438  The  Poppy  and  Opium  in  Persia.    { * F^m- 
stored  up  at  the  cultivator's  house  until  the  harvest  is  finished.  It 
must  be  carefully  borne  in  mind  that  each  plant  must  be  examined 
before  the  incision  is  made,  for,  as  stated  above,  there  is  a  difference 
in  time  in  the  maturing  of  the  plants — some  earlier  and  some  later. 
The  plant  ripens — if  that  expression  may  be  permitted — about  the 
end  of  May  or  beginning  of  June ;  but  the  time  depends  upon  a 
variety  of  circumstances,  although  the  variations  are  not  great. 
(8)  The  approximate  number  of  plants  per  acre  may  be  estimated 
from  the  distances  they  are  apart,  as  given  above.  The  Persians 
have  no  surface  measurement  equal  to  our  acre,  and  seasons  and 
crops  vary  so  much  that  the  average  yield  cannot  be  easily  estim- 
ated. In  view  of  the  heavy  dues  and  taxes  paid  by  the  cultivators 
of  the  poppy,  the  risk  they  have  to  run  from  climatic  considerations, 
and  the  fluctuations  in  the  price  of  opium  in  the  foreign  markets, 
the  profits  are  not  much  greater  than  from  the  ordinary  cereals. 
(9)  The  preparation  of  the  drug  for  the  market  is  usually  under- 
taken by  the  merchant,  and  but  rarely  by  the  cultivators.  This  is 
a  business  quite  distinct,  and  requires  a  building  and  utensils  gene- 
rally beyond  the  reach  of  the  producer.  When  the  opium  reaches 
the  merchant  it  contains  a  good  deal  of  foreign  matter,  especially 
pieces  of  the  stem  of  the  plant,  to  which  the  opium  adheres.  These 
have  to  be  removed,  and  then  the  opium  undergoes  a  process  of 
kneading  and  pressing,  so  as  to  get  rid  of  the  superfluous  water.  A 
little  linseed  oil  is  used  in  the  process,  and  some  kinds  are  largely 
diluted  with  it.  The  process  of  preparing  for  the  consumer  requires 
special  knowledge,  which  is  not  communicated  to  everyone,  and  the 
value  in  China  largely  depends  on  its  manipulation. 
It  would  appear  that  if  the  cultivation  of  opium  were  taken  in 
hand  seriously,  two  skilled  persons — one,  the  cultivator,  and  the 
other,  a  kneader — should  be  engaged  to  undertake  the  growing  and 
the  preparation  for  the  market.  Without  these,  I  am  afraid,  the 
enterprise  would  be  a  failure. 
The  climatic  conditions  of  the  Gulf  States,  I  should  say,  would 
be  favorable. 
Barium  has  been  found  in  hydrobromic  acid  to  a  dangerous  extent  by  R.  C. 
Cowley  (Phar.  Jour.,  May  i6,  1896).  When  precipitated  as  sulphate,  the  quan- 
tity present  was  found  to  correspond  to  4 "598  grains  of  barium  in  the  pint. 
This  impurity  may  account  for  the  insoluble  white  precipitates  that  are 
obtained  when  hydrobromic  acid  is  added  to  quinine  sulphate. 
