central states. There are a number 

 of forms or varieties of the cultivated 

 poppy. The red poppy, corn poppy, 

 or rose poppy {Papaver R/ioeas) is very 

 abundant in southern and central 

 Europe and in western Asia. It has 

 deep red or scarlet petals and is a very 

 show)' plant. The long headed poppy 

 {P. dubmm) has smaller flowers of a 

 lighter red color and elongated cap- 

 sules, hence the name. The Oriental 

 poppy (P. orientate^ has very large, 

 deep red flowers on a tall flower- 

 stalk. 



Various plants belonging to other 

 genera of the poppy- family {Papave- 

 racece) are designated as poppy. The 

 California poppy i^EschscJioltzia Cali- 

 fornica) is a very common garden plant. 

 It has showy yellow flowers and much 

 divided leaves. Horn poppy {Glaii- 

 cium luteuni) is a rather small seaside 

 plant, with long curved pods and soli- 

 tary yellow flowers. The Mexican 

 prickly poppy {Argemone Mexicana) is 

 widely distributed. The pods and 

 leaves are prickly, flowers yellow or 

 white; the seeds yield an oil which is 

 used as a cathartic. Spitling or frothy 

 poppy {Silene inflata) is so-called be- 

 cause when punctured by insects or 

 otherwise it emits a spittle-like froth. 

 Tree popp/ {De?idKomeco?i rlgidiim) is 

 a shrub six to eight feet high, with 

 large, bright yellow flowers. Welsh 

 poppy {Meca7iopsis cambrlca), a plant 

 found in the wooded and rocky parts 

 of western Europe, has sulphur-yel- 

 low flowers and is cultivated for orna- 

 ment. 



The use and cultivation of the poppy 

 dates from very remote times. The 

 plant was well known in the time of the 

 eminent Greek poet Homer, who 

 speaks of the poppy juice as a dispeller 

 of sorrows (Odyssey, IV. 1. 220). Ac- 

 cording to Plinius the word poppy 

 {Papaver) is derived horn, papa, mean- 

 ing/^/*, the standard food of infants, 

 because poppy juice was added to it 

 for the purpose of inducing sleep. The 

 ending ver is from verum, meaning 

 true; that is, this food was the true 

 sleep-producing substance. Opium, 

 the inspissated juice of the poppy 

 pods, was apparently not known in the 

 time of Hippocrates, only the freshly 



expressed juice being used. It is 

 through Diodes Karystius (350 B. C.) 

 that we obtain the first detailed 

 information regarding the use of 

 opium. Nicandros (150 B. C. ) re- 

 fers to the dangerous effects produced 

 by this drug. Scribonius Largus, Dios- 

 corides, Celsus, and Plinius gave us the 

 first reports regarding the origin, pro- 

 duction, and adulteration of opium. 

 Plinius mentions the method of incis- 

 ing the capsules. The Arabians are 

 said to have introduced opium into 

 India. It appeared in Europe during 

 the middle ages, but was apparently in 

 little demand. It was much more 

 favorably received in the Orient. In 

 1500 it constituted one of the most im- 

 portant export articles of Calcutta. 

 India supplied China with large quan- 

 tities of opium, at first only for medi- 

 cinal purposes. It is said that the 

 Chinese acquired the habit of smoking 

 opium about the middle of the seven- 

 teenth century, and since then it has 

 ever been the favorite manner of con- 

 suming it. 



The poppy is cultivated in temper- 

 ate and tropical countries. The opium 

 yield of plants grown in temperate 

 climates is, however, much less than 

 that of the subtropical and tropical 

 countries, though the quality is about 

 the same. There are large poppy 

 plantations in India, China, Asia Minor, 

 Persia, and Turkey. As already indi- 

 cated, the white-flowered variety is 

 quite generally cultivated because it 

 yields the most opium. 



The plants are grown from seed, and 

 it is customary, in tropical countries, 

 to sow several crops each season to in- 

 sure against failure and that collecting 

 may be less interrupted. Plants of 

 the spring sowing flower in July. The 

 pods do not all mature at the same 

 time; this, coupled with the sowing of 

 several crops at intervals of four to 

 six months, makes the work of collect- 

 almost continuous. Before the pods 

 are fully developed they are incised 

 horizontally or vertically with a 

 knife. Generally a special knife with 

 two and three parallel blades is used. 

 The blades of the knife are repeatedly 

 moistened with saliva to prevent the 

 poppy juice from adhering to them. 



131 



