434 
NOTES ON THE CULTUKE OF AND COMMEECE IN OPIUM IN 
ASIA MINOK. 
BY E. R. HEFFLER, OF SMYRNA. 
The difficulties that surround agriculturists in this country are great and numerous, 
arising] principally from the scarcity of labourers, want of capital, roads, etc. ; and so 
heavily do they press, that, were it not for the advantage of a fine soil and climate, very 
little cultivation indeed could exist. The agricultural implements are of the most primi¬ 
tive description, and an idea of them can be formed by the fact that the plough does 
not go deeper into the soil than, say, four inches; another proof of the superiority of both 
climate and soil is, that all the crops are produced without irrigation. In the case, how¬ 
ever, of the opium grower, there are other difficulties besides entirely beyond his control, 
viz. the very sensitive nature of the poppy plant and particularly perilous condition of 
the crop when about being collected, which render its cultivation by far the most 
hazardous. 
The poppy, unlike other plants, is generally sown at three different times in one season. 
For instance, the grower who intends sowing three acres of land, will do so one at a 
time, and will begin with one acre about the middle of November or so, after the first 
winter rains; a second acre he will sow in December, and a third or last between Fe¬ 
bruary and March. The first sowing is called Giuzmaly , the second Kishmaly , and the 
third Yazmaly. Two are the reasons for this practice, both of which are of paramount 
importance. First, by this arrangement the chance of a total failure of the crops is ob¬ 
viated, and, secondly, as it makes a difference of about a fortnight between the time the 
first and last sowings arrive at maturity, it economizes labourers, as in fact there would 
not be sufficient hands to gather half the quantity, if this system were not in a great 
measure pursued ; as it is, when the crops succeed well, fully one-fourth of them is lost 
for want of hands. 
A moist soil is indispensable to the success of the plant; too much moisture, on the 
other hand, is injurious; it therefore follows that with a wet winter it grows best on 
hilly grounds, and with a dry winter in low plains. 
Owing to the difference of climate between the upper and lower country, in the 
former, which is the coldest, the first crops are gathered in July, and in the latter in 
May ; just about the time the plant is maturing, should it happen to shower, a very 
great increase of the crop is obtained. 
The capsule of the poppy, better known under the name of poppy-head, is that part of 
the plant whence the opium is extracted. It is considered to have arrived at maturity 
when it has changed to a lighter green hue, and the extraction is then effected in the 
following manner:— 
An incision is made with a knife across the poppy-head, half round, horizontally, and 
sometimes horizontally and vertically too ; this is generally done in an afternoon, and 
by the next morning it is found to be covered with milk or juice, that during the night 
has oozed from it, which the gatherer scrapes with his knife, transferring it from the 
latter to a leaf of the poppy he holds in his left hand. At every alternate scraping the 
knife is wetted with saliva by drawing it through the mouth to prevent the juice from 
adhering to it. 
Great precision is required in making the incison. Should it be too deep, and the in¬ 
terior coating containing the seed be also cut, the opium is lost, as the juice would then 
run into the poppy-head; and again, if the incision is not deep enough, all the juice 
would not ooze out. 
The repugnant practice of using saliva, and which is not always limited to the wet¬ 
ting of the knife, has been remonstrated upon, and water suggested as its substitute; 
but as this would entail more, trouble and perhaps loss of time, they pretend that, unless 
saliva is used, the opium would turn or ferment. 
As soon as a sufficient quantity of the juice or opium is collected to form a ball, it is 
wrapped in poppy leaves, and put to dry in the shade for a short time only. There is no 
given size for cakes of opium, and they vary very much, being from a few ounces to two 
or more pounds, but in some villages they are made, on an average, larger than in others. 
Short as is the time between making the incision and collecting the opium, it is still 
the most precarious one of all, for either a shower, by no means an unusual thing at 
