AmbecUri9Pi8arm' J        Determination  of  Morphine. 
859 
Examination  of  "Opium  Ash"  or  "Opium  Dross"  (Ta  Yen 
Hui) .  Experiment  36. — The  method  of  analysis  applied  to  the  fore- 
going samples  was  used  in  this  case  on  a  sample  of  opium  ash.  The 
details  of  the  operation  exactly  resembled  those  of  Experiment  31. 
It  may  be  remarked  that,  though  opium  ash  contains  so  much 
resinous  matter,  the  morphine  for  titration  appeared  as  pure  as  that 
obtained  in  the  same  way  from  opium  itself. 
Titration  Results. 
Total  acid  used  =  25.00  Cc. 
Acid  equivalent  to  the  alkali  =  17.71  Cc. 
Acid  equivalent  to  the  morphine  =  7.29  Cc. 
Corresponds  to  0.2187  Gm.  crystalline  morphine  or  8.02  Per  Cent. 
Examination  of  Pills  containing  Opium,  such  as  might  be  sold 
"For  Curing  the  Opium  Habit"  Experiment  37. — The  sample  was 
made  up  of  5.4  Gm.  of  Chinese  pill  mass  and  0.6000  Gm.  of  the  same 
opium  as  that  used  in  Experiments  31,  32  and  33. 
Titration  Results. 
Total  acid  used  =  10.00  Cc. 
Acid  equivalent  to  the  alkali  =  9.25  Cc. 
Acid  equivalent  to  the  morphine  =  0.75  Cc. 
Corresponds  to  0.0225  Gm.  of  crystallised  morphine  or  0.82  Per  Cent. 
Calculated  from  the  mean  result  of  Experiments  1,  2  and  3  the 
result  should  have  been  1.14  per  cent,  or  0.32  per  cent,  higher. 
The  precipitate,  produced  at  the  beginning  of  the  analysis  by  the 
addition  of  barium  hydroxide,  was  washed  into  a  casserole  and 
acidified  with  an  excess  of  hydrochloric  acid.  After  boiling  for  a 
few  minutes  the  product  was  filtered.  This  filtrate  was  concentrated 
to  a  convenient  volume  and  tested  with  ferric  chloride  solution.  It 
gave  the  color  characteristic  of  meconic  acid  very  distinctly. 
Examination  of  "Dover's  Pozuder."  Experiment  38. — The  same 
method  of  determining  morphine  was  applied  to  "  Dover's  Powder  " 
with  such  modification  as  becomes  necessary  when  a  large  propor- 
tion of  sulphates  is  present  in  the  material  under  examination. 
The  Dover's  Powder  used  only  differed  from  the  "  B.  P."  prep- 
aration in  that  the  opium  was  slightly  above  the  official  strength. 
The  mixture  was  composed  of  4.8000  Gm.  of  potassium  sulphate, 
0.6000  Gm.  of  powdered  ipecacuanha  root,  and  0.6000  Gm.  of  the 
opium  used  in  Experiment  31.    Total  weight  of  mixture  6  Gm. ; 
