Opium is the dried milky juice which flows from wounds made in the seed-pods of the opium poppy (Fig. 172). It has been found to contain twenty different alkaloids. Of these morphine (C17H19N03) is the most important. The chief uses of opium in medicine are to relax spasm, relieve pain, and induce sleep. Among various oriental peoples large quantities are consumed by smoking and in other ways as an intoxicant-a practice which leads to most degrading effects upon both mind and body.

Fig. 172, I. Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum. Poppy Family, Papaveracece). Flowering and fruiting top. (Baillon.) An annual about 1 m. tall; leaves pale green; flowers white, red, or purplish; fruit dry, smooth. Native home, Mediterranean region.

Fig. 172, I.-Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum. Poppy Family, Papaveracece). Flowering and fruiting top. (Baillon.)-An annual about 1 m. tall; leaves pale green; flowers white, red, or purplish; fruit dry, smooth. Native home, Mediterranean region.

Fig. 172, II Opium Poppy: A, flower. B, floral diagram. C, fruit entire showing the oblique cuts made for obtaining the opium milk. D, pod cut vertically to show the numerous seeds on the wall.

Fig. 172, II-Opium Poppy: A, flower. B, floral diagram. C, fruit entire showing the oblique cuts made for obtaining the opium-milk. D, pod cut vertically to show the numerous seeds on the wall. (Baillon.)