Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/450

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426] POP expressed from the flower-buds^, is prnbablv the Anicricnn Tacavia- itatn, an excellent application to recent wounds, provided no nerves or sinews have been injured. All the Poplars may be propa- gated either by layers, cuttings^ or sucliers, which should be planted in a nursery for two or three years previously to their removal. The most proper time for transplant- ing suckers is in October, when tii^ ir leaves begin to decay : hut, if the trees are to be reared from cuttings or layers, it will be ad- vis-able to set them in February, M ben they ought to be put about a foot and a half deep in the ground,

!nd closely rammed in. These

v.'ili speed-Jy take root ; and. if the soil be moist; wiil in a few years attain a considerable size. To conclude this interesting article, we shall briefly state an important fact which deser-es the atrention of those who are in possession of numerous poplars. Tl:e different species of these trees produce, on the upper part of their seed-vessels, a woolly or dow- i:y substance, which is of consider- able value : by combining it with cotton, Prof. Hekzer, of Munich, Ii3s lately converted this composi- tion into wadding, counterpanes, gloves, stockings, &c. — From a mixture of two ounces of tiie down before mentioned, and four ounces of hare's wool, he obtained excel- leit hats; and, according to his calculation, each poplar-tree yields not less than -iOlb. of such mate- rial. POPpy, or Papavcr, L. a genus of plants Comprising nine species, eight of which are indigenous : the fol owing, of tiifse, are the most remarkable: i. The Hhaas, Kko Popvy, POP CoRv-RosE, Cop-EOSK, or Head-* WARK, grows in corn-tields, and flowers from June till August. The petals, when infused, yield a tine colour; and a syrup is prepared from such infusion, which partakes in some measure of the properties of opium, and is occasionally used in coughs, and catarrhal affec- tions, on account of its anodyne etfefts. — ^These flower-leaves also yield, on expression, a bright-red juice, which imparts its colour to v/ater, and the tint of which may be greatly improved by the addition of the vitriolic acid. Thus cloth, linen, and especially silk and cot- ton, were dyed of a beauiiful deep- red shade. — The stuffs, previously immersed in a solution of bismuth, acquned a yellow cast ; though Dambourxey obtained only a pale nut-colour. 2. The alluin, v. srnniuferum. White or Wild Poppy, is found in ne^letted gardens and corn- fields, where it tiowers in the month of June or July. The juice, which, after making incisions, exudes from the heads of this species, is sutlisr- ed to inspissate by the heat of tlic sun, and thus affords the drug called Opium, An extradt is also prepared from these seed-vesseis ; which, being less powerful than the foreign opium, is given in a double quantity, to produce similar ef- feil-fs. The seeds are very nourish- ing ; arc divested of the narcotic property of the flower ; and yield on expression a mild, sweet oil, little inferior to that of almonds : hence, they are often employed as an article of diet. — Linn^:i.'s counted in one poppy-head 32,0G() seeds ; and as there are while and lluc grains, we understand from an experienced gardener, that tiic former, v. hen found in heads, the capsiiic