254 
ON GUNJAH, OR INDIAN HEMP. 
and to this the type or basis of all the hemp preparations 
are the powers of these drugs attributable. Churrus is col- 
lected in central India and the Saugor territory, and in 
Nipal during the hot season as follows: Men clad in leathern 
dresses, run through the hemp fields, brushing through 
the plant with all possible violence ; the soft resin adheres 
to the leather, and is subsequently scraped off, to be formed 
into little balls. A finer kind collected by the hand in Nipal 
is sold at a greater price. It is also collected in Nipal upon 
the skin of naked coolies. In Persia it is prepared by press- 
ing the resinous plant on coarse cloths, and then scraping it 
from these and melting it in a pot with a little warm water. 
The resin of the hemp is soluble in alcohol and in ether ; 
partially soluble in alkaline, insoluble in acid solutions ; 
when pure, of a blackish grey color ; hard at 90° ; softens 
at higher temperatures and fuses readily ; soluble in the 
fixed, and several of the volatile oils. Its odor is fragrant 
and narcotic ; taste, slightly warm, bitterish and acrid. 
The dried hemp plant which has flowered, and from 
which the resin has not been removed, is call Gunjah. 
The bundles of gunjah are about two feet long and four 
inches in diameter, and contain twenty-four plants. The 
color is dusky green ; the odor agreeably narcotic ; the 
whole plant resinous and adhesive to the touch. It is 
chiefly used for smoking. The gunjah consumed in Ben- 
gal is chiefly brought from Mirzapiir and Ghazeepore, being 
extensively cultivated near Gwalior and in Tirhoot. The 
natives cut the plant when in flower, allow it to dry for 
three days, and then lay it in bundles, averaging two pounds 
weight each, which are distributed to the licensed dealers. 
Gunjah yields to alcohol 20 per cent, of resinous extract, 
composed of the resin (churrus) and green coloring matter, 
(chlorophylle.) Distilled with a large quantity of water, 
traces of essential oil pass over, and the distilled liquor has 
the powerful narcotic odor of the plant. 
The preparations of Indian hemp are used by the natives 
