in Extra-Tropical Countries. 251 



culture, whether for opium or for oil, is obtained within a few months. 

 Mild and somewhat humid open forest-tracts proved most productive 

 for obtaining opium from this plant; but it can also be reared in colder 

 localities, good opium rich in morphia having even been obtained in 

 Middle Europe and the Northern United States, the summers there 

 being sufficiently long, to ripen the poppy with a well elaborated sap. 

 Indeed the plant matured its seeds as far north as lat. 69 18' in 

 Norway (Schuebeler). The morphia-contents in opium from Gripps- 

 land were on an average somewhat over 10 per cent. Opium was 

 prepared in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens for the Exhibition of 

 1866; but Mr. J. Bosisto and Mr. J. Hood have given first 

 commercial dimensions to this branch of rural industry in Australia. 

 The Smyrna- variety is particularly desirable for opium; it enables the 

 cultivator to get from 40 Ibs. to 75 Ibs. of opium from an acre, 

 generally worth 30s. to 35s. per pound. The ground for poppy- 

 culture must be naturally rich or otherwise be well manured; dressing 

 with ashes increases the fecundity of the plant. The seeds, about 

 9 Ibs. to the acre, are generally sown broadcast mixed with sand. In 

 the most favorable places as many as three crops are obtained during 

 a season. The collecting of the opium, which consists merely of the 

 indurating sap of the seed-vessels, is commenced a few days after the 

 lapse of the petals. Superficial horizontal or diagonal incisions are 

 made into the capsules as they successively advance to maturity. 

 This operation is best performed in the afternoon and evenings, and 

 requires no laborious toil. The milky opium-sap, thus directed out- 

 wards, is scraped off next morning into a shallow cup, and allowed to 

 dry in a place away from sunlight; it may also be placed on poppy 

 leaves. From one to six successive incisions are made to exhaust the 

 sap, according to season, particular locality or the knife-like instru- 

 ment employed. In the Department of Somme (France) alone opium 

 to the value of 70,000 annually is produced and poppy seed to the 

 value of 170,000. Australian seasons as a rule are favorable for 

 collecting opium, and therefore this culture is rendered less precarious 

 here than in many other countries. Our opium has proved as good as 

 the best Smyrna-kind. The petals are dried for packing the opium. 

 The main-value of opium depends on its contents of morphia, for 

 which the genus Papaver, as far as heretofore known, remains the 

 sole source; but not less than fourteen alkaloids have been detected in 

 opium by the progressive strides of organic chemistry: codein, 

 metamorphin, morphia or morphin, narcein, narcotin, opianin, 

 papaverin, porphyroxin, xanthopin, meconidin, codamin, laudanin, 

 pseudo-morphin and thebain. It contains besides an indifferent 

 bitter principle, meconin and meconic acid (vide " Wittsteiu's Che- 

 mische Analyse von Pflanzentheilen," or my English edit., p. 163). 

 Various species of Papaver produce more or less opium and mor- 

 phia. P. setigerum (De Candolle), supposed to be the wild state 

 of P. somniferum, was cultivated, evidently for the sake of the 

 seeds, by the lacustrine people of Switzerland prior to historic ages 

 (Heer). 



