The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1882-07-06
How Poppies Grow.

Ihe opium poppy requires sandy
loan, which should be prepared for it a
year beforehand. The ground must be
| abundantly MANFRED, plowed, and cross
plowed, the second time not so deeply as
the first, for it is in the burrows that the
seed is sown. About four pounds Of seed
is enough for an acre, and in order to
facilitate the even distribution of the
seed it is mixed before sowing with four
times its bulk of sand or fine earth. The
seed is covered lightly by brush harrow
ing with small tree drawn over the
field by oxen. The end of October and
the beginning of November are especially
favorable for sowing, when fine weather
coming after the first rains, has made
the ground more manageable. The
sprouts appear in fifteen days; but if
slight frosts should happen, the seed is
often killed, and the land has to be re-
plowed and resown at the end of No
vember. During winter the roots grow
fast and strong, holding out against
frost even when the leaves are bitten
As soon as spring declares itself the
plants shoot up quickly, and are then
thinned and weeded, sometimes twice.
Each plant makes from three to four
stalks, three or four feet high. which
bear their flowers at the beginning of
May. A fortnight after the flowers fall,
the poppy heads are fully developed,
and their fitness is tested by the eye and
by light pressure with the fingers.
1t is very important to decide the
exact time of maturity. The too ripe
poppy head "gives'' to pressure; but
when fully grown and still green, it re-
sists. Then is the time to extract the
opium, and the cultivators at once go to
work rapidly, about ten persons being
employed on every acre; for if the heads
were allowed to become dry, the juice
would disappear. The seed pod being
seized with the thumb and forefinger a
one hand, a slight incision is dexterouslv
made all round the middle of the pod
with small scythe-like knife held in the
other. The cut must not enter the seed
cavity; if it did, the juice would flow in
side, and be lost. The moment the in
cision is made, the white Juice begins to
escape all round, and is left to dry and
thicken in the heat of the day for six or
eight hours, when it becomes yellow,
demonstrating substance, which later
turns to darker hue. Its then scraped
off with the knife, and squeezed into
Jumps as the gatherer proceeds. These
Jumps, which are each generally less
than two pounds in weight, are rolled
up in poppy leaves, and left for some
days further to dry in the sun. While
still soft, they are packed into small
baskets lined with cotton cloth, the balls
being powdered with sorrel seed to pre-
vent them from sticking together.
The peoples which produce the best
opium are the white and the yellow.
These grow luxuriantly, give an abund-
ant juice, and can be insured by en-
ploying white or yellow seed, while the
gray or black seeds give blue or dark
red bloom, with smaller seed pods and
darker opium. But there are many va
rieties of these handsome flowers, and,
entirely apart from the "opium ques-
ton" the Haunting colors of few poppy
beds add much to the brief gayety of an
Eastern garden. -Harper's Weekly.