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ON SYRUP OF POPPIES. 
ART. XXXII. — ON SYRUP OF POPPIES. 
BY MR. THOMAS SOU T HALL. 
Having found great difficulty in obtaining an elegant 
preparation of syrup of poppies, by the. process directed in 
the London Pharmacopoeia, we have tried various means of 
improving it, and think we have succeeded in doing so by 
extracting the virtues of the poppy by percolation with 
cold water, and, as far as we can judge, without impairing 
in any degree the efficacy of the syrup. 
The capsules, from which the seeds have been separated, 
are weighed, and then dried, by which they lose from ten 
to fifteen per cent. They are then bruised, and passed 
through a sieve of three-eighths of an inch mesh. They 
are next macerated in a mash-tub, several portions of cold 
water being added, and stirred with them, to ensure the 
whole being uniformly moistened. About an hour after- 
wards, the infusion is drawn off from the bottom of the 
vessel, more water being poured on the surface; after which 
the infusion is allowed to run off during the day. The 
quantity of water used is about the same as that which is 
directed in the Pharmacopoeia. The infusion is evaporated 
as it is drawn off, to nearly the consistence requisite for 
making the syrup, and allowed to stand during the night. 
The clear portion is poured off the following morning, the 
remainder strained through a calico bag, and the sugar is 
dissolved in the clear liquor with as much heat as is requi- 
site for the purpose. The medicinal properties of the pop- 
pies appear to be extracted effectually by means of cold 
water, while the syrup is brighter and of better quality, on 
account of the absence of the starch, which is dissolved in 
it, if boiling water is used in making the infusion. 
