634  Estimation  of  Morphine  in  Opium.  {A%JeT^884arm' 
ESTIMATION  OF  MORPHINE  IN  OPIUM. 
By  v.  Perger. 
The  author  has  carefully  examined  the  methods  in  ordinary  use  for 
the  estimation  of  morphine  in  opium,  as  to  their  relative  accuracy, 
making  analyses  of  the  same  sample  of  opium  by  each  method,  and 
finds  that  they  give  most  variable  results.  The  methods  in  common 
use  are  Godeffroy's,  Austrian  Pharmacopoeia,  and  Merk's. 
Godeffroy's  method  is  as  follows :  10  grams  of  dry  opium  powder 
are  mixed  with  25  cc.  of  hot  water,  and  then  pressed  between  folds  of 
linen,  this  operation  being  repeated  until  the  water  is  no  longer  colored. 
The  liquid  is  then  boiled  two  or  three  times  with  8  to  10  grams  of 
slaked  lime  and  filtered;  ammonium  chloride  is  added  to  the  filtrate 
until  after  standing  it  smells  of  ammonia.  The  morphine  crystallizes 
out  after  12-24  hours,  and  can  be  estimated  by  collecting  it  on  a  tared 
filter  and  washing  it  with  dilute  ammonia. 
The  Austrian  Pharmacopeia  method  is  as  follows  :  10  grams  of  dry 
powdered  opium  are  treated  with  90  grams  of  a  mixture  consisting  of 
140  grams  of  distilled  water  and  40  grams  of  hydrochloric  acid  (12*2 
per  cent.).  The  residue  remaining  after  filtering  and  washing  is 
weighed.  If  the  opium  be  good,  it  should  not  exceed  4*5  grams.  The 
filtrate  is  mixed  with  20  grams  of  powdered  sodium  chloride,  and 
allowed  to  remain  for  24  hours  in  the  cold.  The  precipitate  is  then 
collected  and  washed  with  a  saturated  solution  of  sodic  chloride.  The 
filtrate  is  treated  with  ammonia  and  allowed  to  stand  for  12  hours. 
The  morphine  which  crystallizes  out  is  separated  by  decantation,  col- 
lected on  a  filter,  and  washed  with  as  small  a  quantity  of  distilled 
water  as  possible ;  it  is  then  dried  in  a  porcelain  basin,  and  treated 
with  an  equal  weight  of  a  mixture  consisting  of  equal  weights  of 
acetic  acid  (20'4  per  cent.)  and  water.  After  adding  water  the  liquid 
is  filtered.  The  filtrate  should  not  exceed  70-80  grams.  An  excess 
of  ammonia,  is  added  to  it,  and  it  is  allowed  to  remain  for  12  hours, 
when  the  precipitate  is  collected  and  weighed.  The  weight  should 
exceed  1  gram. 
E.  Merk's  method  is  as  follows:  15  grams  of  opium  are  cut  up  and 
boiled  with  100  grams  of  45  per  cent,  alcohol.  The  extract  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  residue  by  filtration,  and  the  latter  is  again  treated  with 
100  grams  of  alcohol ;  8  grams  of  crystallized  soda  are  added  to  the 
