AmAprii;^o2arm*}      Deodorized  Opium  and  Tincture.  167 
every  hour,  continuing  until  from  30  to  60  doses  have  been  admin- 
istered. 
During  the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  the  writer  first  became 
interested  in  what  was  originally  considered  to  be  an  ideal  liquid 
preparation  of  opium,  he  has  been  ever  watchful  for  any  suggestions 
for  the  improvement  of  the  official  process,  for  he  has  had  a  convic- 
tion that  the  preparation,  when  made  by  the  official  process,  does 
not  represent  the  full  medical  properties  of  the  drug.  In  his  paper 
upon  this  subject  thirty-five  years  ago,  the  writer  suggested  as  an 
improvement  of  the  official  process,  aside  from  the  matter  of  cheap- 
ness, the  substitution  of  benzin  for  ether,  upon  the  ground  that 
benzin  did  not,  while  ether  did,  remove  narcotine  from  the  prep- 
aration. He  has  always  believed  and  has  many  times  said,  both 
verbally  and  in  print,  that  it  is  a  mistake  to  remove  from  the 
deodorized  tincture  of  opium  the  principle,  narcotine.  With  this  in 
view  he  has,  in  preparing  the  deodorized  tincture  as  well  as  the 
simple  tincture  of  opium,  used  every  effort  to  extract  and  retain  in 
the  liquid  preparation  the  narcotine  of  the  drug.  The  process  he 
has  found  most  satisfactory  to  accomplish  this  purpose  is  the  follow- 
ing : 
Slice  the  moist  opium,  place  it  in  a  glass,  stone  or  porcelain  dish, 
and  by  means  of  a  water  bath  macerate  the  opium  with  four  parts 
of  hot  water  for  about  twelve  hours,  or  until  the  mass  is  thoroughly 
disintegrated.  Pour  this  upon  a  colander  and  with  stirring  and 
pressure  of  the  hands  drain  off  the  liquid.  Return  the  still  warm 
residue  to  the  dish,  pour  upon  it  two  parts  of  hot  water,  macerate 
again  for  several  hours,  keeping  up  the  heat  by  means  of  the  water 
bath.  Again  transfer  to  colander,  press  and  drain  off  the  liquid 
as  before,  repeating  the  operation  of  maceration  with  two  parts  of 
hot  water  and  finish  as  in  the  other  previous  proceedings.  Mix  the 
liquid  obtained  by  the  different  operations  together,  pass  through  a 
cloth  strainer  and  commence  to  concentrate  by  evaporation  to  half 
the  bulk  of  the  water  employed  for  extraction.  Now  take  one  part 
of  diluted  acetic  acid  and  pour  this  upon  the  opium  residue,  macer- 
ate by  water  bath  as  in  above  operations  for  several  hours  and  then 
place  the  acid-treated  magma  upon  a  coarse  cloth  strainer  and  with 
pressure  drain  off  the  liquid.  Evaporate  this  solution  to  a  dry  con- 
sistency by  the  heat  of  a  water  bath. 
Add  this  dry  extractive  matter  to  the  watery  liquid  which  is 
