4 1 8  The  International  Exposition-.        { Ams^t7i£7h6arra~ 
The  species  of  poppy  cultivated  for  the  production, of  opium  is.  Papaver,som- 
niferum,  Lin.,  of  which  there  are  a  number  of  races,  the  most  important  of  which, 
are  the  varieties  rigrum  (glabrum,  Boissier)  and  album.  The  former  of  these 
has  usually  deep-purple  colored  petals,  varying,  however,  to  almost  completely 
white,  and  bears  seeds  which,  though  usually  blackish-blue,  vary  likewise  in  shade 
to  a  pale  yellow.  The  second  variety  has  the  flowers  and  seeds  almost  always 
white,  or  nearly  so.  But  the  most  distinctive  character  between  the  two  varieties  is 
the  capsule,  which  in  the  black  poppy  is  always  subglobular  and  occasionally  de- 
pressed or  at  the  base  even  concave;  the  capsule  opens  by  pores,  which  are  of  thie- 
same  number  as  the  rays  of  the  closely  sessile  stigma.  The  capsule  of  the  white 
poppy  is  ovate-globose  to  oblong  and  indehiscent.  - 
The  collection  of  the  opium  takes  place  after  the  falling  of  the  petals  and  before 
the  ripening  of  the  seeds.  The  capsules  are  then  scarified  by  means  of  a  one-  or  several- 
bladed  knife,  arranged  in  such  a  manner  that  it  cannot  penetrate  through  the  capsu- 
lar wall,  which  would  occasion  the  loss  of  the  milk  juice/  The  incisions  are  made 
either  longitudinally  or  transversely,  and  the  exuding  juice  is  scraped  from  the  cap- 
sule on  the  following  morning,  by  which  time  it  has  become  sufficiently  firm  ano* 
its  color  has  changed  from  white  to  brown.  Afterwards  it  is  worked  up  into  cakes, 
which,  in  the  different  countries  vary  not  only  in  consistence  but  likewise  in  shape, 
size  and  the  material  in  which  they  are  packed  for  the  market,  or  which  is  employed 
to  guard  against  the  cakes  adhering  together. 
The  variety  of  opium  which  is  found  in  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  is 
obtained  from.  Turkey,  and  usually  called  Smyrna  or  Turkey  opium  ;  it  is  produced 
from  the  black  variety  of  poppy,  the  incisions  being  made  transversely,  or  rather 
somewhat  spirally ;  the  collected  juice  is  mixed  and  formed  into  globular  cakes,, 
each  of  which  is  wrapped  into  one  or  sometimes  two  poppy  leaves,  arid  when  suffi- 
ciently dry,  is  packed  at  first  into  bags  and  subsequently,  for  exportation,  into-  boxes, 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  chaff,  consisting  of  the- calyx  of  a  species  of:  Rnmex,! inter- 
mixed with  the  triangular  fruit  bei.ng  ad4ed  to  prevent  the  cakes,  from  .  .running 
together.  The  Ottoman  government  exhibits  12  cakes  of  opium,  varying  in  weight 
from  a  few  ounces  to  over  a  pound,  which  represent  the  style  in  which  this* drug  Is 
prepared  in  different  localities.  Larger  samples' of  Turkey  opium,  both  from  Asia 
Minor  and  the  European  provinces,  are  shown,  in  large,  handsome  bottles;,  by  H- 
A.  Holstein,  Constantinople,  and  represent  the  towns  and  districts  of  Angora,  Bej- 
basar,  Geiwe,  Konia,  Mualitsch,  Kiutahia,  Saloniki,  Seardo,  Siwrihissar  and  Tau- 
chanly.  .      .  . 
The  opium  exhibited  by  the  National  Museum  of  Egypt  resembles  the  former  ;  the 
cakes  shown  vary  in  size,  are  rather  flattened  and  show  the  remnants  of  the  poppy 
leaves  in  which  they  have  been  enveloped;  but  fragments  of  Rumex  chaff  are  not 
observed.  The  cultivation  of  opium  in  Egypt,  which  was  carried  on  quite' exten- 
sively about  50  years  ago,  was  subsequently  much  neglected,  but  through  the  exper'- 
iments  and  exertions  of  Gastinel  Bey,  director  of  the  botanical  garden-'at  Cairo, 
has  during  the  last  decade  considerably  increased,  the  quantity  raised  being',  how- 
ever, still  insufficient  for  home  consumption,  although  Egyptian  opium-may.be 
found  in  the  European  market.  It  is  very  rarely  imported  into  this  country.  The 
capsules  exhibited  vary  somewhat  in  shape,  one  lot  being  depressed  globose  in  shape, 
