OPIUM (Lat.. from (:k. 8110V, poppy-jtuee, from dr6s, epos. juice, sap). The dried juice of the unripe capsules of a species of poppy (q.v.), Paperer so»iniferum, sometimes called the eom mon poppy, and sometimes the white poppy, al though the latter name is really appropriate only to one of its varieties. The plant is probably a native of some of the warmer parts of Asia, al though it is now common in cultivated and waste grounds throughout all the south and middle of Europe, and is occasionally found in Great Brit ain and the United States. It is an annual, varying in height from one to six feet erect, branched, of a glaucous green color, with ovate oblong sessile leaves, the stem and leaves gen erally smooth, the branches terminated by large flowers on long stalks. the capsules globose or roundish-ovate and smooth. There are two prin cipal varieties cultivated for the opium which they yield, which have been regarded by some botanists as distinct species; the one (Paparcr sumnifcrum) having generally red or violet-col ored flowers, numerous flower-stalks rising to gether, globose capsules opening by a circle of pores under the persistent stigma, and black seeds; the other (Paparer ollicinule) having white flowers, solitary flower-stalks, the capsules somewhat ovate, the circle of pores almost want ing. the seeds white. The former variety is gen erally cultivated in the mountainous parts of the north of India, the latter in the plain of Bengal. The cultivation of the poppy for the sake of opium is carried on in many parts of India, al though the chief opium district is a large tract on the Gauges. Time poppy is also extensively cul tivated for opium in the Asiatic provinces of Turkey. in Egypt, and in Persia. It is a garden flower in the United States and Great Britain. but is not of commercial importance. The poppy requires for its profitable cultivation a rich soil, and in 17idin is generally sown in the neighbor hood of villages where manure can be easily ob tained. The soil ought to be fine and loose when the seed in sown. The subsequent cultivation consists in thinning and weeding. Irri gation is practiced. Mild moist weather. with night dews, is deemed most favorable during the time of the collection of the opium. Very dry
weather diminishes the juice, and much rain is injurious.
Opium, as a commercial article, is of great im portance, exceeding that of any other drug in use. The seed is sown in India in the beginning of November; it flowers in the end of January, or early in February, and three or four weeks later the capsules or poppy-heads are about the size of hens' eggs, and are ready for operating upon. When this is the case, the collectors take a little iron instrument, called the auslititr, and wound each full-grown poppy-head in the field. This is always done in the afternoon and early on the following morning the milky juice which has exuded is collected by scraping it off with a kind of scoop called a sittooha, and trans ferred to an earthen' vessel called a kurracc. It is then transferred to a shallow open brass dish, which is left for a time tilted on its side. so that any watery fluid may drain out this watery fluid is very detrimental to the opium unless re moved. It now• requires daily attention and has to lie turned frequently. so that the air may dry it equally, until it acquires a tolerable consist ency, which requires three or four• weeks; it is then packed in small earthen] jars and taken to the factories. The opium is then thrown into vast vats, which hold the accumulations of whole districts, and the mass being kneaded is again taken out and made into balls or cakes for the market.
The manufacture of opium is carried un to the greatest extent in India, hut large quantities are also made in Turkey, and this latter is considered the best in quality. It is also made in Persia and Egypt; oceasionally it has been produced in Germany, France, and England. Next to the Chinese the largest consumers of Indian opium are the Burmese and the natives of Malacca. use annually an amount of the value of nearly $5.000,00o.
In the United States and Europe opium is used chiefly for medicinal purposes, and large quanti ties of it undergo a still further stage of manu facture, ill order to separate from it the active principles morphine, codeine, etc.