52 
ON  AMEKICAN  OPIUM. 
the  two  portions.  Of  this  uniform  powder  300  grains  were  incor- 
porated with  less  than  half  of  its  weight  of  prepared  sawdust* 
to  facilitate  percolation,  then  arranged  in  a  suitable  displacer 
dry,  moderately  pressed,  and  treated  with  cold  water  until  the 
droppings  passed  colorless  and  almost  tasteless.  The  percolate, 
which  was  a  very  dark,  rich  colored  liquid,  possessing  a  strongly 
bitter  taste,  was  then  concentrated  by  evaporation,  treated  with 
ether  to  remove  the  narcotina,  and  the  ether  separated  by  a  suita- 
ble funnel.  The  liquid,  thus  deprived  of  narcotina,  after  being 
mixed  with  a  due  proportion  of  water  and  heated  to  expel  the  com- 
bined ether,  was  then  mixed,  first,  with  nearly  an  equal  bulk  of 
alcohol,  and  then  with  solution  of  ammonia  combined  with  alcohol, 
in  the  manner  directed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  in  the  preparation  of 
morphia.  The  result  was,  greatly  to  my  disappointment,  a  very 
moderate  crop  of  slightly  colored  crystals  of  morphia,  very  little 
exceeding  one  per  cent,  of  the  opium  employed.  / 
The  smallness  of  this  result  cannot  be  due  to  any  incomplete- 
ness in  the  exhaustion  of  the  opium,  as  this  was  most  thorough, 
nor  am  I  now  prepared  to  decide  the  true  cause  which  I  propose 
to  leave  for  future  investigation.  The  ethereal  solution  above 
alluded  to,  on  the  evaporation  of  the  ether  by  exposure  in  a 
beaker  glass,  yielded  beautiful  crystals  of  narcotina  mixed  with 
some  impurities,  weighing  in  all  nearly  10  grains.  In  the  mean- 
time the  residual  opium  from  the  aqueous  exhaustion  was  then 
treated  with  dilute  acetic  acid,  which  produced  a  light  wine-colored 
solution,  to  which  ammonia  was  added  to  precipitate  any  narco- 
tina thus  taken  up.  The  precipitate,  after  being  washed  with 
water,  was  treated  with  boiling  alcohol.  This  solution,  upon  cool- 
ing and  evaporation,  yielded  a  very  small  quantity  of  narcotina. 
The  whole  amount  obtained,  both  from  the  ethereal  treatment  of 
the  aqueous  solution  and  the  acidulous  treatment  of  the  marc, 
not  exceeding  3*5  per  cent. 
From  this  experiment  it  will  be  observed  that  the  larger  quan- 
tity of  narcotina  was  taken  up  by  the  aqueous  treatment. 
The  remainder  of  my  supply  of  the  opium  (150  grains)  was 
then  digested  in  ether  until  everything  soluble  therein  was  sup- 
*  Sawdust  from  pine,  exhausted  of  all  matter  soluble  in  alcohol  and 
boiling  water. 
