EXUDATIONS, JUICES, ETC. 
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indigenous to Asia, and now cultivated in Asia Minor, 
China, India, Persia and Turkey (European). Experi- 
ments have been made both in this country and 
Europe to cultivate the opium poppy, but so far these 
experiments Lave been unprofitable. Opium is ob- 
tained by making transverse, oblique or longitudinal 
incisions in the unripe capsule; the latex which 
exudes is collected when partly dried and made into a 
mass. The latter is inclosed in a covering of rumex 
or poppy leaves and further dried, subsequently being 
packed in bags with rumex berries to prevent the 
masses from sticking together. While there are a 
number of varieties of opium, that used in this coun- 
try is principally from Turkey and is exported chiefly 
from Smyrna and Constantinople. 
Description. — Turkey Opium. — In irregular, flattened, 
more or less rounded masses of variable size and 
weighing from 250 to 1,000 grammes; externally gray- 
ish brown, covered with remnants of poppy leaves and 
with occasional fruits of a species of Rumex ; internally 
dark brown, granular, somewhat lustrous, more or less 
plastic when fresh, but becoming hard and darker on 
keeping; odor distinct, heav 3 ,r ; taste peculiar, bitter. 
Constituents. — A large number of alkaloids have 
been obtained from opium and its extracts, some of 
which are no doubt alteration products of the alka- 
loids naturally occurring in the drug ; the most impor- 
tant of these is morphine, which exists to the extent 
of 5 to 22 per cent., the largest amount being obtained 
from Turkey opium, the Persian ranking next, and the 
smallest amount being obtained from Indian opium. 
Narcotine is found to the extent of 2 to 10 per cent., 
and is contained in larger proportion in Persian and 
Indian opium than in the Turkey variety. Among 
other alkaloids may be mentioned codeine, 0"5-2'0 per 
