Mr Voung on the Preparation 
When the brush is sufficiently charged with juice, I scrape it 
off upon the edge of a tin flask, fastened to the breast of the 
gatherer, and capable of holding more than a day's gathering, 
See Fig. 7. 
The gatherers follow the bleeders immediately. One bleeder 
will occupy two gatherers, and if he be very expert at using the 
knife, he may keep three gatherers constantly employed. When 
I performed both operations myself, I held the knife between 
the thumb, fore and middle fingers, and the brush between the 
ring and little fingers of the right hand, while I held the poppy 
by the stalk with the left hand. 
The juice is afterwards formed into cakes or balls by spon- 
taneous evaporation in shallow earthen dishes, placed in a close 
room, stirring it occasionally during the evaporation of its watery 
part, to be afterwards kept in bladders. 
The operation for gathering cannot be repeated with advan- 
tage oftener than three times a week, upon the same capsules, 
for no more juice will flow from one wound than what may be 
. collected immediately, and a certain tim.e must elapse before the 
plant forms . more juice. But it is evident a number of hands 
may be kept constantly employed upon a large field, till the 
plants cease to give out j nice. 
One acre will keep twelve gatherers and six cutters constant- 
ly employed for thirty days. That number can only gather a 
third part of an acre in one day, and by the time they have 
gone through the crop, the capsules at that place where they 
began to gather, will be ready for the operation being repeated. 
So that when the milky juice ceases to flow, five operations, as 
already described, will have been made upon each capsule. 
Supposing twelve gatherers to work ten hours in the day, 
and that each gathers two ounces and a half, or as much of the 
juice as will make that quantity of solid opium; in thirty days 
they will gather fifty-six pounds of opium from one acre. 
One acre of poppies cultivated according to my method, will 
yield 1000 lb. of seed, and tliis quantity of seed will give by 
expression 375 lb. of oil 
* An account of the cultivation of the poppy for its oil will be given in our 
ne:st Number. 
