I792« on the poppy plffit. 305 



never have teen able to supply ourselves wit-h this valuable 

 drug 5 all the opium used in Europe lias been hitherto ob- 

 tained from Asia alone. 



It is many years since this object attracted my notice j 

 rbut upon inquiring into the mode of extracting the opi- 

 um from the plant, I found the directions were such as did 

 not admit of its being collected with any prospect of pro- 

 i£t. It has always been said that the juice fhpuld be ex- 

 tracted from the seed capsule, by making incisions in it 

 twhile yet green ; but this requires such nicety in the ope- 

 ration, and the quantity of juice that exudes from it is so 

 small, that the expence of collecting that juice becomes 

 very great. A gentleman in America, however, by pro- 

 "ceeding with a bolder hand, has found that opium may be 

 ^as easily obtained in our climates as in any other, and 

 probably in as great quantities and at as small expence. 



Instead of cutting the seed capsule only, having obser- 

 iVed that the whole plant contained the same kind of juice, 

 ■he at once cut off the head of the poppy, when in its high- 

 -est degree of succulence, immediately after it had done 

 flowering, as close to the seed vefsel as pofsible : The juicf, 

 immediately after amputation, springs out from the neck 

 very freely. It soon accumulates in consideiable quantity, 

 •and becomes a thick darkilh coloured paste, that heals up 

 the wound, and prevents more of it from exuding. Wl:en 

 -itTias attained this state, he again cuts off the top of the 

 •stem, carrying home all the pieces thus cut oiT, where they 

 are left to dry at leisure. A fielh bleeding agam com- 

 -mences, which in its turn gradually stops as befcrj, TIic 

 fStalk is again cut over, and the same procefs is repeated as 

 Jong as any juice exudes from the wound, in sufficient 

 -quantity to pay for the collecting of it. In this way may 

 •be obtained, perhaps, a hundred times the quantity of opi- 

 •f:m from a single plant, that .ever could be got from tb« 

 VOL. viiJ. Q^q^ f 



