-3g6 an 'the poppy plant. ^pniiy 



capsules alone, and that perhaps at lefs than one tentk 

 part of the expence. 



When the juice has acquired a proper degree of thick- 

 nefs upon the pieces cut off, it is scraped from them in the 

 house, and made up into lumps of a proptr size, and when 

 it becomes sufficienily dry, iX is carried'to market. By 

 this simple procefs, opium may be obtained in any part of 

 Europe with asniuch facility as in. Asia, and of as good a 

 quality. 



Having thus taught my readers how to extract opium 

 from the poppy, it may not be improper to give a few di- 

 rections for the, cultivating of this plant. 

 Culture of the poppy. plant. 



Every gardener knows that the poppy grows very easily 

 in every cultivated soil, if the ground be made fine ; (the 

 richer it is, no doubt the more luxuriant will bethe crop,) the 

 seeds may be sown in drills, very thin, at about one foot 

 from each other j the plants will soon come up. As soon 

 -as weeds appear, let the interval between the rows be ho- 

 ed with a hand hoe. When the weeds begin again to ap- 

 pear, let it be hoed a second time j and now thin out the 

 plants in the rows, so as to let them stand at not lefs than 

 six inches from each other. Thus treated, they will pros- 

 per abundantly, and no other care is required but to keep 

 down all weeds with the hoe, ihould any appear. After 

 the plant has advanced to that stage of its growth, indica- 

 ted before, let it be treated as above, and the businefe 

 is finlflied. 



In the Netherlands, great fields of poppies are cultiva^ 

 ted for the sake of their seeds, which are there employed 

 as an article of food, and are esteemed a great delicacy. 

 The seeds are not in the smallest degree narcotic, or dele- 

 terious, as I myself have often experienced j and there are 

 'few s&eds more generally pleasing to the palate in their 



