Dr, Edking understand-s the poppy mentioned in ently Chinese records to be the opium poppy ud not the field variety. He ndduces three reasons for his belief. His fieat reason is that the old poppy of ang and Sung dynasties cannot be the corn poppy because it was always used medicinally." The writer shall supply his "Tt is really to the T'ang and early Sung own refutation. Ten lines above he tells dynasties that the Chinese author refers us quoting from a French work on Na-when ho says that in ancient times phy: tural History "that the flowers of the cians used the seeds only and not the papaver rhoeos are soothing and dia-capsules." Hero I must still differ from phonetic in a slight degree and have a out learned sinologue. I have given bitter and mucilaginous flavour." This stances of the uso of the capsules in the incongruity and illogical reasoning must Sung from the author of the Ming Herbal have been detected at onca by every himself; in what sense then could he re He then proceeds to prove his speak of ancient times when the capsules point in his own way by references to the were not used? Certainly not in the Sunj Great Herbal. One recipe is referred to period, for this is palpably impossible; an where the seeds of the- white poppy are assuredly not in the long. 'To us even especially to be used and he asks with an now and still more to the Chinese, "one air of triumph 'How could this be the cient times" must refer to periods' before corn poppy? Doubtless it was the the T'ang and Sung. After some further somuiferum." Why? Has the corn poppy extraneous matter we come to the second no white seeds? Or is it because the corn argument derived from colour. The writer poppy in England is scarlet and the opium thus puts it. Another reason is that in poppy is white, and according to the writer, the early accounts the colours men the only variety used medicinally If the are too varied for the scarlet rho author had logically placed his colour ar-old before thie manipulation giment first which comes second, he would gardeners evoked from it an astonishing, have been prevented from falling into variety of lovely hues." This beautiful such an obvious blunder. The ese sentence alone should have staggered the very whimsical in their prescriptions, writer and suggested to him the necessity and this, of proscribing the white poppy of pulling up and reviewing his position, in white dysentery and the red in fluxes Wore there no gardeners in those days to of that colour, is a case in'point. dress and till the fields Is it not experi puerile and homeopathic principl told us that Ssu-che ordered his gardener through all their medical system. to plant the beautiful poppy, and have the idea of the exclu in Chinese from the earliest times not bestow-the opium poppy has Jed the wri ed groat pains upon their flowers, pro astray. Ssu Sung and Kan-tsan; their poet, quoted fom the Herbal for the medicinal ive dynasties sung their use of the (opium) poppy; but we in the West applied the corn variety to precisely exquisite verses on the unparalleled beauty such a list of poots and
the same use as the Chinese. Its seeds of the poppy in all its varied colours. But were used by the Greeks, who considered here again bane and antidote stand in them Inxative precisely as in the beginning juxtaposition, Dr, Edkins supplies his of the 12th century by the Chinese. Tsung own refutation. Ewenty lines higher up Shih says the seeds are of a cold nature ho says quoting from the same French and if feeely partaken of produce catharsi work as an ornament of garde The writer will derive no satisfaction several varieties of papaver rliooa: therefore from this line of argument. Ssu brilliancy and beauty the papaver somui Sung tells us that the flowers are red or forum. Among the colon white and that nearly every person rears and brown red (violet?) They are some-them in his garden on account of their ex-times variegated on one plant at other ne beauty, The exigencies of the times surrounded by a and writer's position however compel him to they have an almost i ity of put a construction upon Su's statements modifications. 'This is the present state which is forced, viz: "that the red and of things after the gardeners have done white poppy in' the typical opium poppy their best to change them." Why could in drug Europe and in these anmo changes not have taken place li of the Tang forum, although occurring being the latter," now and donbtl gli to be made hero wh Dr. Edking, forgot would have disappeared had the colour ting what ho bad just write com: argument been first disposed of. All that pare this account' of the varieties, white, this old author saya is that the flowers are rod, purple, pink etc., as mentioned by red or w We are told that the seeds LiShe-chen, with our English corn poppy. (of what presumably of the opium poppy) Can it be the same? Certainly not the are reesmmended medicinally in the Her-corn poppy only." The argument here bal of A.D. 960 and that the ceeds of the obviously is—the English corn poppy is opin poppy are edible, reference being always scarlet, therefore this variegated made to their use ically in Francs species must be the opium poppy. Ile and Poland and it is immediately added forgets that he has just told us, that under "This argoment of Dr. Dwigeon therefore the hands of the gardeners it undergoes also falls through." What ment i modification {fail to ace the logical connexion between This brings us to the third and Inst rheae tivo statements. Doesit refer to the reason, which is perhaps the most curious medicinal or non-medicinal use of the field of alli We quote his own words, "A. poppy or to the edibleness or non-edible-third reason is that what the Mohammeness of the seeds of the opium poppy? I dans cared for as merchants was gain and have made no statements or arguments that the opium poppy war not only a beau-ither way on this subject. tifal object for gardens but valuable me-Mixed up between the first and second tically, 20 that they would be more likely arguments are one or two digress to convey it to China," All the informa-out of pla tion vouchsafed under this head is the which Iam quote as throwing mistaken for a period before th third reason! Dr. Kdkins had asserted that "But who introduc-d the poppy and mi the capsules first came into medical use in recipes? I answer the Mohamum: the Ming and guoted the Herbal of A.D. probably taught the Chinese all. 960 to prove his position, the capsules not First, the use of the seeds; then in the being there mentioned. in reply 1 quoted 13th from the Ming Herbal that the caps: lastly were used as n mi but that the Eh art of slit nese Herbals had hitherto net lo men-one is sadly.
of then an sure that in ancient disappointed with the wowkness and abes they were not used," and quoted sauce of pusitiveness in the answer. Of from the anid Herbal at least two authors the Usrwo things acquired from the Ma-of the Sung dynasty who use" the capralon hommedans, the third is certainly there medicinally. Dr, Edkiue's reply to this is the other two cannot I fear be proved,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.