VII : The plant is mainly cultivated for the dried juice of the 

 unripe capsules which constitutes the well known opium of the ma- 

 teria medica. The action of opium depends on its alkaloids, and is 

 chiefly determined by the Morphine present in it. Ordinary medicinal 

 doses depress the activity of the brain and cause deep sleep with 

 contracted pupils, slow respiration, and insensibility to pain. Besides 

 its many medicinal uses it is also eaten and smoked. Laudanum, 

 morphine, chlorodyne, black drop, nepenthe etc. all these have 

 opium as a basis. 



The seed contains an edible bland oil free from the intoxicating 

 properties of the opium. 



The oil is not extracted in Egypt ; the seed which possesses 

 slight intoxicating properties is alone eaten. 



Opium is liable to a variety of adulterations some of which are of 

 a very gross kind ; the chief are, sugar, gums, pulp of various 

 fruits, farinaceous admixtures, poppy seed, lupines, linseed, sesame 

 cake, burnt bricks etc. etc. 



About 6 rtls. of raw opium are obtained per i'edn. and 2 ardebs 

 of seed. Stalks arc used for fuel. 



VII : A sandy loamy soil is considered the best for poppy. It 

 must be well enriched with f. y. manure and kept clean by tho- 

 roughly stirring the soil and frequent weeding. 



It requires careful thinning and a more or less moist soil. 



Keep some of the largest heads which have not been lanced, for 

 seed . 



Pisum sativnm ; BissiJIa ; The garden Pea ; Leguminosae ; 



Papilionaceae 



I : (a) Faransawi ; (b) Bazalia (c) Baladi. 



(a) is a small-podded marrow-fat pea, sweet, excellent in qua- 

 lity and of the greatest demand, (b) is a large, edible-poddod 

 and strap-shaped var. coming next to the preceding (Pois man- 

 getout, of the French) as regards quality and demand. It is 

 large, long and broad, often curved, the pods being eaten when 

 young, (c) is the well-known Gray or field pea (Pisum arvense) 

 which is often met with as a mixed crop with Beans. It is distin- 

 guished from the species sativum by having small round compres- 



