558 MEDICINAL PLANTS. 



POPPY, OR MAW. 



Papaver somniferum, var. nigrum. 



A hardy annual, growing naturally in different parts of 

 Europe, and cultivated to a considerable extent in Germany 

 for its seeds, which, under the name of " Maw-seed," are an 

 article of some commercial importance. Stern five or six feet 

 high, branching ; leaves smooth, glaucous, clasping, and much 

 cut or gashed on the borders ; flowers large, terminal, purple 

 and white ; the bud pendent, or drooping, until the time of 

 flowering, when it becomes erect. The petals soon fall to the 

 ground, remaining on the plant but a few hours after their 

 expansion ; and are succeeded by large, roundish heads, or 

 capsules, two inches and upwards in diameter, filled with the 

 small, darkish-blue seeds for which the plant is principally 

 cultivated. 



Soil, Sowing, and Culture. u The soils best suited to the 

 growth of the Poppy are such as are of medium texture arid 

 in the highest state of fertilization. As the seeds are small, 

 and consequently easily buried, the land should be well pul- 

 verized by harrowing and rolling. The seeds are sown in 

 April, in drills about half an inch in depth, and twenty inches 

 or two feet distant from each other. The young plants are 

 afterwards thinned out to from six to ten inches' distance in 

 the rows, and the whole crop kept free from weeds by fre- 

 quent hoeing. 



" The period of reaping is about the month of August, 

 when the earliest, and generally the largest, capsules begin 

 to open. The plants are then cut or pulled, and tied in 

 small bundles, taking care not to allow the heads to recline 

 until they are carried to the place allotted for the reception 

 of the seed, which is then shaken out, and the sheaves again 

 set upon their ends for the ripening of the remaining cap- 

 sules. 



