‘ 
206 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
Ammmoroll 15525 742 ee sect 19; 920100" | @atleer sayey. oo. ~~ 2558: $22,779,574 46 
NOIIBP EO (OU o o5 lew cine ism 2 70 10938100 I MeMCCONVER@ ees owes cwccce 126,794 31 
Bergamot oil ..-.-..---..- 130,386 00 | Cinnamon............-.- 1,821 40 
Ga DORE. tonsa so aos 9, 367 00 | Cassia and cassia buds - -- 178, 822 00 
INGA UIC RD ce via aoe, oe fone 521500) Clovestecceemeces coos eect 42,093 10 
PRIME” (elgg = Gite buide wale ee 6.5 8,939 00 | Fenugreek seeds.....-.... 3, 089 00 
Mann oy wants acicias selected. 4,115 00 | Cardamom seeds......-.. 23, 998 00 
AlOGR. Ek Seana e ee weeeee cee £626.00) | imentors amas ccc. -.-- 54, 527 25 
Toluybalsam te 20 Sse eeu 3,445 00°] Nutmegs 25. 0%. 2-2: 2 - 205,128 85 
Mastie sc 8.. .2 sen anos B, 615,00 } Repper. seer. sees. e base's 299,813 16 
Balsam copaiba-.......-.- 27,892 00 | Cayenne pepper -.....-... 7,518 83 
India-rabber: ..< 2. ce cieice-¢ 2, 672,569 00 | Coriander seed....-.-..-. 3,768 00 
Gutta-percha .--.-...--..- 15,587 00 | Caraway seads,....----.- 24, 839 00: 
Dea kaos ec tee ee 12,889,383 30 | Ginger... 220.2... <s-455 7) ) LOOMIAtmnO 
Chocolate see eet los. 4,550 00 | Vanilla beans........---. 42,505 00 
Catone: sige Beer ys ee 219) 9380 'Sb il) Maastardl, Susbe ois see ee 63,731 25 
TEE OPTUM POPPY. 
From experiments which have been made in the cultivation of the 
poppy in several of the States, it is evident that opium of good quality 
can be produced in thiscountry. Good Turkey opium is worth at whole- 
sale $10 50 to $11 per pound, and $20 to $22 at retail. The importa- 
tions into the United States during the year ending June 30, 1870, 
amounted to 254,609 pounds, valued at $1,776,908. There has been a 
gradual increase in the importation from year to year, corresponding 
to the increase of population. If a portion of the opium employed by 
the medical profession could be produced in our own country it would 
afford a pleasant and, doubtless, protitable employment to persons of 
small mewhs, as no capital is required in outlay for machinery in the ordi- 
nary mode of collecting it. The aim should be to produce a prime 
unadulterated article by scarification, and in this way to establish a 
reputation for the production of opium of the best quality. Reckoning 
thirty pounds to an acre, at $8 a pound, the income would be $240, a 
sum which is far above the value of most cultivated crops. 
! 
SPECIES AND CULTURE. 
All species of the poppy yield opium, but not in equal quantity, nor 
of the same quality. The common garden poppy (Papaver somniferum) 
is the species cultivated in Turkey, India, and in this country for me- 
dicinal purposes. There are two principal varieties of this species, one 
with white seeds and usually with white flowers, and the other with 
black seeds and violet or red flowers. The former is generally eulti- 
vated for opium, and the latter for oil, although both products may be 
obtained trom each variety. The poppy thrives best on a light sandy 
loam, and is not an exhausting crop. In the commencement the ground 
should be prepared as for garden culture, and enriched with a liberal 
Supply of nitrogenous manures. When the plant has arrived at fall 
maturity at the end of the season it decomposes very quickly; and, if 
plowed under, is said to furnish, after the first year, a very large pro- 
portion of the manure necessary to keep the ground in good condition. 
The mode of culture usually adopted in this country differs in some 
particulars from that pursued in Turkey and India, where the seeds are 
sown broadcast, and thinned out to such distances as best suit the con- 
venience or the taste of the cultivator. It has been found with us most 
convenient to sow.the seeds in drills about eighteen inches apart, and 
