1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
181 
The Lungwort.— {Pulmonaria officinalis.) 
The prevailing taste for plants -with unnatu¬ 
rally variegated foliage, has had the good elfect 
of bringing into notice several old-fashioned 
THE lungwort—( Pulmonaria officinalis.) 
plants, the natural condition of which is to be 
speckled or striped. Among these is the Lung¬ 
wort, so old as to be quite as rare as a new 
thing. We recently saw it in a florist’s collec¬ 
tion as Pulmonana ccerulea variegata, which, 
though very good as a name, could not make 
the plant anything but Lungwort. It is a very 
pretty, hardy perennial, which flourishes best 
in sandy soils, and in early spring gives clusters 
of lively purplish-blue flowers. Its leaves are 
spotted, as shown in the engraving, with a very 
pale green. It is a native of Europe, and has 
its representative in this country in the Virginia 
Lungwort, which we figured in July, 1867. The 
name Pulmonaria , as well as that of Lungwort, 
has reference to its former use in diseases of the 
lungs. It was a notion in olden times, that 
plants indicated by the shape of their parts or 
by markings, their uses as remedies. The 
leaves of this plant, from their spots, bearing 
some fancied resemblance to the lungs, were 
considered on this account to be a proper 
remedy to be used in diseases of those organs. 
Young Evergreens from the Woods. 
Every spring great numbers of evergreens are 
offered by those who collect them from the 
woods, and they are sold, especially the small 
ones, at very low rates. Those who wish a 
large number of Arbor Vitaes and Hemlocks 
for hedges, are tempted by the low prices to 
buy these young trees; they are set for a hedge, 
and if a large portion die, as is apt to be the 
case, the seller is blamed. These seedling trees, 
which have grown in the shade of the forest, 
are pulled up, and have lost a share of their 
roots. If set in a 
single row for a 
hedge, they are ex¬ 
posed to the sun 
and wind in this 
very unnatural 
condition, and a 
large portion of 
them are likely to 
die. Trees of this 
kind should be 
planted and grown 
a year before they 
are permanently 
placed in the 
hedge. The Arbor 
Vitaes, if planted 
close together, will 
afford one another 
mutual shade and 
protection, and the 
Hemlocks should 
be placed closely, 
and a shelter of 
some kind be built 
over them. A plat¬ 
form, covered with 
evergreen boughs 
or with brush, 
should be support¬ 
ed above them; 
this, while it will 
give the needed 
shade, will allow a 
free circulation of 
air beneath it. 
With the best care 
some of the young 
trees will die, but 
those which sur¬ 
vive after a sea¬ 
son’s protection may be planted in the hedge-row 
another year without fear of loss. A good share 
of the native evergreens offered by nurserymen 
is raised from young seedlings from the woods, 
which have grown a few years in the nursery. 
■ 4E a m -- 
Opium Culture. 
In a previous article we gave the substance 
of a letter from a correspondent in Wisconsin. 
We have since had other details of Opium cul¬ 
ture from him, and also a letter from Dr. E. 
Lewis, of Topeka, Kansas, who, in 1822, assist¬ 
ed his father who resided in York Co., Pa., in 
cultivating the poppy, and in gathering opium. 
This gentleman agrees with “B.,” of Wiscon¬ 
sin, in thinking that opium can be profitably 
produced in this country. We do not wish to 
get up an Opium excitement, but as there has 
been much inquiry in regard to the subject, we 
present such experience as we are able to pro¬ 
cure. As our correspondent “B.,” is fuller 
in his details than Dr. L., we follow his article, 
noting where the two differ in their practice. 
The seeds of the poppy are very small, and 
with care in sowing, three or four ounces are 
sufficient for an acre, but much more is gener¬ 
ally used, to be sure of a good stand. “ B. ” 
says: “The seed will not bear burial. Take 
great pains in sowing, and cover very lightly, 
not more than ’Is to ’| 4 of an inch. If covered 
too deep, you will lose your labor. I sowed | 
plenty of seed and thinned out, leaving the best 
plants, eating the others as greens, and feeding 
the pig. Do not be alarmed—they are very 
nice when young, full as good as beets or spin¬ 
ach. The time of sowing will vary in different 
the opium poppy—( Papaver somniferum.) 
localities, the point being, to have the capsules 
mature in the driest time—say from the last of 
July to the first of September. In Jefferson 
County, N. Y., I sowed from May 5th to May 
20th. The cultivation should be as thorough 
as that of an onion or ruta-baga field.” The 
Opium Poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the 
one from which the very double garden varie¬ 
ties have sprung. There are two marked vari¬ 
eties, the white, and black-seeded; the white be¬ 
ing the most valuable for opium, while the 
black-seeded is preferred where the plant is cul¬ 
tivated for the purpose of expressing the oil 
from the seeds. We give an engraving of the 
Opium Poppy, showing the flower and capsule. 
The narcotic juice is developed only about 
flowering time, and our correspondent’s remark 
that the young plant makes a good substitute 
for spinach, we can readily accept. We have 
a parallel case in the universally esteemed let¬ 
tuce, which, when it runs up to flower, pro¬ 
duces a milky juice, which, in its medicinal 
properties, has some resemblance to Opium. 
Dr. Lewis commenced scarifying the capsules 
as soon as the petals had fallen. He says: 
“After a sufficient number of poppy heads have 
parted with their petals, to justify the profitable 
commencement, the operator, armed with a 
sharp pocket knife, should take the head in his 
hand and give the stalk a twist of once and a 
fourth around, then apply the knife to the head 
at its largest circumference, and allow it to 
gradually untwist itself, thus making a circular 
