So your opium poppy link was interesting but conflicts (perhaps) with some anecdata in my head.
Some years ago there was a New Yorker (yes, the New Yorker) article that said that decorative poppies, seed poppies (as in poppy seed bagel) and opium poppies are basically the same plant. The pull quote was something like, “you can grow poppies all you like and that’s OK, but if you score the pods, we’ll have to kick your door.”
So what you have to do, apparently, is score the poppy pod with a razor in the field so that the resin seeps out and solidifies on the outside of the pod. The poppies are then harvested and the resin is scraped off and further processed. This seems a bit in conflict with the idea that the guy just grows them and sends them off for processing: there is still some work that needs to be done in the field.
Also, it’s a bit hard to understand why they’d grow them in rows. Oooh… to make it easier to go in and score them! I’ll bet the poppies had been scored or the fact that they were grown in rows pretty much signalled that was the next step.
“The more you know”
HinTN
Anecdata says children in leather aprons move down the rows send the ooze collects on the aprons from which it is collected, leaving the poppies standing to produce more ooze.
So rereading the article and my memory is not exact but close enough. Another thing I’d forgotten is that it was by Michael Pollan: a predictably good read.
So your opium poppy link was interesting but conflicts (perhaps) with some anecdata in my head.
Some years ago there was a New Yorker (yes, the New Yorker) article that said that decorative poppies, seed poppies (as in poppy seed bagel) and opium poppies are basically the same plant. The pull quote was something like, “you can grow poppies all you like and that’s OK, but if you score the pods, we’ll have to kick your door.”
So what you have to do, apparently, is score the poppy pod with a razor in the field so that the resin seeps out and solidifies on the outside of the pod. The poppies are then harvested and the resin is scraped off and further processed. This seems a bit in conflict with the idea that the guy just grows them and sends them off for processing: there is still some work that needs to be done in the field.
Also, it’s a bit hard to understand why they’d grow them in rows. Oooh… to make it easier to go in and score them! I’ll bet the poppies had been scored or the fact that they were grown in rows pretty much signalled that was the next step.
“The more you know”
Anecdata says children in leather aprons move down the rows send the ooze collects on the aprons from which it is collected, leaving the poppies standing to produce more ooze.
note to self: do not plant poppies
Oh, BTW, here’s the article. Turns out it was actually Harper’s.
http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/opium-made-easy/
So rereading the article and my memory is not exact but close enough. Another thing I’d forgotten is that it was by Michael Pollan: a predictably good read.
wow. fascinating stuff.