loose, and if a dry Poppy-head be shaken, they will be found to rattle. The leaves of the Corn Poppy are what is called pinnatifid, (see _h_ in _fig._ 111,) that is, they are so deeply cut as to appear almost in separate leaflets; and the whole plant (except the petals and the capsule) is covered with short bristly hairs (_i_), which stand out horizontally. The Opium Poppy (_Papaver somniferum_) differs from the Corn Poppy in several respects. First, the whole plant is glabrous, that is, devoid of either hairs or bristles; the capsule also is much larger and more fleshy in an unripe state, and the crown-like lid is smoother, and curved over like a plume of feathers, (see _a_ in _fig._ 112.) [Illustration: FIG. 112.—THE FLOWER, BUD, LEAVES, AND CAPSULE OF THE OPIUM POPPY, MUCH SMALLER THAN THE NATURAL SIZE.] The fleshiness of the unripe seed-vessel of the Poppy puzzled me extremely at first, as I knew that the ripe capsule of this Poppy is always dry and leathery; but it was soon explained to me, that this fleshy substance is, in fact, an elongation of the receptacle or disk, which rises up round the carpels, and envelops them, in the same way as the disk of the Water-lily grows round the pistil and carpels of that plant, but which dries up as the fruit ripens. The leaves of the Opium Poppy (_b_) differ from those of the Corn Poppy, in being much broader, and only slightly cut or notched; they are also glaucous, that is, of a bluish or sea-green, and they are clasped round the stem at their base (as shown at _c_). All the Papaveraceæ abound in a thick glutinous juice, which in the Poppies has the colour and appearance of milk, and which possesses stupifying properties; but in the Opium Poppy this juice is particularly abundant. Opium is, in fact, procured by wounding the fleshy capsule with a sharp knife, and suffering the milky juice which exudes to dry in the sun; after which it is scraped off with a blunt instrument, and pressed into cakes for sale. The opium of commerce is produced in hot countries; but even in England, any one who chooses may procure a small quantity of opium, by wounding the fleshy capsule of the common White Poppy when it is about half ripe. A milky juice will issue from the wound, which when dry becomes opium, and would be poisonous if taken in excess. The capsule of the White or Opium Poppy has, when ripe, a little window-like opening under each stigma for the discharge of the seeds, which contain abundance of oil, and may be safely eaten, though the rest of the plant is poisonous.