AMjanUi,'iP872RM'}       Opium  Production  in  Europe.  15 
he  also  found  it  best  to  collect  the  fresh  juice,  instead  of  allowing  it 
spontaneously  to  dry  on  the  fruits,  giving  a  much  purer  quality.  Dr. 
Harz  received  samples  of  the  opium  produced,  and  found  it  to  con- 
tain 10-9  per  cent,  of  morphia;  after  having  been  kept  for  some  time 
in  a  paper  box,  it  showed  the  following  properties  : — It  was  tough  and 
tolerably  hard,  greyish-brown,  somewhat  like  German  lactucarium, 
forming  a  mass  of  tears  of  the  size  of  a  pea,  of  waxy  surface  when 
cut,  with  difficulty  reduced  to  a  light  grey  powder.  The  smell  was 
intense,  stronger  than  that  of  Smyrna  opium,  and  also  resembling  lac* 
tucarium  ;  the  taste  exactly  like  that  of  the  best  Smyrna. 
The  tincture  made  according  to  the  Prussian  Pharmacopoeia  was 
slightly  brown,  somewhat  like  Madeira  wine,  scarcely  one-third  so  in- 
tense in  color  as  the  tincture  made  from  Turkish  opium,  according  to 
English  prescription.  Analysis  of  the  sample  dried  at  100°  C.  gave, 
soluble  in  cold  water,  49  per  cent.  ;  the  insoluble  consisted  chiefly  of 
narcotine,  of  a  resinous  mass  7  per  cent.,  and  caoutchouc  and  fat 
soluble  in  chloroform  14  per  cent. 
The  aqueous  extract,  containing  49  per  cent,  of  the  opium,  and 
containing  besides  morphia  scarcely  1  per  cent,  of  other  bases,  was 
brought  nearly  to  dryness  in  a  water-bath,  and  extracted  with  alcohol. 
There  remained  9-4  per  cent,  of  gummy  substances  and  organic  salts  ; 
the  filtrate  mixed  with  water  gave,  on  gradual  addition  of  ammonia, 
after  ten  days,  10*9  per  cent,  crystals  of  morphia. 
The  opium  was  therefore  of  very  good  quality,  and  the  separation 
of  morphia  was  facilitated  by  the  lighter  color  of  the  juice. 
In  1868,  opium  cultivation  was  commenced  at  several  places  in 
Wiirttemberg.  Mr.  Julius  Jobst,  of  Stuttgart,  made  experiments 
■which  are  very  valuable,  because  as  the  first  on  a  really  large  scale 
they  established  the  profitable  character  of  the  speculation.  Several 
acres  of  land  were  sown  with  poppy-seed  :  a  fortnight  after  the  fall 
of  the  petals  the  young  heads  were  cut,  and  the  juice  collected ;  this 
was  repeated  a  second  time,  but  a  third  incision  did  not  yield  enough 
to  pay  for  the  labor.  The  best  time  for  the  incision  is  the  early 
morning,  shortly  after  sunrise  ;  on  hot  days,  and  especially  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  only  very  little  juice  was  produced.  The  exuded 
juice,  after  slight  desiccation,  was  collected  in  a  tin  box,  the  pasty 
mass  was  dried  in  the  shade,  and  wrapped  up  in  poppy-leaves  in  the 
shape  of  small  loaves ;  the  manufactured  opium  formed  dark  brown 
cakes,  and  contained  13  per  cent,  of  morphia. 
