AMERICAN  OPIUM  FROM  VERMONT. 
25 
Rosengarten  B  and  C,  and  a  fourth  sample,  given  to  me  by  Mr. 
Wilson  as  of  the  product  of  1867  and  inferior  in  quality,  which  I 
shall  call  D.  The  latter  was  an  egg-shaped  mass,  weighing  lOf 
ounces,  was  nearly  dry,  covered  with  poppy  leaves  and  had  a 
heavy,  narcotic  odor  like  stramonium  and  tobacco  mixed,  alto- 
gether different  from  the  samples  of  1868,  which  showed  an 
evident  improvement  in  appearance,  at  least  in  the  latter. 
To  render  the  subject  intelligible  to  the  reader  not  having  the 
first  assay  before  him,  it  may  be  stated  that  100  grains  of  each 
sample  was  taken,  so  as  to  represent  both  the  interior  and  exte- 
rior of  the  lump.  This  was  in  each  instance  rubbed  with  water 
in  a  mortar  till  smoothly  suspended  and  dissolved,  allowed  to 
macerate  for  36  hours,  then  filtered  and  the  dregs  and  filter 
washed.  The  filtrate  was  then  boiled  for  twenty  minutes  with 
100  grains  of  lime  hydrated,  filtered  hot  and  lixiviated,  the  filtrate 
acidulated  with  hydrochloric  acid  and  evaporated  carefully  to 
about  half  a  fluid-ounce.  This  was  then  rendered  nearly  neutral 
by  the  cautious  addition  of  ammonia,  filtered  to  separate  coloring 
matter,  and  the  filtrate  and  washings  treated  with  a  moderate 
excess  of  ammonia  and  allowed  to  stand  12  hours,  when  the  pre- 
cipitate, if  any,  was  collected,  washed  and  weighed.  This  method, 
given  in  Attfield's  Pharmaceutical  Chemistry,  is  a  modification 
of  Mohr's. 
Opium  assayed. 
Per  centage  of 
moisture. 
Residue  insolu- 
ble in  water. 
Percentage  of 
crude  morphia. 
Sample  A. 
16 
25 
6-25 
B. 
10 
16 
0-90 
C. 
11 
17 
0-40 
D. 
31 
0-00 
Now  it  is  difficult  to  decide  what  inference  should  be  drawn 
from  these  results  ;  either  the  process  of  Mr.  Wilson  is  very  de- 
fective and  unreliable,  producing  extraordinary  variations  in  the 
strength  of  the  lumps  of  the  same  lot  and  of  diff'erent  lots,  or 
the  original  sample  submitted  to  the  writer  was  not  an  honest 
representative  of  the  article  manufactured  by  him,  and  was  cal- 
culated to  deceive.    In  the  first  interview  with  Mr.  Wilson  he 
