The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-10-13
POPPY CULTURE IN CANADA.
Commercial Possibilities Result in Grow
ing Large Crops.


Canadian poppy farms have increased
to a considerable degree, for the poppy
seeds have become very valuable com
nereially. Those who have Travelled
through the Canadian Rockies and So
| journed at Lake Louise will remember
| With interest the vivid splashes of red
yellow. purple and orange-the multi
colored beds of Iceland poppies-that
decorate the charming grounds of the
| Chateau. Seen against the azure
| waters of Canada's most picturesque
| lake with the Snow-crowned glaciers OF
Mounts Victoria and LEROY beyond and
| set in emerald velvet lawns, sloping
gently to tie shore. the effect to the eyes
of the visitor is striking indeed
There are many varieties of poppy,
| both annual and perennial, all beauti-
| full in garden decoration, many valuable
for commercial purposes, says bulle-
i tin of the Canadian Pacific railway.
| From the crushed seeds of the COM
mercial species, first and second grade
oils for the manufacture of soap, var
nish, etc, are produced. For CONNER
| cial purposes, the garden or opium
poppy is cultivated on many prairie
| farms in Central Alberta and Saskatche-
wan. The Western Canadian Slavic or
| Ruthenian settlements in Alberta, in
particular, include the cultivation of the
poppy as part of their crop, sometimes
| to the extent of an acre per farm. In
order to extract the oil, which they
utilize for cooking purposes and for con
| fections, they employ special hand
made tool. which they originally brought
| from Europe for the purpose. With this
| oil, their menu includes cakes, pies, can
dies and sandwiches.
| Bun dough is used when cake or pie
| is required. The crushed seed is mixed
with honey and the raw dough left to
/ stand for half an hour; then, in mod
crate oven. the mixture is left to bake
/ until the top becomes brown.
ITO make candy the crushed seed Is
mixed with honey and nuts, and boiled :
| it is then spread on a clean, wet board,
| pressed to the required thinneSS. cooled
and cut into squares. The white-seeded
| or black-seeded varieties are used Tor
| oil pressing, but when the production
| of oil is the principal object of culture.
| the black seed is usually preferred. The
quantities of oil yielded by both varieties
and the proportion they contain tfrOm
| 80 to 60 per cent? are the same. BY
| cold pressing, seeds of fine quality yield
| from 30 to 40 per cent of virgin or
white OIL a transparent liquid fluid with
| a slight yellowish tinge, pleasant to the
taste and with no pereeptible odor.
| On Il second pressure with the aid of
! heat. an additional 20 to - per cent
! of inferior oil is obtainable. reddish in
| color but possessed of biting taste and
| Il HnSeed-like smell. The oil belongs to
| the Iineoleic or drying series. having as
| its principal constituent linolein, and
contains greater drying power than raw
| linseed oil.
Poppy oil is valuable and much
used medium for artistic oil painting.
The finer qualities are used in the north
/ of France and Germany as a salad oil
and for adulterating olive oil; inferior
qualities are employed in soap and var
nish manufacture, for lamps and in ole
ginOus cakes as food for the poor