In the south of France, the caper bush is as common as the bramble is with us. It grows wild upon the walls of Rome, Sienna, and Florence; and when trained against a wall, it flourishes even in the neighbourhood of Paris: notwithstanding which it is almost unknown in English gardens, where it cannot be made to flower without the aid of artificial heat. This shrub is cultivated on a large scale, between Marseilles and Toulon, and in many parts of Italy.
In the early part of the summer it begins to flower, and the flowers continue successively to appear till the commencement of winter. The buds are picked, every morning, before the petals are expanded: and, as they are gathered, they are put into vinegar and salt. When a sufficient quantity is collected, they are distributed, according to their size, into different vessels, again put into vinegar, and then packed up for sale and exportation. This pickle is much used in sauce for boiled mutton. To persons unaccustomed to it, the taste of capers is unpleasant; but, after a little while, the palate becomes reconciled to it.
The bark of the root cut into slices, and dried in small rolls or quills like cinnamon, is sometimes used in medicine in cases of obstruction of the liver.
The flower-buds of the marsh marygold (Caltha palustris), and of nasturtiums, are frequently pickled and eaten as a substitute for capers.
171. The WHITE POPPY (Papaver somniferum) is a naturalized English plant, with smooth calyx and seed-vessels, and with leaves embracing the stem, which grows wild in neglected gardens, and some corn-fields, and to which we are indebted for two important medicines, opium and laudanum.
Although the white poppy has long been naturalized in this country, it is supposed that we were originally indebted for it to some of the northern parts of Asia. Throughout nearly the whole of that quarter of the world it is cultivated with great attention, on account of the opium which is obtained from it. Opium is the dried juice of the seed-vessels, and is thus procured:—After the petals have fallen off, and the seed-vessels are about half grown, the latter are wounded on one side, with an instrument having four or five teeth, the gashes being made about an inch in length. A glutinous, milky fluid exudes from the wounds: this is carefully scraped off, on the ensuing day, by a person who, in similar manner, wounds the opposite side of the head; the juice issuing from which is afterwards similarly collected. The whole is then put into earthen vessels, where it is worked by the hand, in the open sunshine, until it attains sufficient consistence to be formed into balls, cakes, or loaves; after which it is covered over with poppy or tobacco leaves, and further dried, till it is in a proper state for exportation.
Opium is of reddish brown colour, inclining to black; and has a strong and very peculiar smell. It is adulterated in various ways; by an extract of the plant, obtained by boiling; by a powder of the dried leaves and stalks, mixed with some kind of gum; by rice flour, and by other substances not quite so agreeable as these.
The cultivation of opium is so extensively pursued in the East Indies that nearly 600,000 pounds' weight of it are annually exported from the Ganges. But there is no necessity for us to import, at a great expense from abroad, that which might be advantageously prepared in our own country. It is true that the seed-vessels of the white poppy do not attain so large size in this as in warmer climates; but the opium procured from it is of sufficiently excellent quality. From the seed-vessels of a single plant more than forty grains of this drug have been obtained; and, under very disadvantageous circumstances of weather, upwards of twenty-one pounds' weight have been procured from plants grown upon five acres of land. It has been calculated that, in favourable seasons, the produce of a single acre ought to be near fifty pounds. It is recommended that the seed be sown in autumn rather than in spring. When the seed-vessels have attained a sufficient state of maturity, they may be wounded, and the opium may be collected by children from eight to twelve years of age. The only proper time for collecting it is in the morning, and seven children and two men have been able to collect 1½ pound in one morning, betwixt five and nine o'clock. The best mode of reducing the opium to a proper consistence appears to be to spread it thinly in shallow dishes, and expose it, under glasses, to the rays of the sun.
We possess few medicines so valuable as this. It is used as a powerful antidote, but chiefly as a remedy for procuring sleep and mitigating pain, which it does in a very remarkable manner. In the latter respects, however, it is too often abused; and, if taken in large doses, it proves a deadly poison. But so much are the effects of opium diminished by the habit of taking it, that, although four grains have, in some instances, proved fatal to grown persons, fifty times that quantity have been taken daily by others. The bad effects of too great a dose are best counteracted by making the patient drink freely of acids and coffee, and not permitting him to yield to the desire of sleeping, with which he is oppressed. The habitual use of opium, which is much indulged in by the Asiatics, is attended with the same bad effects as the habit of drinking ardent spirits: it brings on tremors, palsy, stupidity, and general emaciation; and, when once acquired, it can scarcely ever be relinquished.
Possessing the above properties, it is remarkable that opium, combined in a certain proportion with vegetable acids, instead of inducing, will prevent sleep. In consequence of which it has often, though injuriously, been used by persons who are obliged to devote their nights to sedentary or active pursuits. It is likewise deserving of remark, that the seeds of the poppy have none of the narcotic qualities of the opium. They are mild, sweet, and nutritive; and yield, by pressure, an oil little inferior to that of almonds. So numerous are these seeds that more than 30,000 have been counted from a single seed-vessel.