324 



POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



these are often coated with the seeds of some species of 

 Rheum (or rhubarb plant) ; the balls are packed into chests^ 

 and exported to other countries/^ 



The employment of opium as a narcotic^ especially in the 

 preparation of laudanum^ is well known^ and very large 

 quantities are brought to this country : in 1852^ 51 tons were 

 imported; this will be considered an enormous quantity, 

 when the mode by which it is produced and collected is con- 

 sidered. 



To attempt to proceed further with the account of the 

 productions used in medicine would necessitate the intro- 

 duction to this chapter of matters interesting only to the 

 pharmaceutist ; those already mentioned constitute all the 

 Materia Medica likely to afford interest to the general 

 reader. 



