56 
LIQUOR  OPII  COMPOSITUS. 
for  opium  multiplied  by  10,  and  to  him  it  appears  both  simple 
and  easy,  and  has  often  been  verified  by  extractions  of  morphia 
on  the  large  scale  by  various  processes. 
Now  it  is  probable  that  the  average  yield  of  morphia  from  good 
powdered  opium  now-a-days  will  not  be  over  10'5  to  11  per  ct. 
And  the  officinal  tincture,  containing  1-25  troyounces  or  600 
grains  of  such  opium  to  the  pint,  would  therefore  contain  63  to 
66  grains  of  morphia  to  the  pint.  Hence  64  grains  of  morphia 
to  the  pint,  or  4  grains  to  the  fluidounce,  is  assumed  as  the  stand- 
ard of  strength  of  the  officinal  tinctura  opii,  or  laudanum.* 
This  assumed  strength  for  the  officinal  tincture  has  always 
been  used  as  the  standard  of  strength  for  liquor  opii  compositus, 
and  will  continue  to  be  so. 
It  is  therefore  only  necessary  to  divide  the  number  of  grains 
of  morphia  contained  in  the  remaining  sixteen-seventeenths  of 
the  depurated  solution  by  4,  in  order  to  obtain  the  number  of 
fluidounces  of  30  cc.  each,  to  which  the  solution  must  be  made 
up  when  finished  for  use.  In  the  supposed  case  the  182*72,  or 
say  183  grains,  divided  by  4,  gives  45-75  fluidounces,  or  1372 
c.c,  as  the  measure  for  the  finished  solution. 
Now  if  it  be  desired  to  make  the  simple  liquor  opii,  as  suggest- 
ed on  page  37,  it  is  only  necessary  to  add  water  and  alcohol  in 
the  quantities  indicated  by  the  assay,  keeping  the  proportion  of 
alcohol  as  small  as  may  be  with  safety.  With  one-sixth  of  its 
weight  of  alcohol  the  preparation  would  probably  keep  indefi- 
nitely, and  could  then  be  used  by  hypodermic  injection. 
When  the  solution  is  to  be  made  into  liquor  opii  compositus, 
the  proceeding  is  less  simple. 
Thirty  cubic  centimetres  or  a  fluidounce  of  the  preparation, 
when  carefully  and  accurately  made  on  the  basis  given  on  page 
39,  weighs  from  28*95  to  29*05  grammes,  or  from  446*76  to 
448*30  grains,  varying  to  this  extent  only  when  made  from  dif- 
ferent parcels  of  good,  and  only  fair  quality  powdered  opium. 
Twenty-nine  grammes,  or  four  hundred  and  forty-seven  and  a 
Morphia  ("mo  =  303)  is  to  crystallized  sulphate  of  morphia  (1^^, 
SO3,  6HO.=379)  as  303  is  to  379  or  thereabouts,  and  therefore  4  grains 
of  morphia  is  about  equivalent  to  5  grains  of  crystallized  sulphate  of 
morphia. 
