January 10, 1903. 
THE HARDENING WORLD . 
l] 
POPPIES AS GARDEN AND COMMERCIAL PLANTS. 
By JOHN R. JACKSON, A.L.S., etc. (late Keeper of the Museums, Royal Gardens, Kew). 
'■ What is one man’s food is another man’s poison ” is a 
saying that has much truth in it, in many more ways than one, 
for, taken in its broadest sense, it applies to matters of almost 
every-day life, and is governed by the disposition both of the 
human mind as well as of the constitution of the body. A 
solitude that is of immense pleasure and comfort to some re¬ 
flective minds is a cause of melancholy or poison to others. 
Lillian G. Jackson. 
1. Danebrog Poppy. 
2 Mikado Poppy. 
To a thoughtful man, a walk through a country lane or a 
beautiful garden, especially in the spring or summer, is a 
source of many pleasureable reflections and contemplations, 
while to others it affords no attraction whatever. These 
thoughts passed through our mind while gazing upon a most 
glorious sunset effect over a large area of cornfields in Hamp¬ 
shire in the- month of July, where the common Field or Corn 
Poppy was so abundant as almost to eclipse the golden grain, 
with its magnificent blaze of colour. Here, then, was an illus¬ 
tration of what was giving pleasure to the writer was, on the 
other hand, giving trouble and anxiety to the farmer—the Coni 
Poppy being one of his greatest enemies. 
Another thought occurred to us—that though one of our 
commoner weeds, and one which all country people are in¬ 
terested in exterminating, the red Field Poppy, were it a new 
introduction as a garden plant, would be highly valued, not 
only for its showy character, but also for its graceful habit. 
The Poppies are also apt illustrations of the maxim given 
at the beginning of this paper, for, though the numerous 
varieties of the Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) are now 
favourite garden plants, the milky juice that flows from the true 
species—namely, the white-flowered Poppy—forms the deadly 
opium which is such a curse to so large a number of our fellow 
creatures in India and other Eastern countries, while, on the 
other hand, the- alkaloids obtained from opium form some of 
the most important drugs in European medicine. 
Taking all these things into consideration, we feel sure that 
a few words on Poppies as garden plants, as well as on their 
uses in the production of opium and its valuable alkaloids, will 
be of interest to all those in any way interested in gardening. 
First, then, as garden plant s. We must always remember, if 
we would introduce even a few plants of the Corn Poppy 
(Papaver Rhoeas) into our gardens, for the sake of the bright 
scarlet of its petals, that, when once introduced, it is difficult 
to* get rid of, which, indeed, is true of all the species, the seeds 
being so small and contained in such large numbers in the 
capsules, which, when ripe, dehisce or open by apertures under 
the crown, or star-like stigma at. the top, are naturally dis¬ 
tributed and become self-sown. It is on this account that the 
plant is so difficult to exterminate in cornfields. 
The species of Papaver are not numerous, only about four¬ 
teen species being known, four of which are natives of our own 
land. It is by cultivation, chiefly of the Corn Poppy (Papaver 
Rhoeas) and the Opium Poppy (P. somniferum), that the 
numerous garden varieties have been obtained, such as the 
Carnation-flowered, Ranunculus-flowered, and other well-known 
forms of the Shirley Poppy, which have all the grace of the 
wild form, with eveiy variation of tint, except, perhaps, that 
of the well-known scarlet. Iii the Opium Poppy group (P. 
somniferum) we have plants usually of a more robust growth 
and greater height, the flowers are larger, and, in the cultivated 
varieties, are frequently double, with the addition of fringed 
petals, which give to the flower an appearance somewhat re¬ 
sembling that of a double Chrysanthemum. This is particu¬ 
larly the case with the variety known in gardens as Papaver 
murselli, or the Mikado Poppy. It is white at the back, whilst 
the edges are of a crimson-scarlet, beautifully cut and fringed. 
The Danebrog, or Danish Flag Poppy, is another garden variety 
of the Opium Poppy ; the flowers are single, of a brilliant 
scarlet, and bear on each of the four petals a large silvery- 
white blotch, forming a cross, and resembling the Danish and 
Swiss national flags. The plant grows to a height of about 
2 ft., and is worth growing in any garden. 
Representations of the flowers of this and the Mikado are 
shown as Figs. 1 and 2. The varieties of colour now to be 
found in the cultivated forms of the Opium Poppy, varying 
from white to rose, lilac, violet, red or striped, produce a 
fine effect when grown in large beds, as they now are every 
summer in the Pagoda Vista of the Royal Gardens at Kew. 
The true species is a native of Europe, Asia, West Africa, and 
India, and has become naturalised in many parts of the country ; 
besides which, it is cultivated, to some extent, in gardens 
devoted to the culture of medicinous plants, such as are to be 
found at Bodicote, near Banbury, Market Deeping, or Hitch'n, 
where, however, it is only grown for the sake of the' fruits, 
which, when dry, form the Poppyheads of the chemists’ shops, 
and are now used for making decoctions to' allay swellings or 
affections of the joints. It is, however, for the production of 
opium that the plant is now so important from a commercial 
point of view. Its cultivation for this purpose dates from an 
early period in Asia Minor and Greece. At the present time 
