The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1891-11-28
rAE POPPY IN INplA
How u Is Cultivated and Prepared Ter the
Market.

How u Is Cultivated and prepared Ter the
| Market,
The quantity of land which each Kyot
sets apnrt for the poppy has been mnch
exaggerated. In one Of the most hn-
| portsnit districts of the Dohar agency
1t has not amounted TO hab an English
mere or about one native bigah per ma1
When the contract has been signed, the
Ryot gRts an immeditJte advance of four
rHpeess A second and similar advance
is'made' when the landiha been sown,
ard a third when the actual produce
can be roughly estimat5d. From Octo-
beito MDreh is the busy agricultural
time. The land once sown must be
carefully weeded and watercd. The
seedihas been scattered broadcast in
November The surface N then
smoothed,. not by hiHTowy rs we
might suppose, but by rough instru-
mentLcalled q chaul1i. 1t is really fat
plank, with q groove on the under side,
on which b6e agriculturist; stands to
| give Ii weight as it is dragged, 80 as to
break the clogs 1t is often drawn by
| pair of b,rIlOcks. When the. seed has
sunk into the earth and the esurfnce has
been snOothed, the plot is divided into
small compartments of aboutten square
| feet, with raised sides, for the purpose
of irrigation Il no rain falls in the
cold season. between December and
January; irrigation from wells must be
resorted to frequently 10 eopious
showers fail before or after Christmas,
two or 5itree waterings mag be suffi-
urail net hnt 1,s,
stantly stirred to prevent caleing. The
young plants must be thinned, and the
whole kept free from weeds The
poppy enjoys no immunity from agri-
cultural visftations and pests 1t is liza
BILE to injury from exceptional and un-
seasonabls heat, deficient moisture,
frost at might, blight, and, armies of
parasites, In February, asa rule, the
| plant is,in full flower, and has attained
the height of three or four feet Each
stem has, from two to five capsules of
the size of ducks egg. And now
comes the important operation of the
collection of the juice. Previous to the
piercing of the capsules for this object,
the petals of the flower which now
begin to fall off are carefully collected.
|
about ten to fourteen inches in diam
eterand put into shallow earthen ves-
sells, which are heated over slow fire
These cakes are eventually used as
shells or coverings for'the drug itself
They are divided into three classes
! The best sort is that which is free from
brown spots or marks of grubs; the
second and third are more or less
patehy and dark, but they form excelt
lent envelopes for the drug itself.
The collection of the juice to form
the drug is a very delicate and difficult
piece of work. On it may depend the
success or failure of the whole season.
By the end of january in some districts.
and at latest by the middle of February,
the Ryot finds that the capsules have
reached their highest development In
the afternoon he visits his poppy-feld,
and scarifes each capsule from top to
base with curious instrument which
is called a nushtur, and in some dis
tricts a naharni. Properly nushtur is
a lancet but it is something quite diff
ferent from the surgeons instrument
1t consists of four narrow bars of iron,
each of six inches in length, and about
the thickness of a penknife. Each bar
is notched at one end. The whole four
are kept together by strong cotton
thread, and they present the appear
ance of four pairs of curved pointed,
diverging blades, bearing n sort of re-
semblance to the blades of a cupper's
scarificator. Armed with this formida-
BILE weapon, the agriculturist proceeds
to make divers scarifcations of the
capsule from top to bottom, using
one blade at time; and this is followed
up in some instances by horizontal
cutting. The juice at once begins to ex-
ude; milky white at first, but after.
wards assuming pinkish tinge. The
eXudation continues during the night
If there is no wind and abundance o1
dew, the return is favorable. A west
erly wind and cloudy atmosphere di
minish the yield At an early hour the
next morning the Ryot again repairs tc
his field and collects the thickeneC
juice from the capsules by means of an
other instrument called siuuha 1t il
a sort of scraper made of sheet iron
and resembles u concave trowel. Th,
inspissated juice collected with thesC
Indigenous tools is now emptied into al
earthenware pot, and the Ryot is eX
pected to expose the same every day t.
the air, but not to the sun; to turn owe
the mass daily so as to insure its being
thoroughly dried; to keep it free iron
impurities or adulteration; and to brini
it up to the highest standard of consist
ence and strength. When he has perse
vered with this process for the space o
three weeks or a month, he delivers tn
raw opium at the factory. .-Saturda.
Review.
? A KNOWING NAG.