CH. VI.] REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. 87
drug is the superior product, and contains much less useless matter than the flat.
But it is plain that in both cases the process of manufacture in Bengal is technical
and elaborate, and this is the point which it is desired to bring into strong relief.
It may be noted that occasionally, when the weather is unfavourable, the drying is
effected by fire, with the result that the ganja is discolored and reduced in market
value.
The effect of the manufacturing
processes.
224. Dr. Prain describes the purposes which are served by the above pro-
cesses: "The drying process (a) removes the watery
juices of the plants, and thus not only reduces its
weight as an excisable article, but removes to a considerable extent the risk of
mould; (b) causes the comparatively inert small leaves to shrivel, and so makes
their removal more easy. The kneading process (a) removes more or less com-
pletely the comparatively inert leaves, still further reducing the weight. The article
produced, being for its bulk more active in proportion to the absence of leaves,
the more thoroughly they are removed, the better a sale does it command; (b)
it presses together the resinous parts on which the active principle is most plenti-
fully deposited. These being rendered somewhat sticky by the presence of the
resin become more or less agglutinated, and are thus less liable to fall off in transit,
and so reduce the active power of the ganja." And he discusses these principles
with some care. The Commission would have been inclined to attribute a great
part of the importance of the kneading process to its effect in shutting out the
access of air to the interior of the ganja masses, and so tending to delay their
deterioration.
Disposal of stick, leaf, seeds, and
fragments.
225. It has been seen that a great quantity of stick, leaf, and seed, and not
a little flower head, have been separated from the
bundles of prepared ganja. The stick may be used
as fuel. The leaf is winnowed from the seed and thrown away, though it has been
proved by analysis to contain the narcotic principle in larger quantity than ordinary
bhang. But it cannot be ascertained that it is used as bhang. The seeds are
kept for the next year's culture, and the superfluity may find its way into the
market. The seeds are not narcotic, and they are sometimes eaten, besides
being used for the expression of oil and other purposes. The bits of flower head
are, in the case of flat ganja, picked up and pressed into the mass of the flower
heads again or burnt. The latter will probably depend on the vigilance of the
Government supervisors. In the case of round ganja, they form the "chur" or
"fragments" on which the excise tariff imposes the highest duty, because in that
state the drug is absolutely free of leaf and stick.
Preparation of bhang.
226. Bhang as recognized by the Excise Department is the dried leaf of the
wild plant. The drug that enters the Bengal golas is
collected chiefly in the districts of Bhagalpur, Mon-
ghyr, and Purnea. But the bhang of Patna, Benares, and Behar is also spoken
of as being of high quality. The preparation consists simply in drying the leaves.
The plants are cut in April, the Chaitra Sankranti being considered an auspicious
as well as a seasonable day, but the gathering goes on up to June and
July. They are laid out in the sun, and one day may be sufficient to dry them
so as to allow the leaves to be shaken or beaten off. The leaves are collected
with precautions against the mixture of dust or dirt, packed in bags, and so con-
veyed to the local gola, and eventually to the shops. The early flowering stage
would seem to be that in which the plant yields the best bhang.