OPIUM  349
in  general,  heavy  smokers,  the  consumption  per  capita
being  confidently  stated  to  be  three  times  that  of  the  coast
provinces.  No  foreign  opium  has  ever  been  imported,  and
the  poppy,  cultivated  certainly  as  early  as  the  ninth  century,
is  to-day  grown  everywhere  ;  Mr.  E.  C.  Baber  (1878)
says  :  "We  were  astounded  at  the  extent  of  the  poppy
cultivation  in  Szechwan  and  Yunnan.  Baron  von
Richthofen  (1872)  expresses  the  same  astonishment,  and
estimates  the  production  of  opium  at  a  minimum  of  60,000
piculs  and  a  probable  output  of  100,000  piculs.  In  1904
the  quantity  passing  by  the  river  route  to  the  east  through
Ichang  was  36,856  piculs,  and  in  1905  it  was  36,311  piculs.
Of  this  quantity  11,011  piculs  were  imported  and  11,025
piculs  re-exported  by  steamer  at  Hankow  in  1904,  and
2,736  piculs  imported  and  2,492  piculs  re-exported  in  1905,
the  remainder  of  the  Ichang  transit  going  in  the  same  way
by  junk  ;  this  furnishes  an  apt  illustration  of  the  well-known
fact  that  opium  in  China  comes  into  the  light  of  day  only
when  there  is  some  obvious  fiscal  advantage  to  gain.  In
addition  to  the  river  route  there  are  three  main  land  routes,
besides  many  unfrequented  mountain  roads,  by  which  opium
is  carried  to  the  east  ;  and  the  total  export  from  the  province
eastward  must  be  well  over  50,000  piculs,  and  is  possibly
upwards  of  100,000  piculs.  The  recognised  authority  for
Szechwan  to-day  is  Mr.  A.  Hosie.  In  his  consular  report
for  1903  (presented  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  October
1904,  Cd.  2247),  he  records  the  fact  that  “  in  the  provincial
capital,  Chengtu,  there  is  one  opium-smoking  saloon  to
every  67  of  a  population  of  500,000  ;  these  saloons  are  open
to  men  only,  and  women  have  to  smoke  in  their  own  homes."
As  the  result  of  a  careful  detailed  calculation  he  states  that
the  consumption  of  Szechwan-grown  opium  by  the  inhabitants ­
  of  Szechwan  is  182,500  piculs.  If  to  this  be  added
the  probable  export  eastward  from  the  province,  we  have
a  probable  production  of  not  less  than  250,000  piculs.
Yunnan  has  long  produced  opium,  the  production  in
1836  being  stated  to  be  "  many  thousand  piculs."  Baber
(1878)  says  :  "  We  were  astounded  at  the  extent  of  the