248 
Opium  Assay, 
/  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I      May,  1882. 
wash  down  the  edges  and  sides  of  the  filter  with  5  c.c.  =  *17  fluid- 
ounce  of  ether,  and  allow  the  filter  to  drain  with  the  cover  off.  Then 
pour  on  the  remaining  contents  of  the  flask  and  cover  the  funnel. 
When  the  liquid  has  nearly  all  passed  through,  rinse  the  flask  twice 
with  5  cc.  =  '17  fluidounce  of  water  each  time,  pouring  the  rinsings 
with  all  the  crystals  that  can  be  loosened  onto  the  filter,  and  dry  the 
flask  in  an  inverted  or  horizontal  position,  and  when  thoroughly  dry 
weigh  it.  Wash  the  filter  and  crystals  with  10  cc.  =  '33  fluidounce 
of  water  applied  drop  by  drop  to  the  edges  of  the  filter.  When  drained, 
remove  the  filter  and  contents  from  the  funnel,  close  the  edges  of  the 
filter  together,  and  compress  it  gently  between  many  folds  of  bibulous 
paper.  Then  dry  it  at  100°  C.  =  212°  F.  and  weigh  it.  Eemove  the 
crystals  of  morphia  from  the  filter,  brush  it  off  and  re-weigh  it  to  get 
the  tare  to  be  subtracted.  The  remainder,  added  to  the  weight  of  the 
cryslals  in  the  flask,  will  give  the  total  yield  of  morphia,  in  clean  dis- 
tinct small  light-brown  crystals. 
Take  a  small  portion  of  these  crystals,  rub  them  into  very  fine  pow- 
der and  weigh  off  '1  gram  =  1*54  grain.  Put  this  in  a  large  test-tube 
fitted  with  a  good  cork  and  add  10  cc.  =  '33  fluidounces  of  officinal 
lime  water.  Shake  occasionally,  when  the  whole  of  the  powder  should 
dissolve.    (Absence  of  narcotine),  (Fliickiger.) 
In  pouring  off^  the  ethereal  stratum  from  the  flask  as  closely  as  pos- 
sible, a  little  of  the  dark  liquid  and  crystals  will  pass  in  with  it,  but 
this  is  of  no  consequence.  The  second  portion  of  ether  is  added  to 
dilute  the  remainder  of  the  first,  so  as  to  get  as  much  of  it  as  possible 
separated  before  the  watery  liquid  is  poured  into  the  filter,  because  this 
first  ether  contains  all  the  narcotine  and  oily  matters  of  the  solution, 
and  as  the  ether  evaporates  off"  from  these  they  are  deposited  in  the 
filter  and  with  the  morphia,  and  would  be  weighed  with  it.  Inuring 
this  ethereal  filtration  the  funnel  is  kept  closely  covered  to  prevent  this 
evaporation  and  precipitation,  but  after  the  edges  have  been  washed 
down  w^itli  fresh  ether,  and  the  whole  has  passed  through,  there  is  so 
little  of  it  left  with  the  watery  portion,  and  that  little  is  so  diluted  that 
the  whole  may  be  poured  on  together.  In  adding  the  last  or  diluting 
portion  of  ether  to  the  flask  it  is  a  little  better  to  shake  the  whole  con- 
tents together  vigorously,  but  then  it  becomes  necessary  to  wait  a  half 
hour  or  more  for  a  complete  separation  before  the  ether  can  be  poured 
off*  well.  In  pouring  off"  this  second  portion,  in  order  to  leave  as  little 
ether  as  possible  in  the  flask,  it  must  be  done  very  slowly,  and  toward 
the  last,  in  order  to  get  it  close,  a  cubic  centimeter  or  two  of  the  dark 
liquid  will  pass  out  with  it,  but  this  is  of  no  consequence,  as  it  does 
not  interfere  with  the  ether  filtration.    The  ether-wet  filter  does  not 
