the quantity of opium
did not increase, the revenue did; and whilst in 1840-41 16,773 chests
yielded an income of only 22,046,452 rupees--16,500 chests brought in
1849-50 actually 72,094,835 rupees into the coffers of the Government
of Bombay. But the people of India earned not a pice by it, and those
richest descriptions of land, which it was so desirable to reserve for
other produce than the poppy, remained barren.

The white variety of the poppy is that which is exclusively brought
under cultivation for the production of the drug in India and Egypt.
For the successful culture of opium a mild climate, plentiful
irrigation, a rich soil, and diligent husbandry are indispensable. One
acre of well cultivated ground will yield from 70 lbs. to 100 lbs. of
"chick," or inspissated juice, the price of which varies from 6s. to
12s. a pound, so that an acre will yield from L20 to L60 worth of
opium at one crop. Three pounds of chick will produce one pound of
opium, from a third to a fifth of the weight being lost in
evaporation. A chief chemical feature, which distinguishes Bengal
opium from that of Turkey and Egypt, is the large proportion which the
narcotine in the former bears to the morphia, and this proportion is
constant in all seasons. It is a matter of importance to ascertain
whether the treatment which the juice receives after its collection
can influence in any way the amount of alkaloids, or of the other
principles in opium. In Turkey it is the custom to beat up the juice
with saliva, in Malwa it is immersed as collected in linseed oil,
whilst in Bengal it is brought to the required consistence by mere
exposure to the air in the shade, though, at the same time, all the
watery particles of the juice that will separate are drained off, and
used in making _Lewah_, or inferior opium.

The lands selected for poppy cultivation are generally situated in the
vicinity of villages, where the facilities for manuring and irrigation
are greatest. In such situations and when the soil is rich, it is
frequently the practice with the cultivators to take a crop of Indian
corn, maize, or vegetables off the ground during the rainy season, and
after the removal of this in September, to dress and manure the ground
for the subsequent poppy sowings. In other situations, however, and
when the soil is not rich, the poppy crop is the only one taken off
the ground during the year, and from the commencement of the rains in
June or July, until