in the materia medica, is an infusculated juice, partly of the resinous and partly of the gummy kind, brought to us in cakes from eight ounces to a pound weight. It is very heavy, of a dense texture, and not perfectly dry; but, in general, easily receives an impression from the finger: its colour is a brownish yellow, so very dark and dusky that at first it appears black: it has a dead and faint smell, and its taste is very bitter and acrid. It is to be chosen moderately firm, and not too soft; its smell and taste should be very strong, and care is to be taken that there be no dirty or stony matter in it.

Opium is the juice of the papaver album, or white poppy, with which the fields of Asia Minor are in many places sown, as ours are with corn. When the heads are near ripening, they wound them with an instrument that has five edges, which on being stuck into the head makes at once five long cuts in it; and from these wounds the opium flows, and is next day taken off by a person who goes round the field, and put up in a vessel which he carries fastened to his girdle; at the same time that this opium is collected, the opposite side of the poppy-head is wounded, and the opium collected from it the next day. They distinguish, however, the produce of the first wounds from that of the succeeding ones; for the first juice afforded by the plant is greatly superior to what is obtained afterwards. After they have collected the opium, they moisten it with a small quantity of water or honey, and work it a long time upon a flat, hard, and smooth board, with a thick and strong instrument of the same wood, till it becomes of the consistence of pitch; and then work it up with their hands, and form it into cakes or rolls for sale.

Opium at present is in great esteem, and is one of the most valuable of all the simple medicines. Applied externally, it is emollient, relaxing, and diffusive, and greatly promotes suppuration: if long kept upon the skin, it takes off the hair, and always occasions an itching in it; sometimes is exulcerates it, and raises little blisters, if applied to a tender part. Sometimes, on external application, it allays pain, and even occasions sleep: but it must by no means be applied to the head, especially to the futures of the skull; for it has been known to have the most terrible effects in this application, and even to bring on death itself. Opium, taken internally, removes melancholy, eases pain, and disposes to sleep; in many cases removes hemorrhages, and provokes sweating. A moderate dose is commonly under a grain; though, according to the circumstances, two grains, or even three, may be within the limits of this denomination: but custom will make people bear a dram or more; though in this case nature is vitiated, and nothing is to be hence judged in regard to others. If given dissolved, it operates in half an hour; if in a solid form, as in pills, or the like, it is sometimes an hour and a half. Its first effect, in this case, is the making the patient cheerful, as if he had drank moderately of wine, and at the same time bold and above the fear of danger; for which reason the Turks always take it when they are going to battle. A very immoderate dose brings on a sort of drunkenness, much like that occasioned by an immoderate quantity of strong liquors; cheerfulness and loud laughter at first, than a relaxation of the limbs, a loss of memory, and lightheadedness; then vertigoes, dimness of the eyes, with a laxity of the cornea and a dilatation of the pupils, a flowness of the pulse, redness of face, relaxation of the under-jaws, swelling of the lips, difficulty of breathing, painful erection of the penis, convulsions, cold sweat, and finally death. Those who escape are usually relieved by a great number of stools, or profuse sweats.