Am.  Jour  Pharm. ) 
August,  1883.  i 
Cultivation  of  Poppy  in  Turkey. 
415 
sown  in  cold  clayey  soil  or  in  damp  localities  the  yield  will  be  small 
and  the  opium  of  an  inferior  quality. 
"  Ground  which  is  to  be  sown  with  poppy  seed,  of  whatever  kind  it  be 
(i.  e.,  the  seed),  should  be  well-manured,  sheep's  dung  being  of  course 
preferable.  Experience  has  proved  that  if  a  field  which  has  just 
yielded  a  crop  of  opium  be  immediately  sown  with  wheat,  the  crop 
resulting  from  this  last  sowing  will  be  remarkably  good. 
The  Method  to  he  adopted  in  Sowing  and  the  necessary  subsequent 
Treatment. — The  soil  of  a  field  which  is  to  be  sown  with  poppy  seed 
should  be  ploughed  two  or  three  times  and  well  turned  up.  The  seed 
should  then  be  scattered  about  with  the  hand,  just  as  flax  seed  is. 
After  this  the  soil  must  be  thoroughly  stirred  up  and  mixed  by  a  rake 
or  a  row  of  bushes  bound  to  the  back  of  a  harrow. 
If  100  drachms  {i.  e.,  Turkish  drachms)  of  poppy  seed  be  sown  on 
every  dunum  of  land,  or  on  such  an  extent  of  laud  as  will  take  a  kilo- 
gram of  wheat  seed,  it  is  sufficient.  As  soon  as  ever  the  young  poppy 
plants  begin  to  appear  above  the  surface  of  the  soil  and  to  bear  three  or 
four  leaves,  in  those  places  where  they  are  too  close  together  they  must 
be  taken  up  and  planted  again  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  a  space  of 
a  span  between  each  plant.  In  order  to  remove  any  weeds  that  may 
make  their  appearance  in  these  spaces  the  soil  must  be  hoed  once  or 
twice.  This  use  of  the  hoe  must  never  be  omitted,  for  if  there  be 
many  weeds  in  the  field  they  stunt  the  proper  and  healthy  growth  of 
the  plants,  and  cause  a  considerable  diminution  in  the  amount  of  the 
crop.  Moreover,  if  the  seeds  of  such  weeds  remain  in  the  soil  it 
becomes  subsequently  impossible  to  rid  the  field  altogether  of  them. 
"  The  course  of  treatment  to  he  observed  at  Harvest  Time. — Opium 
being  a  substance  which  is  extracted  from  the  pods  or  outer  shells 
described  above,  as  soon  as  these  pods  become  green  in  color  and  have 
reached  their  full  growth  the  green  hue  changes  to  yellow.  A  few 
days  before  this  change  of  color  takes  place  there  forms  over  the  pods 
a  very  thin  watery  film  of  a  light-green  hue,  though  somewhat  indis- 
tinct in  appearance.  This  film  is  called  '  cougak.'  If  it  be  wiped 
away  with  the  finger  its  place  remains  quite  visible.  If  at  about  this 
time  the  pod  be  squeezed  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger,  it  becomes 
so  far  strengthened  that  it  cannot  be  easily  crushed.  It  is  then  that 
the  juice  which  forms  the  opium  must  be  gathered. 
'^In  order  to  gather  the  juice  or  paste,  the  first  step  is  to  take  a  knife 
made  especially  for  this  purpose,  being  small  and  as  sharp-pointed  as 
