PAPAVERACE. 
less intoxicating, and is taken with a spoon or made up into 
lozenges, stamped with the words Mash Allah, literally meaning 
“The work of God.” The Tartar couriers, who travel great 
distances, and with astonishing rapidity, take nothing else to 
support them during their journeys (Dall. const. p. 78.). There 
is, however, some reason to suppose that the Mash Allah or 
Maslash of the Turks contains other narcotics, as those of hemp 
Lolium temuléntum, as well as opium. 
The use of opium for the purpose of exhilarating the spirits, 
has long been known in Turkey, Syria, and China, and of late 
years it has been unfortunately adopted by many, particularly 
females, in this country. Russel says that in Syria, when com- 
bined with spices and other aromatics, he has known it taken to 
the amount of three drachms in 24 hours. Its habitual use 
cannot be too much reprobated. It impairs the digestive organs, 
consequently the vigour of the whole body, and destroys also 
gradually the mental energies. The effects of opium on those 
addicted to its use, says Russel, are at first obstinate costiveness, 
succeeded by diarrhoea and flatulence, with the loss of appetite 
and a sottish appearance. The memories of those who take it 
soon fail, they become prematurely old, and then sink into the 
grave objects of scorn and pity. Mustapha Shatoor, an opium- 
eaterin Smyrna, took daily 3 drachms of crude opium. The 
visible effects at the time were the sparkling of his eyes and 
great exhilaration of spirits. He found the desire of increasing 
his dose growing upon him. He seemed twenty years older 
than he really was; his complexion was very sallow, his legs small, 
1S gums eaten away, and his teeth laid bare to the sockets. 
e could not rise without swallowing half a drachm of opium. 
(Phil. trans. xix. p. 289.) 
M. Sertuerner infused four ounces of powdered opium in 
t peated portions of cold distilled water, and filtered the solu- 
a through cloth. It was evaporated in a glass vessel, with 
sited 6 heat, to 8 ounces; which, after standing 8 days, depo- 
was dil grains of sulphate of potass. __The remaining fluid 
viitat uted with distilled water, and yielded a flocculent pre- 
Wee hed on the addition of caustic ammonia, which, after being 
and al puscessively with sulphuric ether, caustic ammonia, 
er took, » yielded 3 drachms of a fine brownish-white pow- 
7 ow ich M. Sertuerner gave the name of Morphium, now 
aie 1a and which may be further purified by solution in 
yet He alcohol. It seemed to be perfectly free from ammonia 
ing abet ae all the characteristics of genuine alkali, colour- 
salts with. i rown and fernambuc violet, and forming neutral 
its solution | s. Ithas a peculiar bitter astringent taste, and 
very obte eaves a red stain on the skin. Its crystals are 
rectan mt single or double pyramids, with a square or long 
82 parte of boil. or prisms with trapezoid base. kt dissolves in 
in 86 of ` po Ing water, from which it crystallizes on cooling ; 
ether. Th. mg and 42 of cold alcohol, and in 8 of sulphuric 
after bein ’ uid from which the Morphia was precipitated, 
re ane: cated to 120° Fah. to expel the ammonia, was fil- 
ed m è solution of muriate of barytes or of acetate of lead, 
pitate, mhe ss there was any precipitate. The white preci- 
of the bar as ed and dried, weighed 7 drachms, and consisted 
gave the mtd tes mixed with a new acid, to which M. Sertuerner 
acid. This mo Meconic, and which he separated by sulphuric 
with others, but S p cpetaining it has not, however, succeeded 
with an equal i . houlant, by mixing the meconate of barytes 
tained the me eight of vitreous boracic acid, and subliming, ob- 
white salt. lowe acid in the form of shining scales of a fine 
unpleasantly bet’ is at first sour and cooling, but afterwards 
with alic, ate t reddens vegetative blues, and combines 
tions of ioie- earths, and gives a cherry red colour to solu- 
soluble in twi. Its crystals. are quadrangular tables, and it is 
ice its weight in water and also in alcohol and ether. 
I. Papaver. 133 
When purified by repeated solutions, it crystallized in rectan- 
gular prisms, with rhomboidal bases. It was solid, white, had 
no taste or smell, was insoluble in cold water and soluble in 400 
parts of boiling water, did not affect vegetable blues, was soluble 
in 24 parts of boiling alcohol, and 110 cold, as well as in 
hot ether and oil of almonds and olives below the boiling 
temperature, &c. When burnt it gives out a thick smoke and 
ammoniacal odour. It was supposed by Sertuerner to be me- 
conate of Morphia, but Robiquet considered it as a peculiar prin- 
ciple which he has called Narcotin, and has shewn that it may 
be obtained almost pure by acting upon the soft watery extract 
of opium by ether, which dissolves scarcely any thing but the 
Narcotin. M. Robiquet has altered and improved upon Ser- 
tuerner’s process for obtaining Morphia by boiling the watery 
solution of opium with pure magnesia, and then extracting the 
Morphia from the precipitate of, alcohol. So far as it has been 
analyzed, the essential constituents of opium seem to be 1. mor- 
phia, 2. narcotin, 3. meconic acid, 4. an unnamed acid, 5. a 
substance like caoutchouc, 6. one like febrin, 7. a resin, 8. gum. 
Opium is not fusible, but is softened even by the heat of the 
fingers. It is highly inflammable. - It is partially soluble both 
in alcohol and in water. The solutions of opium are transparent, 
and have a brown and vinous colour. The watery solution is 
not decomposed by alcohol. The narcotic virtues of opium are 
imparted by distillation to alcohol and to water; and they are 
diminished, or entirely dissipated, by long boiling, roasting, or 
great age. The part of opium which is not soluble either in 
water or alcohol is chiefly caoutchouc. By evaporating a watery 
solution of opium to the consistence of syrup Desrosnes ob- 
tained a precipitate which was increased by diluting the extract 
with a little cold water. He dissolved this in hot alcohol, from 
which it again separated on cooling. 
M.M. Orfila and Magendie have each made experiments to 
ascertain the effects of the various principles contained in opium, 
but these physiologists do not agree in their results. Pure crys- 
tallized morphia has little or no effect, on account of its little solu- 
bility in the juices of the stomach; but all its solutions in acids, 
oil, and alcohol, excite the same narcotic effects as the opium 
itself, and in a smaller dose. Magendie considers the narcotin 
as the exciting principle of opium; but this is denied by Orfila, 
who asserts that it produces nausea, vomiting, debility, accele- 
rated circulation, and death, without the vertigo or affection of 
the senses, palsy of the extremities, plaintive cries or convulsions, 
which arise from morphia. | 
Opium has been used with good effects in numerous diseases, 
particularly in intermittent fevers ; typhoid fevers, accompanied 
with watchfulness and diarrhoea. When combined with calomel, it 
has lately been much employed in inflammations from local causes, 
such as wounds, fractures, burns, absorption of morbid poisons, 
as in swelled testicles, and even in active inflammation, accompa- 
nied with watchfulness, pain, and spasm, after blood-letting. In 
small pox, when the convulsions before eruption are frequent, or 
when the accompanying fever is of a typhoid type, opium is libe- 
rally used: it is likewise given from the fifth day onwards, and is 
found to allay the pain of suppuration, to promote the ptyalism, 
and to be otherwise useful. In dysentery, after the use of gentle 
laxatives, or along with them, opium, independently of any eftect 
it may have on the fever, is of consequence in allaying the tor- 
mina and tenesmus, and in obviating that laxity of bowels, which 
so often frequently remain after that disease. In diarrhoea the 
disease itself generally carries off any offending acrimony ; and 
then or after purgatives opium is used with great effect even 
in the most symptomatic cases it seldom fails to alleviate. In 
cholera and pyrosis it is the best remedy. It is given to allay 
the pain, and favour the descent of calculi, and to give relief to 
jaundice and dysuria, proceeding from spasm. In colic it is 
