24 
AMERICAN  OPIUM  FROM  VERMONT. 
called  "American  opium,"  presented  to  his  notice  by  Mr.  Wil- 
son, of  Monkton,  Vermont,  the  manufacturer  of  it ;  and  he  also 
gave  the  result  of  an  assay  of  the  specimen  of  opium  placed  in 
his  hands  by  Mr.  Wilson,  as  representing  the  new  product. 
Since  then  some  further  information  has  been  received,  several 
other  samples  of  the  "opium"  obtained  and  assayed,  and  a 
farther  conversation  had  with  Mr.  Wilson,  which  has  caused  the 
writer  to  change  his  opinion  of  the  value  of  this  "  American 
opium,"  which  he  formed  from  the  first  sample  assayed. 
Inquiries  instituted  by  a  friend  in  New  York  State,  as  to  the 
reality  of  this  opium  culture,  left  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Wilson  had 
been  engaged  for  four  or  five  years  in  promoting  the  culture 
of  the  poppy,  with  a  view  to  making  "opium,"  and  that  not 
possessing  land  of  his  own,  the  poppies  were  raised  in  plots, 
here  and  there,  by  farmers  in  his  neighborhood,  who  were  re- 
munerated by  a  portion  of  the  opium,  which  Mr.  Wilson  manu- 
factured at  the  proper  season.  It  appears  that,  at  the  request 
of  a  gentleman  who  had  aided  him  with  money,  the  manufac- 
turer of  the  "opium"  bi ought  to  Philadelphia  six  pounds  and 
delivered  it  to  Messrs.  Rosengarten  &  Sons,  who  were  desired  to 
extract  the  morphia  from  it.  Being  interested  in  the  matter  as 
an  American  enterprise,  they  made  three  separate  assays  of  a 
lump  of  the  "  opium,"  and  were  disappointed  in  obtaining  satis- 
factory results,  which,  in  view  of  my  published  assay,  caused 
them  much  disappointment.  Having  taken  the  precaution  to 
preserve  all  the  results  of  my  assay,  it  required  but  little  time 
to  satisfy  Messrs.  R.  &  Sons  of  its  correctness ;  and  at  their 
request  I  took  samples  from  two  separate  lumps  of  the  lot  of 
"  opium  "  in  their  possession,  which  they  sent  to  me.  These 
lumps  were  covered  with  tin-foil ;  one  weighed  more  than  a 
pound,  and  the  other  perhaps  half  as  much.  The  interior  con- 
sistence seemed  rather  softer  than  the  sample  before  noticed, 
the  exterior  being  a  little  firmer.  The  extract-like  appearance 
was  the  same,  but  the  odor  varied  somewhat,  being  less  decided- 
ly that  of  Turkey  opium  than  was  the  first  sample. 
The  assays  were  made  with  great  care,  precisely  as  that  pub- 
lished in  November.  To  distinguish  the  samples  I  shall  letter 
them,  calling  that  of  the  original  assay  A,  those  from  Messrs. 
