“The Stacking Room, Opium Factory at Patna India”

“In the Stacking Room the balls are stacked before being packed in boxes for Calcutta en route to China. A number of boys are constantly engaged in stacking, turning, airing, and examining the balls. To clear them of mildew, moths or insects, they are rubbed with dried and crushed poppy petal dust.”

- The Truth about Opium Smoking, 1882

Image:
Illustrations of the mode of preparing the Indian opium intended for the Chinese market from drawings by Captain Walter S. Sherwill.

Source: Cornell University Library