'6  Note  on  Opium  Culture.  {^'V^l'^lim^'"' 
Houghton's  Pepsin  most  of  the  little  cubes  into  which  the  coagulated 
albumen  was  cut,  had  not  even  lost  their  sharp  angles  and  corners. 
To  substantiate  the  assertion  made  in  my  essay  on  Liquid  Pepsin 
(Am.  Jour,  of  Pharm.  Mar.,  1870)  that  Wine  of  Pepsin  and  all  other 
preparations  of  Pepsin  containing  alcohol  were  devoid  of  digestive 
power,  I  made  the  following  experiments :  Two  equal  quantities  of 
dry  Pepsin  were  dissolved  in  acidulated  water,  and  to  one  of  them, 
after  solution,  one  third  of  alcohol  was  added.  The  same  amount  of 
coagulated  albumen  was  put  into  each  bottle.  By  the  time  that  the 
albumen  in  the  vial  without  alcohol  was  entirely  dissolved,  the  al- 
bumen in  the  other  one  was  not  acted  upon,  and  the  little  cubes  had 
retained  their  shape.  Dry  Pepsin,  precipitated  with  alcohol  from  its 
solution,  was  dissolved  in  acidulated  water  and  coagulated  albumen 
added  to  it ;  a  solution  of  my  dry  Pepsin  was  likewise  made,  and  the 
same  quantity  of  albumen  added.  The  Pepsin  made  with  alcohol 
did  not  seem  to  act  at  all  on  the  albumen,  which  appeared  to  be  ex- 
actly the  same  in  shape  and  bulk  as  when  it  was  put  in,  when  my 
Pepsin  had  dissolved  the  albumen  entirely. 
It  seemed  to  me  of  importance  to  find  if  Pepsin  made  from  calf 
rennet  was  identical  with  that  made  from  the  hog.  I  therefore  pre- 
pared Liquid  Pepsin  from  rennet  in  exactly  the  same  way  and  the 
same  proportions,  as  from  the  mucus  membrane  of  the  hog's  stomach. 
When  compared  with  Liquid  Pepsin  as  to  its  digestive  strength  it 
was  found  that  pork  Pepsin  dissolved  about  one  third  more  of  coag- 
ulated albumen  than  calf  Pepsin  in  the  same  time.  With  dry  Pep- 
sin made  from  rennet  I  obtained  the  same  result.  By  experimenting 
•with  lean  beef  meat  the  difference  was  still  more  in  favor  of  the  pork 
Pepsin,  as  a  certain  quantity  of  beef  was  dissolved  by  this,  while  the 
calf  Pepsin  had  loosened  the  fibres,  and  softened  the  meat,  but  the 
bulk  was  not  appreciably  diminished. 
Louisville  Ky.,  December,  1870. 
NOTE  ON  OPIUM  CULTURE. 
By  George  W.  Kennedy,  of  Pottsville,  Pa. 
The  author,  in  a  letter  to  the  editor,  informs  that  he  procured  poppy 
seed  from  abroad,  and  supplied  it  to  a  friend  in  Illinois,  with  the  view 
of  trying  an  experiment  in  opium  culture.    The  seed  were  planted 
in  rows  two  and  a-half  feet  apart,  in  well  manured,  rather  dry  soil,  and 
