38 
Ichang, Hupeh, Mr. Meyer wrote as follows regarding the 
request for cattage and opium seed:. 
Yesterday afternoon I received a telegram, 
which had "been forwarded from Peking to Hankow 
and from there to Ichang, reading as follows: 
Meyer, itolegation, Peking. Ship im- 
mediately fifty pounds Chinese cattage 
and hundred pounds viable poppy seed. 
This telegram puzzles me somewhat. Firstly the 
demand for this seed must "be very urgent, other- 
wise no cablegram would have "been sent. Secondly, 
you possibly know "by this date that I had left 
North China (Chihli and Shantung) where the best 
strains of pai ts'ai are raised; (I suppose you 
do not mean any kinds of Chinese cabbages) and 
thirdly, you probably know that poppy cultivation 
has been totally prohibited in all China and that 
poppy seed is absolute contraband for which farmers 
have been beheaded who had it in their possession. 
Only in the most out of the way mountainous places 
of Szechuan, Kansu, Yunnan and Hupeh one possibly 
could get hold of a few ounces here and there, but 
a hundred pounds 1 Ah.' that would be something: 
I certainly would require very special permits to 
carry this seed with me thru China. You may re- 
member that my assistant and I were* nearly executed 
at the Kansu Shensi border in December, 1914, merely 
because the rowdy soldier suspected us to be opium- 
smugglers and the three questions done to me by the 
Chinese inspector v/ere: Have you got any opium with 
you; have you got any poppy-heads; have you got any 
poppy seed? Upon answering all three questions in 
the negative we were released again and could pro- 
cede our way. You may imagine what would have 
happened if I actually had carried a hundred pounds 
of seed with me; enough to sow half a province again 
with this drug plant. I am making careful Inquiries 
along this line, bmt if the Department is in a 
special hurry for this seed, the Government of Brit- 
ish India could possibly furnish a certain quantity. 
The Russian Government might also be appealed to, 
since poppy-culture occurs in Russian Turkestan and 
in Persia. 
As regards pai ts'ai seeds, I suggest that the 
American Consuls in Tientsin, Chefoo and Tsingtau 
each be asked to send a man out- to collect 10 pounds 
or more of the best strains of cabbage. The price 
ofSiSld ranges from $3.50 to $5.00 Mex. silver p. 
ca€ty and the Consuls might be made acquainted with 
December 31, 1917. 
