Am.  Jour  Pharm. 
Dec,  1883. 
Deodorized  Tincture  of  Opium. 
599 
moist  state,  and  the  extraction  then  assayed  before  bringing  the  prepa- 
ration to  completion. 
In  1875  the  writer  published  a  method  for  preparing  tincture  of 
opium  by  means  of  heat,  and  has  invariably  employed  it  ever  since 
then.  It  is  one  of  the  essentials  of  this  process  that  the  gum  be  thor- 
oughly disintegrated  by  the  heating  with  water  before  adding  the 
alcohol.  Recently  the  writer  has  modified  the  operation  to  make  it 
more  adaptable  to  larger  quantities.  For  instance,  30  avoirdupois 
ounces  of  a  gum  containing  but  little  moisture  was  broken  into  rather 
large  fragments  and  digested  at  a  gentle  heat  with  4  pints  of  water  for 
about  thirty-six  hours.  The  magma,  whilst  warm,  was  mixed  with  4 
pints  of  alcohol  and  poured  into  a  capacious  plated  double  filter  and 
followed  with  diluted  alcohol  until  2  gallons  of  tincture  was  obtained* 
The  filtering  percolation  was  here  discontinued,  since  the  last  portions 
that  passed  were  nearly  colorless  and  possessed  of  but  little  bitter  taste. 
In  order  now  to  arrive  at  a  final  measure  in  accord  with  a  definite 
standard,  it  became  necessary  to  assay  this  liquor  for  its  morphine 
strength.  For  this  purpose  the  writer  employed  his  method  of  deter- 
mination published  in  1871.  This  operation,  in  the  writer's  experi- 
ence, gives  the  best  results  in  the  simplest  manner  and  the  shortest 
time.  It  is  executed  as  follows:  Two  fluidounces  of  the  alcoholic 
extraction  were  gently  evaporated  to  4  fluid  drachms.  The  clear 
liquid  was  decanted  from  the  resinous  residue  and  transferred  to  a 
small  porcelain  capsule.  The  residue  was  digested  with  2  fluid  drachms 
of  water  for  a  short  time,  and  the  decanted  liquid  mixed  with  that  first 
obtained.  Sixty  grains  of  transparent  crystallized  disodic  carbonate 
was  now  finely  powdered  and  added  to  the  mixture.  After  stirring  the 
whole  well  together  it  was  set  aside  for  twelve  to  eighteen  hours.  The 
precipitate  was  now  poured  into  a  small  plaited  weighed  filter,  and 
washed  with  a  little  water  until  freed  from  the  colored  liquor.  A 
mixture  composed  of  3  fluid  drachms  each  of  ether,  alcohol,  and  water 
was  then  poured  by  degrees  upon  the  precipitate  and  well  stirred  up 
with  a  small  glass  rod.  During  the  last  addition  the  precipitate  was 
left  at  rest,  where  it  had  contracted  to  a  nearly  white  granular  powder 
in  the  apex  of  the  filter.  The  last  portions  of  the  filtrate  having 
passed  away  uncolored,  the  filter  containing  the  precipitate  was 
exposed  in  the  open  air  until  it  ceased  to  lose  weight.  On  weighing 
and  deducting  the  tare  of  the  filter,  15|  grains  of  morphine  was  found. 
This  result  indicated  that  the  opium  contained  about  15  per  cent,  of 
