238 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



the true anchovy, since we have ascertained that two other kinds of 

 fish besides the Dutch are commonly imported and sold as ' true 

 anchovies,' and ' real Gorgonas ' ^namely French and Sicilian fish." 

 A further investigation established the fact, that not one-third of the 

 28 samples consisted of Gorgona anchovies. 



ON THE ANALYSIS OF OPIUM, ESPECIALLY WITH REFERENCE TO 

 THE PROPORTION OF MORPHIA CONTAINED IN IT. 



THE following new process for the examination of opium is given by 



Dr. Riegel, of Carlsruhe, in the Jalirbuch de Pharmacie, Nov. . 



Half an ounce of opium to be examined is cut in small pieces and 

 bruised in a mortar with alcohol at 71 ; the fluid is then expressed 

 through linen, and the refuse washed with from ten to twelve drachms 

 of the same alcohol ; the alcoholic solution is then to be filtered into a 

 glass containing one drachm of spirits of ammonia. In twelve hours' 

 time, all the morphia, with some narcotine and meconate of ammonia, 

 will have become deposited. In order to effectually separate the mor- 

 phia, the adhering meconate of ammonia must be removed by washing 

 in water and then shaking the crystals in pure ether, or better still in 

 chloroform, in which the narcotine is readily dissolved, while the mor- 

 phia remains entirely insoluble. After this treatment the morphia 

 remains behind in large gritty crystals, slightly discolored. This 

 process may be varied by employing boiling alcohol and powdered 

 opium, and adding the solution still hot, to the solution of ammonia. 

 According to good authorities, 15 grammes of opium should yield at 

 least 1.25 grammes, or 8.33 per cent. Reich estimates 10, and others 

 12 per cent. The author gives the percentage of morphia which is 

 obtained by the various processes of different experiments, and states 

 that the largest proportion (13.50 per cent.) is procured by the pro- 

 cess above described, which he considers also to be the simplest and 

 most certain for ascertaining the proportion of morphia. 



The following process is also recommended by Dr. Riegel for the 

 detection of small quantities of opium. To the suspected substance 

 some potash is to be added, and then shaken with ether. A strip of 

 white blotting paper is to moistened with the solution several times 

 repeated. When dry, the paper is to be moistened with muriatic 

 acid, and exposed to the steam of hot water ; if opium be present, the 

 paper will be more or less colored red. 



METHOD FOR DETECTING THE ORGANIC ALKALOIDS. 



THE following paper, by Prof. Stass, of Brussels, is published in 

 the Bulletin de I' Academic Royal de Medecine de Belgique. 



Whatever certain authors may have said on the subject, it is possi- 

 ble to discover, in a suspected liquid, all the alkaloids, in whatever 

 state they may be. I am quite convinced that every chemist, who 

 has kept up his knowledge as to analysis, will not only succeed in 

 detecting their presence, but even in determining the nature of that 



