75 



Niskeuna and Lebanon, the Society of Shakers raise the 

 Papaver Somniferum ; and they have supplied this city, for 

 a short time, with opium, some of which was little inferior 

 in quality to that imported from the Levant or the East-In- 

 dies. Dr. Rickertson, of Dutchess county in this state, 

 also cultivated the Poppy to advantage. From one plant 

 he procured seven grains of opium. A particular account 

 of his success will be found in the first volume of our 

 Transactions.* As far north as New-Hampshire, Dr. Spald- 

 ing, prepared this gum from the true Opium Poppy 

 (Papaver Album) and also from the common Poppy of the 

 garden. f These experiments are sufficient to prove the 

 readiness with which this plant may be raised, in almost 

 any part of the country, and the valuable addition it 

 would make to our domestic resources will not be ques- 

 tioned. 



Opium, which is the inspissated juice of the Poppy, is 

 gathered from the capsules, before, or at the time they are 

 fully ripe, by making four or five longitudinal incisions in 

 them, from the stalk of the plant upwards — Care must be 

 taken not to penetrate the cavity of the seed vessels. — 

 Opium may also be obtained by pounding the dried leaves, 

 stems and capsules, boiling them, when pulverised, in wa- 

 ter, and then evaporating and cleansing the mixture.:}: 



Opium has also been extracted from the common Let- 

 tuce, (Lactuca Sativa) simply by evaporating the juice of 

 the plant. Eight heads of full grown Lettuce yielded, in 

 one instance, seven drachms of Opium. Hops also contain 

 a large quantity of the narcotic principle, and the extract 

 of Hops is now in use in some places as an anodyne. In- 

 deed we abound in every species of anodyne plants, and 

 the country physician, with a little care, might supply 

 himself with opiates from his own garden. 



* Agricultural Transactions, vol. 1st, p. 264. 

 f Med. Repos. vol. 13 p. 193 Archives, vol. 2. p. 177. 

 ± For a particular account of this method of extracting Opium set 

 Archives of Knowledge, vol. 2nd, page 169. 



