AlAugSst,^88a9rm'}    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  441 
work,  is  usually  about  16  or  18  pounds.  The  balls  are  placed  in  tepid  water 
to  soften  the  surface,  and  they  are  washed  by  hand  to  remove  grit,  leaves  and 
other  foreign  substances.  The  material  is  then  placed  in  a  shallow  concave 
brass  pan,  which  is  kept  gently  heated  over  the  naked  charcoal  fire,  and  by 
means  of  the  wooden  pestle,  is  kneaded  into  a  soft  paste.  When  homogeneous, 
the  softened  opium  is  uniformly  spread  over  the  inner  surface  of  the  pan,  and 
patted  down  by  the  hand,  so  as  to  give  it  a  smooth  surface.  The  heat  is  con- 
tinued until  the  greater  part  of  the  moisture  has  evaporated,  and  the  opium 
has  become  so  solid  that  the  pan  can  be  turned  over.  The  direct  heat  of  a 
very  small  fire  is  now  allowed  to  act  directly  on  the  face  of  the  opium  by  turn- 
ing the  pan  upside  down.  This  has  to  be  carefully  and  skillfully  done.  As 
soon  as  the  surface  of  the  material  has  become  sufficiently  hardened,  it  is  deftly 
removed  in  thin  layers,  and  this  is  continued  until  all  the  opium  has  been 
taken  from  the  pan,  except  the  dried  portion  which  remains  attached  to  the 
bottom  and  sides  of  the  vessel.   This  is  scraped  off. 
The  crusts  which  were  laid  aside  in  the  former  operation  are  now  put  on  a 
gridiron  a  few  at  a  time,  with  the  greatest  care,  to  avoid  breaking  them,  and 
are  toasted  over  the  charcoal  at  a  low  temperature  until  they  have  become  per- 
fectly crisp.  The  crusts  are  then  placed  in  one  of  the  brass  pans,  covered  uith 
warm  water,  and  left  standing  until  the  next  morning. 
On  resuming  work  the  infusion  is  drawn  off  into  buckets  through  baskets 
lined  with  muslin  strainers. 
The  brass  pan  is  slightly  tilted,  and  by  means  of  a  knot  of  vegetable  fibre 
the  liquor  is  drawn  off  over  the  edge  of  the  pan  without  loss.  The  roasted 
opium  is  drained,  and  a  second  quantity  of  warm  water  added,  with  as  little 
breakage  of  the  crusts  as  possible,  and  the  extraction  is  finished  with  a  third 
lot  of  water.  Only  the  first  and  second  infusions  are  used  for  the  extract ;  the 
washings  and  weak  infusion  are  employed  for  the  extraction  of  the  next  batch- 
There  geems  to  be  no  precise  rule  as  to  the  quantity  of  water  for  making  the 
infusion,  the  crusts  are  merely  covered. 
The  infusion  is  then  mixed  with  some  egg  albumen  and  a  part  of  it  is  placed 
in  the  largest  of  the  brass  pans  over  the  naked  charcoal  fire,  and  is  heated, 
skimmed  and  boiled  constantly.  The  pan  is  not  filled,  but  room  is  allowed  for 
frothing,  and  fresh  portions  of  warm  infusion  containing  albumen  are  added 
from  time  to  time  as  the  bulk  diminishes.  During  the  boiling  there  are  several 
matters  to  be  attended  to,  such  as  keeping  up  the  fire,  or  banking  it  up  with 
ashes  if  too  hot,  prevention  of  boiling  over  by  addition  of  small  quantities  of 
the  infusion,  or  of  water,  and  keeping  the  sides  of  the  pan  free  from  hardened 
extract.  This  is  effected  by  water  and  by  fiber  scrubbing  brushes.  When  all 
the  infusion  has  been  added,  and  the  evaporation  has  proceeded  as  far  as  is 
considered  to  be  necessary,  the  pan  is  removed  from  the  fire,  and  the  extract 
constantly  stirred  by  means  of  a  wooden  spatula  in  a  current  of  air  produced 
by  fanning  until  cool  and  uniformly  mixed. 
The  yield  of  extract  varies  according  to  the  kind  and  quality  of  opium. 
Eighteen  pounds  of  first  quality  Turkey  Opium  generally  yield  about  ten 
pounds  of  this  extract. 
The  greatest  watchfulness  is  exercised  over  the  roasting  or  toasting  part  of 
the  process.  Although  a  small  exposed  corner  of  the  crusts  may  become  char- 
red occasionally,  the  object  of  this  operation  is  to  expose  the  opium  to  such  a 
