the Economic Products of India.
5
Medicinal Properties of Opium.
PAPAVER
somniferum.
must, therefore, be unimportant and included in the collective list of "Other
Seeds" which is supplementary to those separately dealt with.
TRADE.
OF THE INTERNAL TRADE BY LAND ROUTES -The North-West Pro-
vinces are shown to export the largest quantity. In 1888-89, these Provin-
ces consigned to Bombay port 4,98,223 maunds (say 355,873 cwt.), and to
Calcutta 2,10,328 maunds (150,234 cwt.). The internal trade returns for
1889-90 have not as yet been published, so that the imports into Bombay
port and Calcutta, given above, were not the sources from which the foreign
exports were drawn in 1889-9o. An inspection of the returns of foreign
trade for 1888-89 reveals the fact, however, that Bombay exported 428,794
cwt., so that by far the larger portion of the Bombay foreign exports in
poppy seed were in that year drawn from the North-West Provinces; only
a small amount, if any, of the Malwa poppy seed was exported. Rájputana.
and Central India are, however, shown to have exported a considerable
amount of poppy seed to Bombay port. In 1888-89 these exports amount-
ed to 83,083 maunds. Here, again, then the nature of the poppy seed
exported from Bombay is of some interest, in connection with the discus-
sion which will be found below, as to the Malwa poppy being possibly
the dark-seeded plant, Papaver somniferum, var. glabrum. But the writer
can find no direct evidence on this point, and only offers the suggestion as
worthy of consideration. That the poppy seed exported from India is
Internal.
mainly, if not exclusively, drawn from the Patna and Benares Agencies
there would seem to be no doubt. Bengal, however, figures second on
the list of internal trade in poppy seed. The Province consigned its
supplies (available for export) almost exclusively to Calcutta.
Exports of
s e e d a r e d r a w n f r o m
Behar &amp;
Benares.
P O P P Y O I L . — T h e r e w o u l d a p p e a r t o b e l i t t l e o r n oe
x p o r t i n t h i s s u b -
stance from India. The oil obtained from the Bengal seed seems to be of
superior quality to that from the Malwa plant, since the former is more
generally eaten than the latter, Malwa poppy oil is, on the other hand,
apparently more largely used for illumination purposes than the Bengal.
In the article on Oils (in this work) it will be found, however, that poppy
oil is recorded under the sections of oils suitable for candles, soap, illu-
mination, food, and medicine. In Europe it appears to be largely employed
in adulteration of olive oil and as a substitute for linseed and other oils in
the preparation of paint, especially artists' colours.
POPPY OIL.
Medicine.—Opium is so well known to the medical profession that it
would be quite beside the character of this work to deal with its therapeu-
tic properties. As stated in the special chapter under OPIUM below, the
medicinal drug of Europe is mainly derived from Asia Minor and is the
produce of P. somniferum var. glabrum. Egyptian opium, though now-a-
days little used, is still met with in Europe. In India a specially prepared
article is issued from the Government Agencies to the medical department,
and this takes the place, in this country, of the European form of the
drug. The alkaloids are also specially prepared and issued from the
Government factories, so that, as far as the supply of this drug or its alka-
loids are concerned, India is quite independent of Asia Minor.
In the words of the Pharmacopæia of India it may be said that
opium, in its primary effects medicinally, is stimulant, and its secondary
action narcotic, anodyne, and antispasmodic. "It operates chiefly on
the cerebro-spinal system, and, through the nerves arising therefrom,
it affects more or less every organ of the body. It tends to diminish
every secretion excepting that of the skin, which increases under its use.
In overdoses it is a powerful poison." "In inflammation, especially of
serous membranes, it has been employed extensively, either alone, or in
combination with calomel, antimony, and other remedies. A s a g e n e r a l
rule it is less applicable to inflammatory and other diseases, in which
MEDICINE.