ON  TINCTURA  OPII  AND  LIQUOR  OPII  SEDATIVUS.  55^ 
such ;  but  if  no  other  criterion  existed  than  that  it  possesses  no 
flavor  or  aroma,  that  would  be  sufficient  to  detect  the  imposture. 
Independently  of  this  test,  the  leaves  will  be  found  much  shorter  ; 
and  occasionally  will  be  seen  a  pure  primrose  blossom,  which 
never  occurs  in  the  beautifully  streaked  blossom  of  the  biennial ; 
but  the  very  fact  of  the  appearance  of  blossom  in  the  sample, 
that  blossom  being  generally  so  much  like  the  blossom  of  the 
biennial,  leads  to  the  very  erroneous  conclusion  that  it  is  the 
same  plant. 
Owing  to  the  extreme  price  which  the  dried  biennial  plant  of 
the  second  year's  growth  has  realized  in  former  years,  the  con- 
sumers have  not  given  that  encouragement  to  its  production 
which  its  intrinsic  value  merits.  The  great  difficulty,  however, 
which  has  thus  been  felt  till  very  recently — that  of  not  being 
able  to  obtain  a  supply  except  at  a  most  exorbitant  price — is 
now  to  a  great  extent  obviated.  From  a  long,  careful,  and  con- 
tinuous study  of  the  cultivation  of  biennial  henbane,  I  have  at 
length  so  far  succeeded  in  preserving  it  from  the  attacks  of 
insects,  to  which  it  is  ordinarily  subject,  and  have  to  such  an 
extent  economized  the  system  of  drying  the  plant,  as  now  to 
bring  the  price  within  reasonable  bounds,  and  to  leave  those  who 
prepare  the  tincture  of  this  valuable  plant  without  any  just  ex- 
cuse for  using  an  inferior  article. 
This  is  not  an  age  in  which  scientific  research  can  be  long 
baffled  in  its  inquiries ;  and  as  the  articles  in  question  will  be 
placed  before  the  public  in  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1867  (class 
44),  no  more  will  be  anticipated  from  their  inspection  by  a  com- 
petent tribunal  than  the  closest  scrutiny  will  justify. — London 
Pharm.  Jour.,  Aug.,  1867,  from  the  Jour,  of  the  Soc.  of  Arts. 
NOTES  ON  TINCT.  OPII  AND  LIQUOR  OPII  SEDATIVUS. 
By  Mr.  Alfred  Southall  (Birmingham). 
In  continuation  of  a  subject  which  was  brought  forward  at  the 
last  meeting  of  the  Conference,  viz.,  the  analysis  of  various  spe- 
cimens of  ordinary  commercial  opium  ;  in  order  further  to  show 
the  extremely  uncertain  medicinal  value  of  different  samples,  I 
have  since  examined  a  variety  of  specimens  of  tincture  of  opium, 
some  of  which  have  been  kindly  forwarded  to  me  by  Dr.  Attfield. 
These  specimens  were,  I  believe,  procured  indiscriminately  from 
