70 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



pains to observe what quantity of opium 

 was taken by the Turks in general; and he 

 found that from three to six drams a day was 

 the common dose of the larger takers of it. 

 A Turk ate this quantity before him, three 

 drams in the morning and three in the 

 evening, with no other effect than its giving 

 him great cheerfulness. But this habit greatly 

 impairs the constitution : the persons who 

 accustom themselves to opium, can by no 

 means live without it, and they are generally 

 feeble and weak ; their legs are usually thin, 

 and their gums eaten away, so that the teeth 

 stand bare to the roots ; they are also often 

 of a yellow complexion, and look much 

 older than they really are. The Turkish mes- 

 sengers, when sent upon business of haste, 

 always carry opium with them, and take 

 largely of it when tired ; they say it imme- 

 diately gives them strength and spirits to 

 proceed, taken with proper precaution. 



The Turks are likewise said to take large 

 quantities of this drug when they go to bat- 

 tle, which gives them a kind of infuriated 

 strength for a time. 



Dr. James tells us of a Turkish messen- 

 ger, who coming from Constantinople to Mr. 

 Samuel Barnardiston, a merchant at Smyrna, 



