A narcotic, gummy, resinous juice, drawn from the head of the white poppy, and afterwards thickened; it is brought over in dark, reddish brown lumps, which, when powdered, become yellow. _Narcotic_, producing sleep and drowsiness. In what countries is it cultivated? In many parts of Asia, India, and even the southern parts of Europe, whence it is exported into other countries. The Turks, and other Eastern nations, chew it. With us it is chiefly used in medicine. The juice is obtained from incisions made in the seed-vessels of the plant; it is collected in earthen pots, and allowed to become sufficiently hard to be formed into roundish masses of about four pounds weight. In Europe the poppy is cultivated mostly for the seeds. Morphia and laudanum are medicinal preparations of opium. What is Tobacco? An herbaceous plant which flourishes in many temperate climates, particularly in North America; it is supposed to have received its name from Tabaco, a province of Mexico; it is cultivated in the West Indies, the Levant, on the coast of Greece, in the Archipelago, Malta, Italy, France, Ceylon, &c. It was not known in Europe till the discovery of America by the Spaniards; and was carried to England about the time of Queen Elizabeth, either by Sir Francis Drake or Sir Walter Raleigh. Tobacco is either taken as snuff, smoked in pipes or in the form of cigars, or chewed in the mouth like opium. There are many different species of this plant, most of them natives of America, some of the Cape of Good Hope and China. Tobacco contains a powerful poison called nicotine. _Herbaceous_, like an herb or plant, not a shrub or tree. What part of the plant is used? The leaves, which are stripped from the plant, and after being moistened with water, are twisted up into rolls; these are cut up by the tobacconist, and variously prepared for sale, or reduced into a scented powder called snuff. Who was Sir Francis Drake? Sir Francis Drake was a distinguished naval officer, who flourished in the reign of Elizabeth. He made his name immortal by a voyage into the South Seas, through the Straits of Magellan; which, at that time, no Englishman had ever attempted. He died on board his own ship in the West Indies, 1595. Who was Sir Walter Raleigh?