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ventured to express the opinion that this ought not to be considered as waste.
It is a matter which affects the cultivator in his relations with the dealer, and, as
has been shown, the quantity rejected by the dealer when he purchases the crop
and manufactures it is always greater than the quantity rejected by the cultiva-
tor when he manufactures the article. Whether there is in this a hardship to the
cultivator will depend on whether the dealer purchases the crop outright as it
stands in the field, or pays for it by the outturn of the manufactured article. As
to this the cultivator may be left to take care of himself. These remarks apply
only to 'round ' gánjá, with respect to which these various modes of dealing pre-
vail. But it is worth noting, as bearing out the opinion that there is no real
waste in the matter, that from 'round' gánjá which, from its mode of manufac-
ture, is at all stages more carefully inspected than 'flat,' the cultivators them-
selves reject twigs more freely than from the other, simply because they are with
it better able to see the poor ones as the process of manufacture goes on. There
is doubtless a small loss in duty to Government when careful selection is made
by the cultivators, as less inert matter is then brought up for weighment. But
this loss is trifling compared with what accrues from the duty not being assess-
ed on the scale of the natural relationship of the various forms of gánjá export-
ed. A similar cause of 'waste' is due to the occasional manufacture of gánjá
from immature hemp ; this too must, I think, be left entirely to be regulated by
the trade.
Chúr has also sometimes been looked upon as a waste product. I have
endeavoured to show that this view is not only without foundation, but is com-
pletely opposed to the true facts of the case. I believe that it has been demon-
strated that chúr . is the most valuable to the dealer of all the substances exported,
both in itself and because of the facilities which taking the gánjá in this form
give him for decreasing the amount of duty he has to pay. And I have attempt-
ed to demonstrate how serious in this case has been the loss to Government owing
to deviation from the natural scale of which I have spoken.
The only serious waste—and it is a serious one—is the loss of the 'active
resin' that results, and must always result, from the present system of manufac-
ture owing to collection of resin on the feet and hands of the gánjá-makers.
Whether, if the system now in force should continue, it would. be possible to
collect and export this 'resin' as a form of charas it is difficult to say. The loss is
considerable, and I have given my reasons for believing that it amounts to at
least 10 per cent. of the whole resin in the drug. Unless, however, a demand for
the article were to spring up, I think it would be better to continue the present
practice of not recognising it as a product of gánjá. This, however, is a point
on which the opinion of the officers of the Gánjá Department must of necessity
be much more valuable than mine.
The loss from this cause would be much diminished if a somewhat
different system of maufacture could be adopted. The objects aimed at by the
manufacturer are to get rid of the leaves and also to get the resin-bearing parts
of the flower-tops to adhere. To attain these he has to cut the plant as soon as
it has become sufficiently mature ; if he waits longer the resin-bearing parts are
brittle and the flower-tops fall to pieces before they can become agglutinated.
If, however, the gánjá plant be left in the field a little longer, the leaves are more
easily removed, and if, instead of being kneaded together by the feet, the flower-
tops are subjected to steady mechanical pressure, their parts do not fall away,
but agglutinate into a homogeneous mass. This or some similar modification of
the present mode of manufacture would probably be found advisable in the
event of Government growing its own hemp as a source of medicine.
2. I was directed to ascertain by experiment how the active principle of the drug
can best be obtained; whether, in order to do this, it would be necessary to keep
the flowers with the leaves and stock, or whether the flowers could be separated
at once and preserved apart either in scaled tins or otherwise ; and if so, what
reduction in bulk would result therefrom.
From the experiments undertaken by me it appears to be quite unnecessary
to keep the flowering-tops with the stock. The stock is inert, as is shown by
its never being retained at all 'round' gánjá, and by a considerable quantity
of 'flat'g á n j á
, i n w h i c h t h e s t o c k i s l e f t , b e i n g a n u a l ly
c o n v e r t e d
i n t o ' t
w i g . '
F 2