Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Feb.,  1887. 
Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica. 
75 
paper  read  before  the  Michigan  Pharmaceutical  Association  in  October 
last.  The  results  of  the  experiments  lead  to  the  following  conclu- 
sions. 
1.  The  increase  in  volume  by  solution  of  extractive  matter  is  not 
sufficient  to  warrant  us  in  taking  52  cc.  of  the  filtrate  as  representing 
5  gm.  of  opium  (as  had  been  recommended  by  Mr.  Conroy  in  a  paper 
read  before  the  Liverpool  Chemists'  Association  December  4,  1884). 
The  volume  directed  by  the  U.  S.  P.  (50  cc.)  seems  to  be  very  near- 
ly correct.  At  least  it  would  require  a  large  number  of  experiments 
to  warrant  us  in  changing  that. 
2.  About  10  per  cent,  of  the  morphine  in  the  opium  is  retained  in 
the  mother  liquor  after  crystallizing  the  morphine  according  to  the  XL 
S.  P. 
3.  Excess  of  either  ammonium  chloride  or  free  ammonia  increases  the 
solubility  of  morphine  in  the  mother  liquor,  and  experiments  should 
be  made  with  a  view  to  reducing  the  amounts  of  ammonium  chloride 
and  of  lime. 
4.  The  mixture  of  opium,  lime,  and  water  should  not  be  allowed  to 
stand  in  an  open  mortar,  but  might  be  made  in  a  mortar  if  necessary 
and  transferred  to  a  stoppered  flask  or  covered  vessel  of  some  kind  tc~ 
macerate. 
5.  The  nitrate  should  not  be  measured  in  a  bottle  or  flask,  as  di- 
rected by  the  U.  S.  P.,  but  in  a  narrow  graduated  cylinder. 
Pseudomorphine. — O.  Hesse  (Liebig's  Annalen,  vol.  235,  p.  229) 
states  that  the  oxydimorphine  of  Polstorff  {Berichte  D.  Chem.  Ges. 
1880)  is  identical  with  pseudomorphine,  and  is  formed  in  KehTer's  re- 
action (Annalen,  1859,  vol.  103)  by  treating  1  molecule  of  morphine 
hydrochlorate  in  aqueous  solution  with  2  mol.  potassium  hydrate  and 
adding  1  mol.  potassium  ferricyanide ;  pseudomorphine  is  at  once  pre- 
cipitated, only  a  minute  amount  remaining  dissolved  in  the  mother-li- 
quor. The  total  yield  was  8 8 '4  per  cent. ;  theory  requires  99*6  per 
cent.    The  oxidation  takes  place  according  to  the  equation  : 
2Cl7H19N03+0=C17H18N03.CI7HlsN03+H20 
Morphine.  Pseudomorphine. 
In  another  paper  (Annalen,  vol.  234,  p.  253)  O.  Hesse  corrects  some 
errors  concerning  the  history  of  the  alkaloid  as  published  by  Donath 
Jour.  f.pr.  Chem.  2  ser.,  xxxiii,  559),  and  adds  some  reactions  for 
Distinguishing  morphine  and  pseudomorphine. — Morphine  dissolves 
