ON THE PRODUCTS OF THE HEMP PLANT. 177 



India. The value of the fibre of hemp grown in those counties seems 

 greatly diminished, while the resin-producing properties of the plant 

 appear much enhanced by growth in tropical climes. This resin, called in 

 India, " Churrus," is collected in the following curious manner : — Men are 

 clad in leather dresses, and sent into the hemp field, where they brush 

 about amongst the plants in a furious manner ; the soft resin, by this means, 

 adheres to their dresses, and is afterwards scraped off and made into 

 balls. The leathern costume is said to be dispensed with in Nepal and 

 the resin collected on the bare skins* of the coolies. In Persia it is col- 

 lected by submitting the plants to pressure between coarse cloths, which 

 are subsequently scraped, and the resin melted in pots with the aid of 

 warm water. A finer kind of this resin, called waxen churrus, or " momeca," 

 is collected by hand, this fetches a high price, nearly double that of 

 the ordinary kind, which usually sells at from five to six rupees the seer. 

 Churrus is of a dull greyish brown colour, with little or no smell, and is 

 usually met with in cakes from two to three inches long, somewhat in the 

 shape of a lemon. It is used in medicine in India, and is reported to have 

 been successfully employed in tetanus, though its application in this 

 country, for the same purpose, has failed to give satisfactory results. Its 

 intoxicating effects, as stated by Dr O'Shaughnessy, are most remarkable. 



Hemp enters into Indian commerce in other forms besides Churrus. 

 Gunjah, or Ganjah, is found in the Calcutta Bazaars, and is used chiefly for 

 smoking. It consists of the plants themselves, with the leaves and inflo- 

 rescence attached, and upon which the resin is left adhering. It is made 

 up into bundles of from three to four feet long, containing about twenty 

 plants, these are flattened by pressure, and their colour is of a greenish 

 brown, while there is present a heavy aromatic odour. It is smoked in 

 a similar manner to tobacco, and it is said that its continued use brings 

 on severe asthma. In Africa it is known as " Djaniba," and is found 

 in the markets packed in strips of palm leaf or husks of maize, 

 generally about two feet long, tied at top and bottom, and at intervals 

 of about an inch, or an inch and a half, throughout the whole length of 

 the case. When required for use one of these divisions is cut through, 

 which is sufficient for one pipe ; the packages are sometimes smaller 

 and the " charges " not much larger than a marble. The " Hasheesh," 

 or " Hasshisch," of the Arabs, appears to differ from Gunjah in this 

 peculiarity, that it is composed of the tops and other tender parts of 

 the plant after the lowering period. They use it in a variety of ways 

 other than smoking, for which purpose alone they have many modes 

 of preparing it. They make it into an electuary, with the addition 

 of dates, or figs and honey, and sometimes cloves, cinnamon, or musk, 

 boiled in butter, or oil and water ; the filtered product is used in pastry. 

 " Bhang," " Sidhee," or Subjee," is composed of the larger leaves and 

 capsules with a very small quantity of resin. This like Gunjah is sold 

 in the Indian Bazaars, its intoxicating properties are not so great ; 

 indeed, it is not applied to the same use, but being mixed with water 



VOL. II. N 



