THE WHITE POPPY.

1273

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Pos(.(j ra 5 lls > tells us that Diagoras (who was contemporary, it is sup-beii ev ’", Hippocrates ) condemned the use of opium. These are, Iand if 6 -’ . e 1110s t ancient Greek authorities who speak of this substance;Uiejj. 18 lln Possible, I think, to arrive at any accurate conclusion fromthcjj , reitlar bs, whether opium had or had not been known long beforejittl,. J 1116 ’ though Alston (j Led. on the Mat. Med. ii. 456) infers, from theitig j ts ' Se uiade of it by Hippocrates , as well as from Diagoras condcmn-( ' lse in diseases of the eyes, that its virtues were not knownC(l. y e t°re him. Dioscorides and Pliny (Hist. Nat. lib. xx. cap. 76,kr tl)e |h') mention that the expressed juice of the heads and leaves isMeconium, and that it is much weaker than opium. Theodorethat if Jr ’ Sprengel (Hist. Rei Herb. i. 25), and others, have supposed^ >u, 3ie n, 'P ent Ms faerOtc) of Homer (Od. iv. 220) was opium. Dr.

P- 334), however, has suggested that the substance re-(se e h* hy Homer may have been a preparation of Cannabis sativatun J^' v^h), the remarkable effects of which have been recently pointedC llta hh'- O’Shaughnessy (On the Prepar. of the Indian Hemp , Cal-

%■ y e .' v °rd opium is derived from oms, the juice, and signifies that it is^krl h ar excellence ;—just as the flower of the rosemary has been

k

<a r /f an thos, or the flower (see p. 831),—and the cortex cinchona;,— the

&/ 0T ^ Y ' Gen. Char. —See Papaver Rhceas.

—Capsules obovate or globose, and, as well as the calyxes,'Itr,., ' Stem smooth, glaucous.a e ’ s °mewhat obtuse (D. C.)

Leaves amplexicaul, cut-repand,

% , ann ual herb. Root white, tapering. Stem two to six feet high,''blfj ’ ran ched, leafy, glaucous green. Leaves alternate, sessile, ovate-h«tif S glaucous beneath. Peduncles terminal, leafless, with bristlye( libl e ^ ee ^ s numerous, small, roundish or reniform, oily, sweet, and

.Th.

er e

'tict

arfi two well-marked varieties, which by some botanists are considered to be«. fti s Pecres:_

t' Somn 'k , ni , n, Gmelin .—Capsules globose, opening by foramina under

\ lh - Seeds black. Peduncles many. Flowers usually violet or red, of different$ alb U '’ 1 some times white.

tyiiiu J*!?' 3'. officinale, Gmelin .—Capsules ovate-globose ; foramina under the

1 her none or obliterated. Peduncles solitary. Seeds and petals white.

s ’ a an< ^ Egypt . Grows apparently wild in some parts ofr b)si ;ili u,^but has probably escaped from gardens. Cultivated in Hin-

,i 1)o ''> Persia, Asia Minor, and Egypt , on account of the opium ob-Maij 1 fl0m it- According to Dr. Royle, var. ft. album is cultivated in theN't!* ^ ^ndia ; and var. a. nigrum in the Himalayas. In Europe the'jjp,‘3’ cultivated for the capsules, either as medicinal agents or for theitig P°PPy oil ) obtained from the seeds, and which is employed in paint-the ^ . i' e London market is principally supplied with poppy heads fromJv^ghbourhood of Mitcham, in Surrey.fj Vn/ SCKlPTlON . i- Poppy Heads. — Poppy heads ( Capsula seuthe 1 ° ^ a Paveris ) are usually collected when quite ripe, as ordered byhie,]- and Dublin Colleges, but they would be more active as

agents if they were gathered while still green; and the Edin-Lollege very properly direct the immature capsule to be employed.