Am.  Jour.  Pbarm. 
Nov.,  1890. 
The  Indian  Opium  Trade. 
567 
shown  has  an  odor  differing  from  that  ordinarily  observed  in  com- 
mercial camphor,  the  odor  of  safrol  being  distinctly  recognizable. 
After  the  complete  separation  of  the  volatile  oil  with  which  the 
camphor  is  still  impregnated  to  some  extent,  the  properties  of  the 
latter,  including  odor  and  composition,  will  doubtless  be  identical 
with  the  corresponding  properties  of  the  camphor  imported  from 
China  and  Japan. 
THE  INDIAN  OPIUM  TRADE. 
By  P.  L.  Simmonds,  F.L.S. 
Nothwithstanding  the  alleged  prohibitory  regulations  and  the 
heavy  import  duty  of  more  than  £26  per  chest,  the  consumption  of 
opium  in  China  continues,  and  the  native  culture  of  the  poppy  is 
fast  becoming  extensive. 
The  400  million  population  of  the  Empire,  and  those  in  the 
Malay  Peninsula  and  other  countries  of  the  East,  seem  to  use  a 
great  deal  of  the  drug,  which  is  in  as  large  a  use  as  the  tobacco  leaf 
in  the  West. 
The  opium  revenue,  after  that  on  land,  has  hitherto  been  the 
most  important  source  of  Indian  revenue.  This  is,  however,  now 
on  the  decline. 
The  total  annual  revenue  derived  by  the  Indian  Government  two 
years  ago  used  to  be  nearly  £10, 500,000,  the  Excise  opium  bringing 
in  under  £1 ,000,000,  and  the  44  provision"  opium,  or  that  sent  to  China 
and  the  East,  the  rest.  The  net  revenue  has  now  declined  by  over 
£2,500,000. 
About  40,000  chests  of  opium  are  produced  in  the  native  States 
of  Central  India,  Rajputana  and  Baroda,  which  pays  a  duty  on 
entering  British  territory,  for  export  from  Bombay,  but  the  bulk  of 
the  opium  is  produced  in  the  Bengal  Presidency. 
The  cultivation  of  the  poppy  and  the  manufacture  of  opium  in 
Bengal  are  Government  monopolies.  Though  the  poppy  grows 
freely  in  most  parts  of  India,  its  cultivation  in  British  territory  is 
confined  to  a  tract  in  the  Ganges  Valley,  600  by  200  miles  in  extent, 
and.is  strictly  prohibited  elsewhere.  The  opium  is  prepared  at  the 
Government  agencies  at  Patna  and  Ghazipur.  The  "  provision  " 
opium,  or  that  which  is  intended  for  export,  is  then  sent  to  Calcutta, 
where  it  is  sold  by  auction  at  monthly  sales.    To  prevent  specula- 
