AmjJu°ne?if95arm'}  Notes  on  Some  Saps  and  Secretions.  325 
greatly  that  it  placed  the  Indian  drug  beyond  the  means  of  a  vast 
number  of  consumers,  and  this  rise  taking  place  concurrently  with 
adequate  supplies  of  native  opium — which  has  so  improved  in 
quality  that,  it  is  averred,  smokers  prefer  it  to  Malwa — renders  it 
almost  hopeless  for  the  imported  drug  to  continue  to  compete  suc- 
cessfully with  the  excellent  and  ever-improving  home-grown  pro- 
duct." 
There  are  two  kinds  of  opium  made  in  India  ;  that  for  export  to 
China  is  called  "  provision  opium  ;"  that  to  be  used  locally  is  known 
as  rt  excise  opium,"  and  is  moulded  into  cakes,  which  are  stamped 
with  the  device  of  an  Imperial  Crown,  and  the  legend  "  Benares 
Abkari,"  from  being  made  in  that  district. 
Excise  opium,  for  internal  consumption,  is  retailed  to  the  con- 
sumer as  a  decoction,  or  in  the  form  of  two  smoking  mixtures, 
known,  respectively,  as  Chandu  and  Madat.  The  excise  opium 
yields  to  the  Indian  Government  a  revenue  of  about  1,000,000  sterling. 
The  opium  for  export  is  made  up  into  round  cakes  or  balls,  about 
the  size  of  a  24-lb.  spherical  shot.  These  are  packed  for  shipment 
in  chests,  in  two  layers  of  20  each,  and  the  chests  weigh  about  140 
pounds. 
The  expediency  of  the  Government  production  and  supply  of 
Indian  opium  to  China  has  been  much  discussed  and  questioned, 
and  a  commission  has  been  taking  evidence  and  reported  on  it. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  the  moderate  use  of  opium  smoking  is  more 
injurious  to  the  system  than  other  narcotics  and  intoxicants,  and 
especially  when  the  habit  has  been  confirmed  and  is  almost  general 
in  China,  and  the  culture  of  the  poppy  is  allowed  and  fostered  in 
many  of  the  provinces  of  the  Empire. 
The  stimulant  effects  of  opium  are  most  apparent  from  small  doses, 
which  increase  the  energy  of  the  mind,  the  frequency  of  the  pulse, 
etc.  These  effects  are  succeeded  by  languor  and  lassitude.  In  exces- 
sive doses  it  proves  a  violent  and  fatal  poison. 
In  disease  it  is  chiefly  employed  to  mitigate  pain,  produce  sleep, 
and  to  check  diarrhoea  and  other  excessive  discharges.  It  is  also 
used  with  good  effect  in  intermittent  and  other  fevers.  Combined 
with  calomel,  it  is  employed  in  cases  of  inflammation  from  local 
causes,  such  as  wounds,  fractures,  etc.;  it  is  also  employed  in  small- 
pox, dysentery,  cholera,  and  many  other  complaints.  It  is  taken  in 
various  forms  in  different  countries. 
