58 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



This fact has usually been overlooked by those who have simply chewed 

 coca leaves, and have failed to get the results obtained by the natives of 

 the Andean regions. 



Time will not permit me to deal fully with the cultivation of Indian 

 hemp for medicinal purposes. It appears certain that its medicinal pro- 

 perties were known in China in the third century, and that the Hashishin 

 (whence our word " assassin ") of the eleventh and twelfth centuries derived 

 their name from the use of hashish (the Arabic name for hemp) under 

 the influence of which they committed their crimes. In India there is a 

 fixed belief that the female plant will not yield its resinous secretion 

 unless the male plant is removed, and skilled, highly paid workmen are 

 employed for the purpose of pulling out the male plants, which they are 

 able to discriminate before the flowers appear. 



The cultivation of opium deserves some notice, since its use dates 

 from remote antiquity, and no medicinal plant is so widely cultivated or 

 has been so useful to the human race for relieving pain and promoting 

 sleep, or which requires such careful attention and horticultural skill. 

 At one time attempts were made to cultivate poppies in this country for 

 the production of opium, but although opium was obtained containing even 

 a larger percentage of the active principle, morphia, than Turkish opium, 

 it was found that the uncertainty of our climate prevented the regular 

 collection of the juice, and the expenses of labour were too great for 

 profitable cultivation. The poppy, therefore, is now grown in this 

 country only for the capsules. 



The cultivation, even in Asiatic Turkey (whence most of the medicinal 

 opium used on the Continent and in the United States is derived), requires 

 rich soil and careful horticulture. The opium cultivated in India is 

 deficient in the active principle, morphia, and is practically not imported 

 into this country ; indeed, it is difficult at the present day to obtain even a 

 sample for a museum except by sending to India for it. The Indian opium 

 is largely a Government monopoly, and China is the chief customer for it. 



China also grows opium to a large and increasing extent, and as its 

 cultivation pays better than corn, it has been in some districts a cause of 

 famine. Persia is also now a large producer of opium, and as the opium 

 contains a good percentage of morphia, and is cheaper than Turkish 

 opium, it is largely used for the manufacture of morphia. 



This method of collecting and preparing opium differs in various 

 countries. The illustration here given (fig. 14) shows the collection of 

 opium from the poppy-heads by native workers in India. 



But enough has been said to show that whilst medicine owes much to 

 horticulture, horticulture is much indebted to the medical profession and 

 to the botanic gardens which have been and are still the means of dissemi- 

 nating a knowledge of beautiful, ornamental, and useful plants, and are 

 largely presided over by members of the medical profession, whilst not 

 a few of the most celebrated horticulturists have belonged to the same 

 honourable profession. The familiar names of Hooker, Wallich, Rox- 

 burgh, Wight, and 'Welwitsch are instances in point. 



To those who may be inclined to experiment in the cultivation of 

 medicinal plants I may point out that some of the American drugs now 

 largely used are gradually becoming scarcer, and will at no very distant 



