I 
218  VEEMONT  OPIUM. 
half  hour;  then  press  it.  The  alcohol  will  cut  the  morphine  from  the 
plant,  then  the  extract  will  be  perfect  and  in  order  ;  then  the  odor  will 
be  like  foreign  opium. 
Y.  You  will  keep  the  cheese  in  the  press  about  one  half  hour — press 
it  dry ;  about  as  much  time  is  enough  to  set.  Then  have  in  the  side  of 
the  setter,  two  inches  from  the  bottom  up  the  side,  put  in  the  faucet  so 
the  green  can  settle  below  the  faucet ;  then  draw  off  and  fill  your  plates 
one  half-inch  deep. 
YI.  Prepare  your  rack  and  shelves,  three  feet  from  the  floor,  eight 
inches  apart,  one  above  another,  as  high  as  six  feet;  have  the  shelves 
four  rows  of  plates  wide  ;  have  them  so  you  can  get  on  both  sides  with 
your  pail  with  dipper  to  pour  in  the  plates,  all  set  on  the  shelves  ready. 
YII.  You  must  have  the  dry-house  or  room  tight,  plastered  room,  so 
that  the  heat  will  escape  only  from  one  window ;  have  that  drop  down 
about  three  or  four  inches,  so  that  the  steam  can  escape.  We  want  no 
chopping  or  jarring  about. 
YIII.  As  to  heat,  we  want  the  thermometer  hung  half-way  up  the 
room  to  temper  the  heat ;  you  want  the  heat  kept  up  from  125  to  150  or 
160,  and  have  coarse,  hard,  dry  wood  ;  if  heat  gets  down  it  will  sour.  The 
business  pays  well,  so  keep  up  heat  night  and  day  until  you  get  through. 
IX.  As  soon  as  the  opium  is  dry  enough  to  scrape  off  the  plates  (don't 
dry  it  so  hard  you  can't)  put  into  square  forms,  one  pound  in  each  piece. 
About  3|-  inches  square  will  be  the  size  of  one  pound  of  opium. 
Mr.  Wilson  makes  two  kinds  of  opium,  one  by  cutting  gashes  in  the 
capsulus  and  gathering  the  milk  or  gum  that  exudes.  Then  he  cuts  the 
tops  of  the  plants,  saving  some  for  seed,  and  grinds  them  in  a  mill,  and 
dries  away  the  juice  on  earthen  plates.  This  gummy  or  bogus  opium  he 
mixes  with  the  true  at  the  rate  of  two  ounces  of  milk  opium  to  14  of  the 
gum  opium. 
Dr.  Hexamer:  There  is  no  difficulty  or  mystery  about  the  poppy.  It 
is  raised  all  through  the  south  of  Europe.  We  import  a  great  deal  of 
this  medicine,  Mrs.  Winslow  uses  a  great  many  tuns  of  it  to  make  her 
soothing  sirnp. 
Dr.  Sanger — Mr.  Chairman,  -opium  is  a  dangerous  and  fascinating 
remedy.  Doctors  use  it  quite  too  often,  and  they  seldom  let  the  patient 
know  how  often.  The  habit  of  eating  it  is  easily  formed  but  almost  im- 
possible to  throw  off.  Alcohol  is  bad  enough,  but  opium  is  a  fiend.  I 
think  the  club  should  with  caution  suggest  the  prostitution  of  our  virgin 
soil  to  the  production  of  any  more  noxious  drugs.  Hops  do  no  good. 
But  I  should  deprecate  any  step  the  effect  of  which  would  make  opium 
cheaper.    The  dearer  the  better.    I  wish  it  was  $100  an  ounce. 
Dr.  Miller — This  man  charges  $400  for  his  mill,  seed  for  an  acre  and 
his  manual  for  opium  growers.  For  $2  the  Harpers  will  sell  you  a  book 
after  reading  which  no  man  will  feel  inclined  to  help  curse  the  race 
by  making  opium  cheap. 
I 
