Poppy seed

“ The seeds of the Poppy have no pappus like those of the Thistle and some other plants; they are not blown far away by the wind, but fall close to the plant. There are, however, an immense number of very tiny seeds in each seed-case, as we see by opening the round cup-like case on a stem from which the flower has fallen. This great number of seeds adds to the difficulty of getting rid of poppies. ”

“ A hybrid red poppy is formed by uniting the opium poppy with the oriental poppy. These hybrids bloom every day of the year, while the blooming season of either parent is only a few weeks, but they yield no seed. The seed capsules are developed in great variety, some of them four to six times as large as the capsules of either parent. Others are scarcely thicker than the stem which hears them, while others are absolutely and completely absent. ”

“ Thus the poppy, when in bud, hangs down on its stem, and preserves its petals from rain and wind; but as [263] soon as it is fully developed, and has acquired strength, and the sun's rays are necessary to perfect its colours, it expands to the full light of day. The violet, again, while its seed is forming, shades the capsule by its purple corolla; but as soon as the seeds are ripe, and they are required to spring to some distance from their capsules, the flower immediately rises up with the cup for its support, and flings abroad its offering on the earth's maternal bosom. ”

“ These showy annuals and perennials should be more generally grown. Nothing will lighten up a corner better than the hardy oriental Poppy, or the solid crimson or scarlet annual Poppies. All of the varieties grow readily from seed, which, in most cases, should be sown where the plants are to bloom. The seeds of the oriental and the Iceland Poppy may be sown in pots, the plants wintered over in a frame and carefully planted out the second spring. ”

“ They cannot move of themselves, but the wind sways the poppy pod this way and that on its long stalk, and the little seeds are shaken out only to be caught by the wind and blown away.
Perhaps you think that is not a very sure way for [60] the seeds to escape, but if you examine a poppy head that has been ripe for some time you will find scarcely a seed in it, so it proves to be a better way than it looks.
Nature’s way is generally the best way to accomplish an object.
Poppies are often seen growing by the roadside or in the garden, far from the flower beds ”

“ Sow Poppy seed freely wherever there is a corner to spare, especially if it is a corner that would otherwise be neglected and grow up to weeds. It is surprising how many places may be found to sow them. A barren angle of a fence, a vacant strip behind or at the side of some outbuilding, an exposed spot among trees where nothing else will grow, a foot of ground here and there, in the perennial border and among late flowering plants, where the Poppies will have danced through their brief season of bloom and passed on before the former have discovered that they need the room. ”

“ Poppy seed sown in August gives richer coloured flowers than spring-sown seed. Seeds of Eschscholtzia and Hunnemannia should always be sown in May. Sow broadcast as thinly as possible on soil that has been worked mellow and fine, pressing it into the ground with a board. As it is difficult to sow the seed thinly enough it is a good plan to mix it with fine sand—a teaspoonful or less of seed to a teacup of sand—and scatter that as thinly as possible. It will, even then, be found that the plants will come up too thickly and will need to be thinned to stand a foot apart each way. ”

“ Poppy seed used for cooking will often sprout. Sown densely in October, it forms a thick carpet of frilly spring greens underlaid with countless massive taproots that decompose very rapidly if the plants are tilled in in April before flower stalks begin to appear. Beware if using poppies as a green manure crop: be sure to till them in early to avoid trouble with the DEA or other authorities. ”

“ The poppy is cultivated in India, Persia, China, Turkey and Egypt. It requires a very rich soil, and irrigation is often used as an aid to cultivation. The main opium district in India is a large tract on the Ganges, about 600 miles long and 200 broad. In India the seed is sown in November, the plant blossoms in January or later, and in three or four weeks after, when the poppy heads or capsules are about as large as a hen's egg, the field is ready for work. ”

“ Immense crops are raised here of articles wholly unknown to the American farmers, and perhaps the kinds best fitted to particular localities where grain and potatoes yield poorly under the best efforts. One of these is poppies. Thousands of acres are at this moment ready for market—which the traveller takes for granted, as he hurries by, are to be manufactured into opium. They are not, however, intended for medical use at all, but for a widely different purpose. From the poppy seed a beautiful transparent oil is made, which is extensively used in house painting. ”

“ This hybrid poppy is tall and generally branches like the opium poppy. It is perennial, although its pistillate or seed ancestor is a short-lived annual. Sample of Hybrid Poppies. This red poppy can even be divided at the root and multiplied like the perennial oriental poppy. ”

“ The story of the Shirley Poppies is one of magic, that a flower-loving clergyman who in 1882 sowed the seed of one specially beautiful Poppy which had no black in it, and then sowed those of its fine successors, produced thus a variety which has supplied the world with beauty. ”

“ The seed pods of some flowers open when ripe, and the seeds fall out. In others the pod or case does not open but rots away. The Poppy has a different way of scattering its seed. There is a ring of tiny holes in the seed case, and through these holes the seed is shaken out. The leaves are long, but vary a good deal in size and shape. The stems are covered with stiff and bristly hairs.
CHAPTER X IN THE CORN-FIELD (continued)
Besides the poppies there is Charlock in the field ”

“ Large pods with small seeds to escape from small holes.—The large ripe pod of the poppy stands erect on a stiff stem, with a number of small openings near the top. The seeds are nearly spherical, and escape, a few at a time, when the stem is shaken by the wind or some animal, thus holding a reserve for a change of conditions. ”

“ There are large poppy plantations in India, China, Asia Minor, Persia, and Turkey. As already indicated, the white-flowered variety is quite generally cultivated because it yields the most opium.
The plants are grown from seed, and it is customary, in tropical countries, to sow several crops each season to insure against failure and that collecting may be less interrupted. Plants of the spring sowing flower in July. The pods do not all mature at the same time ”

“ The poppy is largely cultivated in many parts of Europe for the sake of its seed, and capsules, without reference to the juice. The seeds abound in a very pure sweet oil, inferior only to that of the olive, for all culinary purposes to which such oils are applied, and are besides esteemed for their alimentary qualities. ”

“ The Usefulness of two common Plants.—Every plant in the corn-field possesses virtues particularly adapted to the maladies incident to the condition of the laboring man. The poppy cures the pleurisy, procures sleep, stops hemorrhages, and spitting of blood. Poppy seeds form an emulsion similar to that from almonds in every respect, when prepared in the same manner. They also yield, by expression, fine salad oil, like that from Florence. The blue-bottle is diuretic, vulnerary, cordial, and cooling; an antidote to the stings of venomous insects, and a remedy for inflammation of the eyes. ”

“ Nevertheless, Oriental Poppies raised from seed mean much patient care, and many failures, but once thoroughly established they are "real estate," and have a kindly way of sowing themselves. As the Poppy, with its long "tap root," is most impatient of removal, this habit especially commends them to the grower.
The Iceland Poppy, though far less considerable [61] in size, is very hardy, and with its dainty bloom of lemon, orange, red, and white, makes a pretty show in a bed by itself; and the Iceland is one of the few poppies available for one's vases. ”

“ Very free-blooming annuals in fine colors, harmonizing well with the California poppy. Many of the varieties are beautifully blotched with contrasting colors. They are very satisfactory plants for solid beds or border lines, blooming from June to October. Seed may be sown in heat, and seedlings planted in open ground at a distance of 18 inches apart when danger of frost is over. A rather poor soil will cause them to bloom better than one very rich, as they are inclined to make a rank growth. ”

“ The chief character on which these thoughts are founded is the fulness of seed in the poppy and pomegranate, as an image of life: then the forms of both became adopted for beads or bosses in ornamental art; the pomegranate remains more distinctly a Jewish and Christian type, from its use in the border of Aaron's robe, down to the fruit in the hand of Angelico's and Botticelli's Infant Christs; while the poppy is gradually confused by the Byzantine Greeks with grapes; and both of these with palm fruit. ”

“ At the present time it is extensively cultivated everywhere, both as an ornamental plant and for its seeds, pods, and yield of opium. It has proven a great nuisance as a weed in the grain fields of England, India, and other countries—something like mustard in the oat fields of the [Pg 131] central states. There are a number of forms or varieties of the cultivated poppy. The red poppy, corn poppy, or rose poppy (Papaver Rhoeas) is very abundant in southern and central Europe and in western Asia. ”

“ A dislike of the scent of Field Poppies is often found among English folk. The author of A World in a Garden speaks in disgust of "the pungent and sickly odor of the flaring Poppies—they positively nauseate me"; but then he disliked their color too.
There is something very fine about a Poppy, in the extraordinary combination of boldness of color and great size with its slender delicacy of stem, the grace of the set of the beautiful buds, the fine turn of the flower as it opens, and the wonderful airiness of poise of so heavy a flower. ”

“ All the year round, even when the temperature is below the{479} freezing-point, the small yellow blossoms of the groundsel may be noticed, each with its bundle of winged seeds, while round the parent plant are a host of young seedlings. But such is the prodigious fertility of the common poppy, that a single plant will during its year of life produce forty thousand seeds! ”

“ When the ground is well prepared and properly fertilized comes the planting, and as many plants need somewhat different handling, it is well for one starting a garden to understand just how each kind should be set. The iris, for instance, likes to be very near the surface of the ground. In fact it seems to delight in pushing the earth off the fleshy part of the root and basking in the sun, while the small roots lie very close to the surface. The oriental poppy must be planted with the crown well above the ground, or else when any moisture settles on it the crown will rot, and the plant die. ”

“ What outline its petals really have, however, is little shown in their crumpled fluttering; but that very crumpling arises from a fine floral character which we do not enough value in them. We usually think of the poppy as a coarse flower; but it is the most transparent and delicate of all the blossoms of the field. The rest—nearly all of them—depend on the texture of their surfaces for colour. But the poppy is painted glass; it never glows so brightly as when the sun shines through it. ”

“ I had some poppies once though, perfectly wonderful poppies. Miss Moran gave me the seeds. I hadn’t ever planted any flower seeds at all till one day I was down at her house and she was working in the flower garden and let me help. I sowed some seed of those great big blue larkspur—delphiniums she calls them, but I think larkspur’s nicest, don’t you?—and some poppies too. Poppies have got the cunningest baby seeds that you don’t dare cover up warm at all for fear you’ll choke them to death. ”

“ Rough-Stemmed or White Prickly Poppy (Argemone hispida) is a bushy, leafy-stemmed plant growing about 2-3 ft. high. It is distinguished from several other very abundant white-flowered poppies by the fact that it has rough hairs as well as spines on the stem. The flowers as a rule are larger, often being 4-6 inches broad. The unusual sepals of the prickly poppies should be noted, as they sometimes cause the flower buds to be confused with the fruits. There are usually 3 sepals, which are horned or hooded, armed with spines, and snugly overlapping each other by a narrow margin. ”

“ The juice extracted from these plants is employed to soothe the restless invalid to sleep, and to ease the pangs of disease. According to the mythology of the Grecians, the Poppy owed its origin to Ceres, who created it to assuage her grief, during her search after her daughter Proserpine, who was carried off by Pluto. The Poppy is extensively cultivated in Europe, for the purpose of making opium from it. Many species are cultivated in the garden. The double flowers possess surpassing beauty, whether we consider their delicate texture, elegance of shape, or variety of colouring. ”