528 
ON  ACETUM  OPII  OR  £<  BLACK  DROP." 
a  pound ;  Vinegar  three  pints ;  Nutmeg,  bruised,  one  and  a  half 
ounces ;  Saffron,  half  an  ounce.  Boil  them  to  a  proper  consistence  ; 
then  add  sugar  four  ounces ;  yeast  one  fluid  ounce.  Digest  for 
seven  weeks,  then  place  in  the  open  air  until  it  becomes  a  syrup  ; 
lastly,  decant,  filter,  and  bottle  it  up,  adding  a  little  sugar  to  each 
bottle." 
That  the  directions  here  given  are  altogether  deficient  in  pre- 
cision, and  if  followed  would  invariably  produce  uncertain  results, 
is  too  obvious  to  admit  of  comment :  hence  the  Pharmacopoeia  has 
wisely  rejected  it;  but  in  doing  this  they  have  erred  on  the  other 
hand  by  substituting  a  preparation  which  may  be  regarded  one  third 
weaker,  for  the  following  reasons :  In  the  above  formula  we  start 
with  six  ounces  of  Opium  and  three  pints  of  Vinegar,  and  boil  to 
what  the  formula  terms  a  proper  consistence,  which  may  mean  to 
reduce  the  quantity  of  liquid  one-half,  or  more  or  less,  as  the 
operator  may  see  proper;  but  suppose  we  fix  it  at  two  and  a  half 
pints.  The  next  step  in  the  process  is  to  add  sugar  and  yeast,  and 
digest  seven  weeks;  then  place  it  in  the  open  air  until  it  becomes 
a  syrup.  The  supposition  is  very  natural,  that  the  evaporation 
requisite  to  give  it  the  consistence  of  even  a  thin  syrup,  would 
certainly  reduce  it  from  two  and  a  half  to  one  and  a  half  pints,  If 
this  reasoning  is  correct,  the  formula  proposes  a  preparation  repre- 
senting four  ounces  of  opium  to  each  pint,  supposing  the  opium  to 
be  exhausted  by  the  treatment.  In  addition  to  this  probable  result, 
I  believe  the  original  formula  stated  that  one  drop  was  equal  to 
three  drops  of  laudanum,  and  this  certainly  has  been  the  popular 
idea  prevailing  with  regard  to  the  strength  of  the  medicine  ;  and  I 
very  much  doubt  whether  there  are  many  physicians  who  have 
taken  the  trouble  to  inform  themselves  of  the  actual  difference  ex- 
isting between  the  present  strength  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  and  that 
formerly  made ;  and  under  the  impression  that  the  preparation 
continues  to  be  the  Black  Drop  of  old,  they  prescribe  it  accordingly 
and  are  frequently  disappointed  in  not  realizing  the  full  effects  of 
the  remedy. 
Entertaining  these  views  I  cannot  but  indulge  the  hope  that  our 
forthcoming  national  convention  for  the  revision  of  the  Pharma- 
copoeia will  consider  this  as  well  as  many  other  formulae  worthy  of 
their  notice,  so  that  each  pint  of  the  Acetum  opii  may  represent 
