first produced, involun- 

 tary words and actions follow, and sometimes, at last, an 

 entire loss of consciousness. It renders some remarkably 

 active, and proves highly stimulant to muscular exertion ; 

 but with too large a dose, violent spasmodic effects are 

 produced. The narcotic principle on which its effects 

 depend is eliminated from the system by the kidneys. 



