MISCELLANEOUS ECONOMIC PRODUCTS 535 



successfully in the Straits Settlements, whence the dried roots are 

 exported to some extent. Recently the active principle of Ipecac- 

 uanha has been prepared in the form known as emetine, which is 

 much used for dysentery and bowel complaints ; consequently the 

 demand for the product has of late considerably increased. 



Menthol, Peppermint or " Peppermint Camphor." (Mentha 

 pipcrita. Labiatae). A dwarf creeping herb with a strong- aromatic 

 odour. A volatile oil obtained from the plant is well-known in medi- 

 cine as an antiseptic, stimulant, and carminative ; this yields the 

 crystalline camphor-like substance known as "menthol," commonly 

 used for neuralgia, etc. Menthol and menthol-oil are exported 

 from Japan, the former being worth from 16s. 6ii. to 17s. 6d. per 

 pound. The plant thrives at Hakgala Gardens, forming a dense 

 carpet on the surface of a raised bed of rich soil. 



Opium. This well-known and valuable narcotic drug is 

 obtained from the milky juice of the unripe fruit capsules of the 

 Opium Poppy (Papaver soinnifeniiu, Papavaraceae), an annual plant 

 native of India and Asia Minor, where, as well as in China, it is 

 extensively cultivated. The method of collecting the drug is to 

 make light incisions or scratches in the green unripe fruit; this 

 should be done in dry weather, in the evening; by the morning the 

 milky juice which flows out will have coagulated, and is then 

 collected and made into balls, which form the common opium of 

 commerce. From this morphia, the active principle, is obtained. 

 The yield of opium in India is said to average about 18 Ib. per 

 acre, valued locally at 4s. to 5s. per Ib. In Queensland, it is said an 

 average of about 20 Ib. to 25 Ib. per acre can be obtained, com- 

 manding about 25s. to 30s. per Ib. The market price however 

 appears to fluctuate considerably. The small seed is sown in drills 

 2 feet apart, with 9 in. between the plants in the drills. The plants 

 blossom in 2\ to 3 months from planting; the petals are removed, 

 and the capsules are ready about 10 days later for the collection of 

 opium. 



There are two distinct varieties of the opium poppy, viz., var. 

 glabra which furnishes medicinal opium and is chiefly grown in 

 Asia Minor; and var. alba, which is the one principally grown in 

 India and China, yielding the opium used for eating, drinking, or 

 smoking. Considerable restrictions have been placed in recent 

 years on the consumption of opium in Eastern countries. A very 

 large number of persons in the East take the drug all their life 

 without showing a tendency to increase the daily allowance. 



