An EXPLANATION of the FIFTEENTH PLATE
Poppy-Seeds
THE Seeds of Poppy,
when viewed by the Microscope, appear in Form very like
a Kidney, with a pretty Kind of Net-work on them, rising in orderly Ridges a-
bove the Surface, and making hexagonal and pentagonal little Hollows, with Sides and
Angles that are nearly regular.
They differ in Colour according to the Poppy producing them ; some Sorts are white,
others of a dark-brownish red ; and the Seeds of a soreign Poppy commonly given to
Birds by the Name of Maw-Seed, are very remarkable for being of a lightish-bl?,
which is a Colour?ound, perhaps, in no other Seeds.
“A Dust may be shaken from amongst the Seeds of Poppies, which looks very
" agreeable when brought before the Microscope, having almost the same Appearances as
" the Surfaces of the Seeds, with the Advantage of being transparent
|
Microscope made casy, p. 254. |
. This Dust is
" really the fine Membranes that lay between the Seeds ; which, by the Pressure of the
" Seeds against them, have received Marks corresponding to the Ridges and Hollows on
" the Seeds themselves.”
The Poppy-Heads, wherein the Seeds grow, are also well deserving our Observation,
being round and regularly formed Bodies, with a most beautiful Crown on the Top of
each, under the indented Projections whereof there are several Openings, when the Seeds
become ripe, out of which they are scattered round about, as often as these Seed-Vessels
are shaken by the Winds, or any other Accident.
The Seeds are disposed in many little Cells, divided each from other by fine Mem-
branes, which reach, in an upright Position, from the Bottom of the Head to the Crown
at its Top, all meeting at the Center : By which means every Cell is shaped like the Clove
of a China-Orange, having at the Upper-End an Opening for the Seeds to scatter out at.
We should not shew a proper Regard for the Poppy, or pay a due Acknowledgment
to the All-wise Dispenser of every Good, should we pass it over without taking notice of
its singular Virtues. For this only, amongst all the Productions of Nature, is capable of
alleviating the racking Agonies of Pain, and producing comfortable and refreshing sleep,
when the Brain is overheated and the Spirits agitated almost to Madness. This therefore
is one of the great Blessings Providence has bestowed on Man ; and we greatly undervalue
it, when we prefer the Grape, or any other Fruit or Plant before it ; since, in many
Cases, this and this only can give Ease, without which not all the Mines of India can
give Happiness.
In short,
the milky Juice which slows from the green Heads or Seed-Vessels of the
Poppy pretty freely upon cutting, after it becomes inspissated, is Opium : A Drug esteem'd
in the highest Manner in Turky, Persia, India, and all the Eastern Parts of the World,
as it not only removes Grief and Pain, and produces an inexpressible Serenity and Satis-
faction of Mind ; but by the Help thereof the People of those Countries find themselves
enabled to undergo the greatest Fatigues, and even to subsist without Food for several
Days together.
The Goodness of Providence is therefore further observable in the Care it has taken
for the abundant Propagation of this inestimable Vegetable ; the Seeds whereof it has
made so small as not to exceed the thirty-second Part of an Inch in Diameter ; wheres
the Diameter of the Seed-Vessel is oftentimes two Inches ; so that it is capable of con-
taining near two hundred thousand Seeds ; and always does contain a prodigious Number.
Every Root also produces several of these Seed-Vessels, the Contents of which together must
amount to Millions. This Plant is likewise found almost in every Country, and tho' its
Virtues come far short in the colder Climates of what they are in the hotter, it may
every where be made use of to good purpose.
The Knowledge of Opium, and the Effects thereof, are probably of great Antiquity ;
for HOMER, the oldest Writer in the World except MOSES, describes HELEN preparing
a Cordial called by him Nepentbes, whose Qualities and Effects agree admirably with
