^°'Ar'"i885'''°''}        Estimation  of  Morphine  in  Opium.  391 
THE  ESTIMATION  OF  MORPHINE  IN  OPIUM. 
By  J.  Howard  Wainwright,  Ph.  B. 
As  one  of  the  chemists  connected  with  the  United  States  Laboratory 
at  the  port  of  New  York,  ray  attention  has  been  in  a  large  measure 
directed  to  the  assaying  of  opium,  samples  of  which,  from  every  case 
entered  here,  are  sent  to  this  laboratory  for  the  estimation  of  morphine. 
The  literature  upon  this  subject  is  very  voluminous,  probably  more 
so  than  that  relating  to  the  assay  of  any  other  drug,  and  comprises  the 
descriptions  of  many  methods. 
The  requirements  of  a  method  adapted  to  the  work  of  this  laboratory 
are,  rapidity  of  manipulation,  simplicity  of  the  apparatus  and,  most 
important  of  all,  accuracy  of  results.  I  have,  therefore,  undertaken  an 
investigation  of  this  very  interesting  subject,  the  purpose  of  which  has 
been,  not  to  test  all  of  the  methods  published,  but  simply  to  try  some 
of  the  most  general  and  to  compare  them  in  order  to  find  one,  or  the 
essential  features  of  one,  which  best  meets  the  above  demands. 
There  are  not  many  different  varieties  of  opium  imported  at  this 
port,  by  far  the  largest  amount  being  Smyrna  or  Turkish,  occasionally 
some  Persian,  and  very  rarely  small  amounts  of  Egyptian  and  Indian  — 
these  latter  usually  in  sample  lots.  The  total  number  of  samples 
assayed  during  the  year  ending  December  30,  1884,  was  four  hundred 
and  one,  the  percentage  of  morphine  being  generally  between  9  and  15, 
some  few  samples  of  Persian  opium  yielding  as  high  as  18  per  cent, 
and  two  or  three  samples  of  Smyrna  yielding  less  than  9  per  cent.  As 
the  law  prohibits  the  importation  of  the  drug  showing  less  than  this 
proportion  of  morphine,  such  cases  as  the  latter  are  rare.  Assays  are 
made  upon  samples  as  they  are  received  from  the  official  drug  examiner. 
When  the  percentage  is  over  15  per  cent,  or  under  9,  duplicate  deter- 
minations are  invariably  made. 
The  sampling  of  opium  for  the  morphiometric  assay  is  a  matter  of 
great  importance,  especially  when  the  drug  is  in  the  moist  commercial 
condition. 
The  best  method,  and  the  one  usually  employed  for  sampling  a  case, 
is  described  by  Dr.  Squibb  in  his  Ephemeris,  Vol.  i.  No.  l,as  follows : 
"  About  every  tenth  lump  of  a  case  should  be  sampled  by  cutting  out 
a  cone-shaped  piece  from  the  middle  of  the  lump  with  an  ordinary 
pocket  knife.    Then,  from  the  side  of  each  cone,  a  small  strip  is  taken 
