500  Opium  Smoking  by  the  Chinese.  {^m-o™'imarm' 
A  very  complete  collection  of  these  appliances  may  be  seen  in  the 
Ch  inese  collection  in  the  Museum  of  Archaeology  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  customary  in  China  for  wealthy  people  to 
have  much  more  expensive  apparatus  than  is  ordinarily  used 
here. 
Opium  Boxes — Opium  is  not  sold  directly  from  the  can  by  the 
retail  merchants,  but  always  from  a  large  pottery  vessel.  Many  of 
the  purchasers  are  provided  with  a  small  horn  box.  For  the  con- 
venience of  others  the  shop-keeper  usually  has  a  supply  of  the 
lichee  nut,  or  of  our  ordinary  playing  cards,  ingeniously  cut  and 
folded  into  a  small  shallow  box,  which  he  balances  upon  the  pan  of 
his  hand  balance.  Opium  is  invariably  weighed  in  this  manner 
upon  what  are  familiarly  known  as  money  scales,  and  the  customer 
watches  the  operation,  solicitous  of  obtaining  good  weight.  It  is 
always  sold  in  sums  of  25  cents'  worth  and  its  multiple.  The  profit 
upon  it  is  considerable,  amounting  to  $2.25  per  can  on  No.  I  opium 
and  much  more  when  a  mixture  of  several  kinds  is  sold.  The  latter 
is  customary.  The  shop-keepers  say  they  have  to  suit  the  tastes  of 
their  customers,  and  that  it  is  necessary  to  reduce  the  strength  of 
the  best  opium.  It  is  the  custom  for  keepers  of  opium  joints  to 
purchase  two  boxes  of  No.  1  opium,  two  boxes  of  "  Victoria  "  and 
two  boxes  of  opium  refuse.  Mixtures  of  these  various  proportions 
are  furnished  by  the  shops,  some  of  which  sell  as  much  as  14  fan 
{81  grains)  for  25  cents. 
The  use  of  opium  for  smoking  in  Philadelphia  gives  employment 
to'  a  man  who  mends  pipes.  His  kit  includes  among  several 
ordinary  tools  a  bow  drill  like  those  used  in  China,  of  his  own  man- 
ufacture. The  use  of  opium  among  the  Chinese  is  also  one  of  the 
reasons  for  the  practice  enjoyed  by  the  Chinese  physicians,  and  for 
the  sale  of  expensive  medicines  in  the  Chinese  shops.  The  Chinese 
claim  that  they  experience  little  harm  from  opium;  much  less  indeed 
than  their  American  customers.  Be  this  as  it  may,  their  stomachs 
and  intestines  as  a  rule  are  in  a  constant  catarrhal  state  from  the 
effects  of  smoking.  Their  tongues  are  always  coated,  and  their 
usual  condition  is  well  illustrated  by  the  way  in  which  many  of 
them  commence  their  morning  ablution.  They  pour  a  little  water 
in  a  hand  basin  and  lave  their  tongue  with  their  hand.  Then  they 
apply  a  tongue-scraper,  and  afterwards  they  rub  their  tongue  with  a 
wet  rag. 
