16 SEPTEMBER 1882, Page 14

POPPIES IN POETRY.

[TO THE EIDITOIC Or THE "SPECTATOR."3 SIR,—As one of "the little things authors should guard against " (Spectator, p. 1,169), may I venture to call your at- tention to the " new " thought in Mr. Aides poem, reviewed in your current number, as being, though possibly "new," not exactly true P The red poppy has no sedative virtue. Opium and its alkaloids are obtained from the white poppy, and not from its " sun-dried leaves," but from its capsules. The petals of the red poppy are only used to give colour to a syrup.—I am,