44Q 
Opium  Assaying. 
■  Am.  Jour.  Pliarm. 
\      Sept.,  1891. 
for  eight  hours  and  after  powdering  very  finely,  again  dried  for  five 
hours  at  ioo°  C.  In  a  second  series  of  experiments,  the  opium,  also 
a  Smyrna  opium  (opium  B),  was  dried  at  6o°  C.  The  method  of 
Dieterich  was  used  in  both  modifications  so  that  in  the  first  series 
of  experiments,  the  method  as  laid  down  in  the  German  Pharmaco- 
poeia was  used  while  in  the  second  series  the  modified  and  short- 
ened method  as  last  published  by  Dieterich1  was  adopted.  The 
first  three  results  by  the  U.  S.  P.  process  agreeing  so  well,  it  was 
thought  unnecessary  to  obtain  any  more  by  that  method. 
The  morphine  obtained  by  either  method  is  quite  pure,  but  it 
appears  to  be  more  nearly  colorless  in  case  of  the  U.  S.  P.  than  in 
case 
of  the  Dieterich  process. 
The  following  are 
the  results  obtained : 
Series  I  (Opium  A.) 
Series  II  (Opium  B.) 
u.  S.  P. 
Dieterich. 
U.  S.  P.  Dieterich. 
Per  Cent. 
Per  Cent. 
Per  Cent.       Per  Cent. 
%} 
 12-51 
1079 
1,  12*87  i3'i7 
2, 
15  "32 
2,  13*30  1378 
3, 
 I2'55 
I3'i7 
3,  i3-I6  1249 
4, 
1275 
4,  13*48  i5'25 
5, 
10*96 
6, 
1 1 '46 
7, 
io-55 
8, 
IO*20 
9, 
1 1  "37 
IO, 
19*86 
12*25 
12, 
13-60 
13, 
13-06 
14, 
12-28 
15, 
12-05 
1 6, 
12-38 
In  experiments  8, 
,  9  and  10 
by  Dieterich's  method,  the  entire 
fluid  was  taken  instead  of  an  aliquot  part  and  proportionately  more 
ether  and  ammonia  was  added.  In  experiments  1 1  and  1 5  the 
usual  method  was  used,  but  the  opium  was  allowed  to  stand  in  con- 
tact with"  the  water  for  twenty-four  hours,  instead  of  one,  as  required 
by  the  method. 
In  experiments  12,  13  and  14,  the  entire  fluid  was  taken  instead 
of  an  aliquot  part  and  it  was  also  allowed  to  stand  twenty-four  hours 
in  contact  with  the  opium  before  filtering. 
1  Helfenberger  Annaleti,  1890.    pp.  66-68. 
