Chapter XXXI: Front Matter (31)

A large track of country in Bengal, some 600 miles in length and 200 in breadth, watered by the Ganges, embraces the chief opium district of India. A comparatively small quantity of opium is obtained from the mountain parts of the North of India. This latter is yielded by the _Papaver somniferum_, whilst that from the plains is the produce of the _Papaver officinale_.

In India the plant is reared in a rich and well-manured soil, and thrives best in mild moist localities. It requires careful weeding and thinning whilst growing, and when necessary the ground is irrigated. As in Asia Minor, when the time comes for making incisions in the capsules for the purpose of collecting the exuding juice, this latter is always found to be less in quantity if it be rainy weather. In India the poppy begins to flower at the end of January, or the commencement of February and about three or four weeks after its effervescence the capsule, which is about as large as a hen’s egg, is in a condition to be tapped. This operation is always performed at early morn, before sunrise, by means of a little iron instrument notched at the smaller end like a saw.

The treatment to which the milky exudation, which subsequently hardens into opium, is subjected differs only in details from that followed in Asia Minor, and in being more carefully and elaborately carried out. For instance, it is first allowed to stand for some time in a shallow brass dish tilted on one side, by which means there drains away a thin watery fluid, the presence of which seriously impairs the quality of the opium. After this it is dried equably by three or four weeks’ exposure to the air, and in this condition is packed in earthen jars and taken by the native cultivators to the factory. Here, after being tested and weighed, it is thrown into immense vats, which contain the accumulated produce of whole districts; and when the several samples have been kneaded together it is removed, and formed into balls or cakes. The soft opium is made into balls by being pressed into brass cup-shaped moulds, lined throughout with petals of the poppy, which are made to adhere to each other as well as to the ball of opium by means of an adhesive fluid obtained from an inferior kind of opium; other petals are then by the same means stuck on to the upper part of the ball so that the whole of this is covered with a thin layer of them. The balls are next removed to the drying-room of the factory, where they are arranged in tiers on lattice-work shelves. During the process of drying they are carefully watched and examined by boys, to keep them from the ravages of insects. When sufficiently desiccated the cakes of opium are packed in casks, and are ready for the market.

The yield of morphia from East Indian opium is usually very small, a circumstance which Messrs Flückiger and Hanbury conceived to be partly due to the climate and partly to the defective method of cultivation.

He believed that the period, three or four weeks, during which the juice was allowed to remain in the wet state was much too long, and exercised a destructive influence on its constituents.

Opium from England, France, and Germany is occasionally met with, but never in considerable quantity. The cultivation of the opium poppy, however, in these three countries is chiefly carried on for the sake of the capsules which are largely employed in medicine; and the oil extracted from the seed, which is highly valued and extensively employed by artists.

_Pur._ The opium of commerce is not unfrequently adulterated with extract of poppies, extract of lettuce, lactucarium, mucilage of gum tragacanth, dried leaves, starch, water, clay, sand, gravel, and other substances, in order to increase its weight. This fraud is readily detected by inspection, by chemical analysis, and the microscope; and indirectly, with the greatest certainty, by a simple assay of the sample for its morphia (morphiometry). This may be effected by one or other of the following methods:——

1. (Couerbe.) Opium, 4 parts, and quicklime, 1 part, made into a milk with water, q. s., are boiled together, and the solution filtered whilst hot; the filtrate is then saturated with dilute hydrochloric acid and the morphia precipitated by the addition of ammonia, any excess of the latter being expelled by heat; the precipitate is then collected, dried, and weighed. If 100 gr. have been operated on, the given weight will represent (nearly) the per-centage richness of the sample in morphia.

2. (Guilliermond.) 100 gr. of opium are triturated for some time in a mortar along with 4 times its weight of rectified spirit, and the tincture strained through linen, with expression, into a wide-mouthed bottle; the marc is triturated a second time with about 3 times its weight of alcohol, and the tincture strained into the bottle as before; to the mixed tincture is added a fl. dr. of liquor of ammonia, and the whole is agitated for a short time. In about 12 hours the morphia spontaneously separates, accompanied with some narcotina and meconate of ammonium; the morphia covering the interior of the vessel with large, coloured, and gritty crystals, feeling like sand, and the narcotina crystallising in very light, small, white, and pearly needles. These crystals are washed with water, either through a paper filter or linen, to free them from the meconate of ammonia which they contain; after which the narcotina is separated from the morphia by decantation in water, which removes the narcotina, which is the lighter of the two. According to M. Mialhe, however, the morphia is more effectually removed by washing the crystals with 1 to 1-1/2 fl. dr. of ether, by triturating the two together, when the morphia is left in an insoluble state, and may then be dried and weighed.

3. (B. Ph.) Take of opium, 100 gr., slaked lime, 100 gr., distilled water, 4 oz. Break down the opium and steep it in an ounce of the water for 24 hours, stirring the mixture frequently. Transfer it to a displacement apparatus, and pour on the remainder of the water in successive portions, so as to exhaust the opium by percolation. To the infusion thus obtained, placed in a flask, add the lime, boil for ten minutes, place the undissolved matter on a filter, and wash it with an ounce of boiling water. Acidulate the filtered fluid slightly with hydrochloric acid, evaporate it to the bulk of 1/2 an ounce, and let it cool. Neutralise it cautiously with solution of ammonia, carefully avoiding an excess; remove by filtration the brown matter which separates, wash it with an ounce of hot water, mix the washings with the filtrate, concentrate the whole to the bulk of 1/2 an ounce, and add now solution of ammonia in slight excess. After 24 hours collect the precipitated morphia on a weighed filter, wash it with cold water, and dry it at 212°. It ought to weigh at least from 6 to 8 grains.

4. (Cleaver.) Commenting on the above method of opium assay, Mr Cleaver[75] remarks:——“This process, if properly and carefully carried out, is one of the best, as, by the use of lime, the resin and meconate of calcium, also meconic acid, are removed from solution. The objections to it are——

[Footnote 75: ‘Pharmaceutical Year Book,’ 1876.]

“_a._ That the large quantity of water used, and the subsequent evaporation, cause loss of morphia.

“_b._ That no account is taken of the loss of morphia by non-precipitation.

“The modifications I would introduce are as follows:——

“_a._ The opium should be first treated with bisulphide of carbon or benzine.

“_b._ The dried residue should then be mixed with its own weight of lime and two or three times its bulk of some inert powder, such as pumice or glass. It is then to be percolated with water, the first part of the percolate being returned as fast as it runs through. By this means much less water will be required to exhaust the opium than would otherwise be the case.

“After the opium has been exhausted, which will be known by the liquid dropping through devoid of taste, the solution should be exactly neutralised with dilute sulphuric acid and filtered and the precipitate washed. The clear solution is then to be evaporated over a water bath until its bulk is about 1/2 an ounce, and again filtered if requisite, then ammonia is to be added in slight excess, and the liquid allowed to stand for 24 hours.

“The precipitate can then be collected, washed with ether and dried, and to the amount formed must be added the amount corresponding to the quantity of water used in precipitating and washing.

“The morphia obtained by this process is of a dull white colour, crystalline, perfectly soluble in alcohol, acids, and alkalies.”

5. (Prollius.) This is a very simple process and is said to give very exact results. It is as follows:——The opium is exhausted with 9 or 10 times its weight of spirit of 34 per cent. strength. Of the resulting tincture, 100 parts are well shaken with 5 parts of ether and 2 parts of solution of ammonia in a stoppered bottle, and then allowed to stand from 12 to 24 hours. The liquids separate slowly, and retain, partly in the ether, partly in the alcoholic liquid, the colouring matter, narcotine, and other crystallisable constituents of opium; while the morphia separates in crystals between the two layers, and finally sinks to the bottom. The fluid portion is decanted, the crystals are washed with diluted alcohol, dried and weighed.

6.[76] (Teschemacher.) In employing the following method the use of alcohol to extract the morphia is avoided, and meconic acid is separated at an early stage, which prevents the formation of a basic meconate on precipitation of the morphia. Two special reagents are required for this process; the one prepared by mixing 1 part of ammonia, sp. gr. 0·880, with 20 parts of methylated alcohol, and digesting in this mixture a large excess of morphine; this, when filtered, is termed “_morphiated spirit_;” the other, _morphiated water_, is water saturated with excess of morphine, and contains 0·04 per cent. of this alkaloid. 1000 gr. of opium are macerated for 12 to 24 hours in about 4000 grains of cold distilled water, together with 300 gr. of lead acetate, stirring the mixture from time to time. This separates the meconic acid as lead meconate, whilst the morphia is dissolved in the acetic acid set free.

[Footnote 76: ‘Chemical News,’ xxxv, 47.]

After this maceration the opium may be readily ground in a mortar to a paste, and so much more cold distilled water added, raising the pestle and mortar with successive portions of it as to fill with the mixture a measure = 20,250 grains of distilled water; experience has shown that the space occupied by the insoluble matters measures from 200 to 300 gr., so that the limit of possible error, by averaging and allowing 250 gr. for the insoluble portion, amounts to 0·05% in opium containing 10% of morphia. The mixture is to be filtered and 15,000 measured gr. = 750 grains of opium, of the clear solution, are to be evaporated to an extract on a water bath, and this residue to be drenched with 3090 gr. of boiling alcohol or methylated spirit, and the whole digested, with frequent stirring, for about 10 minutes.

This separates the gum, &c., of the opium which is insoluble in alcohol, and so far frees the solution of morphia from impurity.

At this stage of the process it is well to get rid of the excess of lead-salts, and to accomplish this, sulphuric acid is preferable to sulphuretted hydrogen. So much diluted sulphuric acid as may be equal to 30 gr. of oil of vitriol will almost always be sufficient for this purpose, any excess of acid being converted into sulphate of ammonia by the subsequent addition of so much solution of ammonia as shall be equivalent to the 30 gr. of oil of vitriol, thus forming a salt but slightly soluble in the alcoholic solution. This mixture may now be transferred to a beaker and allowed to settle for 12 hours, after which it is to be filtered, and the filter and insoluble residue thoroughly washed with alcohol or methylated spirits. This alcoholic filtrate is then distilled, or evaporated on a water bath, to about 1000 gr.; and mixed, while still hot, with 400 gr. of solution of ammonia, sp. gr. 0·880, stirring rapidly and continuously for at least 20 minutes, whilst the beaker or evaporating dish should be cooled as rapidly as possible by immersion in an external vessel filled with cold water. The rapid and continuous stirring is most important, as the precipitation of the whole of the morphia _in fine powder_ is thereby effected, instead of the granular or mamillated condition so frequently met with, and it thus permits of the easy and thorough separation of all the narcotine which may be mixed with the morphine. When the cooling of the mixture and precipitation of the morphia is thus attained, transfer it quickly and completely to a filter of sufficient capacity to hold the whole, and when the liquid portion has passed through, wash the remainder of the precipitated morphia adhering to the dish or beaker on to the filter, using for this purpose the morphiated spirit already described, and continuing the washing of the precipitate until it is completely freed from the mother-liquor. To do this effectually requires some little care: thus the morphia on the filter must be kept in a spongy condition and never allowed to cohere, which is easily effected by pouring the morphiated spirit round the edges of the filter, so as not to disturb the precipitate, which must not be permitted to drain or solidify until this washing is completed.

The precipitate is now to be washed from off the filter-paper with the morphiated water previously described, and digested therein for a few minutes, which removes some more colouring matter, together with any salts soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol, which may have adhered to the precipitated morphia; then once more collect the precipitate on a filter, washing it with morphiated spirit, after this once with ether, and finally thrice, or more with benzine; this completely frees it from narcotina, which is very soluble in benzine; morphia, on the contrary, being insoluble in this liquid. It now remains to drain and dry at a low temperature, say 100° F., the resulting pure and white morphia, the weight of which will indicate the amount of this alkaloid present in 750 gr. of the opium under examination.

7. (Ph. E.) Macerate 100 gr. of opium for 24 hours in 2 fl. oz. of water, filter, and strongly squeeze the residue; then precipitate the infusion with carbonate of sodium, 1/2 oz., dissolved in cold water, 2 fl. oz.; gently heat the precipitate until it shrinks and fuses, then cool and weigh it. It should weigh at least 10 gr., and, when powdered, be entirely soluble in a solution of oxalic acid. See also Watts’ ‘Dic. of Chemistry,’ article OPIUM.

_Tests._ These depend chiefly on the chemical and physical characters of morphia and meconic acid, the tests for which have been already noticed. In operating upon the contents of the stomach, or upon solid organs, in cases of suspected poisoning, the best method or proceeding is that already described under ALKALOID.

Another method is to boil the substances in water slightly acidulated with acetic acid, next to evaporate the solution to the consistence of a thick syrup, and then to treat it twice with boiling rectified spirit; the tincture thus obtained is to be filtered when cold, and again evaporated to the consistence of a syrup; it is now re-dissolved in distilled water, the filtrate treated with solution of subacetate of lead, and the precipitate of meconate of lead, separated by filtration, and carefully preserved. A current of sulphuretted hydrogen is then passed through the solution to precipitate excess of lead, and after again filtering it the liquid is evaporated, at first in a water bath, and afterwards under the receiver of an air-pump. The shapeless mass of crystals thus obtained present all the characters of morphia, if the substance examined contained opium. In the meantime the precipitate of meconate of lead is to be boiled with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and the insoluble sulphate of lead separated by filtration; the filtered liquid, by evaporation, furnishes meconic acid, either under the form of crystals or an amorphous powder, the solution of which precipitates ferric salts of a deep blood-red.

The following are additional tests to those already noticed:——

1. From the peculiar odour of opium, often perceptible when the drug has been taken only in very small quantities.

2. A solution containing crude opium is turned of a deep red colour, or if coloured, it is turned of a reddish brown, and is darkened by tincture of ferric chloride.

3. (Hare.) A portion of the suspected liquid is poured into a beaker glass, and a few drops of solution of acetate of lead are added to it; the whole is stirred frequently for 10 or 12 hours, and then allowed to settle, after which the supernatant liquid is decanted; 20 or 30 drops each of dilute sulphuric acid and solution of ferric sulphate are next poured on the precipitate (meconate of lead), when a deep and beautiful red colour will be developed if the original liquid contained opium.

4. (Dr Rieget.) The suspected substance is mixed with some potassa, and is then agitated with ether; a strip of white unsized paper is next several times moistened with the solution, and when dry it is re-moistened with hydrochloric acid, and exposed to the steam of hot water. The paper assumes a red colour, more or less deep, if opium is present.

_Uses, &c._ Opium is one of the most valuable substances employed in medicine. In small doses it acts as a powerful and diffusible stimulant, in somewhat larger ones it is narcotic, and in excessive doses it proves an active narcotic poison. It is also anodyne, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, soporific, and sedative, its peculiar action being greatly modified by the dose and the condition of the patient. Its action as a stimulant is followed by sedative effects, which are, in general, much more marked than could be expected from the degree of previous excitement it induces. It is employed to fulfil a variety of indications——to procure sleep, to lull pain, allay irritation, check morbid discharges, alleviate cough and spasm, &c. &c. It also, when judiciously administered, renders the body less susceptible of external impressions, as those of cold, contagion, &c.; but it is injurious when the pulse is high, the heat of the body above the natural standard, and the skin dry, or when there is a disposition to local inflammation or congestion. When applied externally, in the form of frictions, liniments, ointments, &c., it is absorbed, and produces similar effects to those produced by swallowing it, but in this way it requires to be used in larger quantities.——_Dose._ As a stimulant, 1/4 gr., every 2 or 3 hours; as an anodyne and antispasmodic, 1/2 to 1 gr.; as a soporific, 1/2 to 2 gr.; in violent spasms, neuralgia, acute rheumatism, &c., 2 to 4 gr., increased in delirium tremens, hydrophobia, mania, tetanus, &c., to several times that quantity, according to circumstances.

The use of opium as a stimulant and intoxicant is common among the nations of the East. The Turks chew it, and the Chinese smoke a watery extract of it, under the name of ‘chundoo,’ the preparation of which from the crude article constitutes a special business. Messrs Flückiger and Hanbury, in their ‘Pharmacographia,’ published in 1874, say this particular business is not confined to the celestials, since, in 1870, a British firm at Amoy opened an establishment for preparing chundoo for the consumption of the Chinese in California and Australia.

The qualities most valued by the Chinese in opium are its fulness and peculiarity of aroma, and its degree of solubility. The amount of morphine it contains is a secondary consideration.

The practice of opium smoking yearly increases in China. It appears to be openly followed, and no odium attaches to it, provided it is not carried so far as to intoxicate or incapacitate the smoker.

In the larger cities and towns adjacent to Amoy the proportion of opium smokers, according to Mr Hughes, Commissioner of Customs at Amoy, is estimated at from 15 to 20 per cent. of the adult population.

In the country districts 5 to 10 per cent. of the population are believed to be opium smokers.

In many of the Western States of America the practice has become so notoriously common that in 1872 the legislature of Kentucky passed a bill by which any person who, through the excessive use of opium, is incapacitated from managing himself or his affairs, may, upon the affidavit of two citizens, be confined in an asylum, and subjected to the same restraint as lunatics or habitual drunkards.[77]

[Footnote 77: Blythe.]

Of late years opium-eating and laudanum-taking have, unfortunately, been greatly on the increase in this country, and the employment of this drug as a soporific for infants and young children has become so general amongst the poor and dissipated as to call for the interference of the legislature.

Of the 250,000 lbs. of opium which, as shown by the recent returns made by the Custom House, are imported into this country, it has been computed that not more than a third of this quantity is used for medicinal purposes.

According to Dr Chevers the practices of opium-eating and opium-smoking are very common among the natives of India. The same authority also states that in that country a large number of female infants are purposely poisoned by it, by introducing the drug into the child’s mouth, and in various other ways.

The first effect of opium as a stimulant is to excite the mental powers and to elevate those faculties proper to man; but its habitual use impairs the digestive organs, induces constipation, and gradually lessens the energy of both the mind and body. In excessive quantities it destroys the memory, induces fatuity and a state of wretchedness and misery, which after a few years is mostly cut short by a premature death. In this respect the effects of the excessive use of opium closely resemble those of fermented liquors.

Opium is somewhat uncertain in its action; some persons being able, sometimes from idiosyncrasy, but more frequently from previous indulgence in it, to take a much larger dose than others. The smallest quantity which is said to have proved fatal with an adult is 4 grains of the crude opium. In contrast with this may be quoted the statement of Dr Garrod, of a young man who not only swallowed 60 gr. of Smyrna opium night and morning, but very frequently, in addition to this, 1 oz. to 1-1/2 oz. of laudanum during the day.

Dr Chapman also cites the case of a patient to whom a wineglass of laudanum had to be administered several times in 24 hours.

_Pois._——_Symptoms._ Headache; drowsiness; stupor; frightful reveries; vertigo; contracted pupil (generally); scanty urine; pruritus or dry itching of the skin, often accompanied by a papular eruption; thirst; dryness of mouth and throat; weak and low pulse; vomiting; respiration, generally, natural. Sometimes the drowsiness or sleep is calm and peaceful.——_Ant., &c._ Vomiting must be induced as soon as possible, by means of a strong emetic and tickling the fauces. If this does not succeed, the stomach-pump should be applied. The emetic may consist of a 1/2 dr. of sulphate of zinc dissolved in 1/2 pint of warm water, of which one third should be taken at once, and the remainder at the rate of a wine-glassful every 5 or 10 minutes, until vomiting commences. When there is much drowsiness or stupor, 1 or 2 fl. dr. of tincture of capsicum will be found a useful addition; or one of the formulæ for emetic draughts given at page 588 (especially No. 7) may be taken instead. Infusion of galls, cinchona, or oak-bark, should be freely administered before the emetic, and water soured with vinegar and lemon-juice, after the stomach has been well cleared out. To rouse the system, spirit-and-water or strong coffee may be given. To keep the sufferer awake, rough friction should be applied to the skin, an upright posture preserved, and walking exercise enforced, if necessary. When this is ineffectual, cold water may be dashed over the chest, head, and spine, or mild shocks of electricity may be had recourse to. To allow the sufferer to sleep is to abandon him to destruction. Bleeding may be subsequently necessary in plethoric habits, or in threatened congestion. The costiveness that accompanies convalescence may be best met by aromatic aperients; and the general tone of the habit restored by stimulating tonics and the shower bath. The smallest fatal dose of opium in the case of an adult within our recollection was 4-1/2 gr. Children are much more susceptible of the action of opium than of other medicines, and hence the dose of it for them must be diminished considerably below that indicated by the common method of calculation depending on the age. See DOSES, &c.

_Concluding Remarks._ Opium is a very complicated substance, and contains a number of alkaloids and other proximate vegetable principles, besides a certain portion of saline matter. The substances already detected in it are caoutchouc, codein, fatty matter, lignin, meconic acid, meconia, morphia, narceia, narcotia, odorous matter, opiania, papaveria, pseudomorphia (?), porphyroxin, resin, saline matter, &c. It is doubtful, however, whether some of these substances are not generated from other principles existing in opium during the processes adopted to obtain them.

According to Mulder, 100 parts of ordinary Smyrna opium contain——

Morphia 10·842
Codeia ·678
Narcotia 6·808
Narceia 0·662
Meconia ·804
Meconic acid 5·154
Resin 3·582
Gummy matter 26·242
Mucus 19·086
Fatty matter 2·166
Caoutchouc 6·012
Water 9·846
Matter undetermined and
loss 2·118
————————
100·

The sp. gr. of Smyrna opium is 1·336.

The following chart, showing the natural alkaloids of opium and a few of their artificial derivatives, is taken from the ‘Pharmacographia’ of Messrs Flückiger and Hanbury:——

+----------------+----------------------------------------------------+——+——+——+——+
| | |C.|H.|N.|O.|
|Discovered by | COTARNINE |12|13| 1| 3|
| Wöhler, 1844 |Formed by oxidising narcotine, soluble in water. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1871 | 1. Hydrocotarnine |12|15| 1| 3|
| | Crystallisable, alkaline, volatile at 100°. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Matthiesen and | APORMORPHINE |17|17| 1| 2|
| Wright, 1869 |From morphine by hydrochloric acid, colourless, | | | | |
| | amorphous, turning green by exposure to air, | | | | |
| | emetic. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Wright, 1871 | DESOXYMORPHINE |17|19| 1| 2|
| | | | | | |
|Sertürner, 1816 | 2. Morphine |17|19| 1| 3|
| | Crystallisable, alkaline, levogyre. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Pelletier and | 3. Pseudomorphine |17|19| 1| 4|
| Thibouméry, |Crystallises with H_{2}O, does not unite even with | | | | |
| 1835 | acetic acid. | | | | |

+----------------+----------------------------------------------------+——+——+——+——+
| Discovered by | |C.|H.|N.|O.|
|Matthiesen and | APOCODEINE |18|19| 1| 2|
|Burnside, 1871 |From codeine by chloride of zinc; amorphous, | | | | |
| | emetic. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Wright, 1871 | DESOXYCODEINE |18|21| 1| 2|
| | | | | | |
|Robiquet, 1832 | 4. Codeine |18|21| 1| 3|
| | Crystallisable, alkaline, soluble in water. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Matthiesen and | NORNARCOTINE |19|17| 1| 7|
|Foster, 1868 | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Thibouméry, 1835| 5. Thebaine |19|21| 1| 3|
| |Crystallisable, alkaline, isomeric with buxine. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1870 | THEBENINE |19|21| 1| 3|
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1870 | THEBARCINE |19|21| 1| 3|
| |From Thebaine or Thebenine by hydrochloric acid. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1871 | 6. Protopine |20|19| 1| 5|
| | Crystallisable, alkaline. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Matthiesen and | METHYLNORNARCOTINE |20|19| 1| 7|
|Foster, 1868 | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1871 | DEUTEROPINE |20|21| 1| 5|
| | Not yet isolated. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1870 | 7. Laudanine |20|25| 1| 4|
| |An alkaloid, which, as well as its salts, forms | | | | |
| | large crystals; turns orange by hydrochloric acid.| | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1870 | 8. Codamine |20|25| 1| 4|
| |Crystallisable, alkaline, can be sublimed; becomes | | | | |
| | green by nitric acid. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Merck, 1848 | 9. Papaverine |21|21| 1| 4|
| |Crystallisable, also its hydrochlorate; sulphate in | | | | |
| | sulphuric acid precipitated by water. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1865 | 10. Rhœadine |21|21| 1| 6|
| |Crystallisable, not distinctly alkaline, can be | | | | |
| | sublimed; occurs also in Papaver Rhœas. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1865 | RHŒAGENINE |21|21| 1| 6|
| |From rhœadine, crystallisable, alkaline. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Armstrong, 1871 | DIMETHYLNORNARCOTINE |21|21| 1| 7|
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1870 | 11. Meconidine |21|23| 1| 4|
| |Amorphous, alkaline, melts at 58°, not stable, the | | | | |
| | salts also easily altered. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|T. and H. Smith,| 12. Cryptopine |21|23| 1| 5|
|1864 |Crystallisable, alkaline, salts tend to gelatinise, | | | | |
| | hydrochlorate crystallises in tufts. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1871 | 13. Laudanosine |21|27| 1| 4|
| | Crystallisable, alkaline. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Derosne, 1803 | 14. Narcotine |22|23| 1| 7|
| |Crystallisable, not alkaline, salts not stable. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Hesse, 1870 | 15. Lanthopine |23|25| 1| 4|
| |Microscopic crystals, not alkaline, sparingly | | | | |
| | soluble in hot or cold spirit of wine, ether or | | | | |
| | benzol. | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Pelletier, 1832 | 16. Narceine |23|29| 1| 9|
| |Crystallisable (as a hydrate), readily soluble in | | | | |
| | boiling water, or in alkalies, levogyre. | | | | |
+----------------+----------------------------------------------------+——+——+——+——+

⁂ The following preparations, once famous, are now nearly obsolete in this country. Those that are made with cold water or by fermentation are supposed to be milder than crude opium, and in this respect to be similar to ‘BLACK DROP,’

=Opium, Homberg’s.= Opium exhausted by repeated coction in 10 or 12 times its weight of water, and the mixed liquors evaporated to one third, and kept boiling for 2 or 3 days, adding water from time to time, then straining and evaporating to a pilular consistence. BAUMÉ’S PURIFIED OPIUM is similar.

=Opium, Launcelotte’s.= Opium, 1 lb.; quince juice, 1 gall.; pure potassa, 1 oz.; sugar, 4 oz.; ferment for some time, evaporate to a syrup, digest in rectified spirit, filter, and evaporate the tincture.

=Opium, Let′tuce.= Lactucarium.

=Opium, Newmann’s.= Infusion of opium, strained, mixed with a little sugar, and fermented for some months in a warm place; and, lastly, strained and evaporated to an extract, or preserved in the liquid form.

=Opium, Powell’s.= Opium, exhausted by coction with water, the residuum treated with spirit of wine, and the mixed tincture and decoction evaporated to an extract.

=Opium, Pu′′rified.= _Syn._ OPIUM PURIFICATUM, L. The purified opium of old pharmacy is now represented by the aqueous extract of the Pharmacopœias. (See page 703.) Formerly, picked opium, beaten to a pilular consistence, with the addition of a little water or proof spirit, was called ‘SOFT PURIFIED OPIUM’ (OPIUM PURIFICATUM MOLLE); and picked opium, dried in a water bath until brittle enough for powdering, was called ‘HARD PURIFIED OPIUM’ (O. P. DURUM). CORNETTE’S and JOSSE’S PURIFIED OPIUM are similar to the extract of Ph. L.

=Opium, Quercetan’s.= Vinegar of opium evaporated to an extract.

=Opium, Strained.= _Syn._ EXTRACTUM THEBAICUM, OPIUM COLATUM, OPIUM PURIFICATUM, L. Opium dissolved or softened in an equal weight of water, passed through canvas, and evaporated to the consistence of an extract. It is now superseded by the aqueous extract.

=Opium, Tor′refied.= _Syn._ ROASTED OPIUM; OPIUM TORREFACTUM, L. Opium, dried, cut into thin slices, and roasted on an iron plate, at a low heat, as long as it emits vapours, care being taken not to burn it.

=OPODEL′DOC.= 1. See LINIMENT OF SOAP.

2. (STEER’S OPODELDOC.) This, which differs from common opodeldoc chiefly in containing more soap, is prepared as follows:——

_a._ White Castile soap (cut very small), 2 lbs.; camphor, 5 oz.; oil of rosemary, 1 oz.; oil of origanum, 2 oz.; rectified spirit, 1 gall.; mix, and digest in a strong bottle (closely corked), by the heat of a water bath, until solution is complete; when the liquid has considerably cooled, add of liquor of ammonia, 11 oz., and immediately put it into wide-mouthed bottles (Steer’s), cork them close, and tie them over with bladder. Very fine, solid and transparent when cold.

_b._ Soap, 4 oz.; camphor, 1 oz.; oil of rosemary and origanum, of each 1 dr.; rectified spirit, 1 pint; liquor of ammonia, 1-1/2 fl. oz. Mix.

_c._ (Phil. Coll. of Phar.) White soap, 28 oz.; camphor, 8 oz.; rectified spirit, 6-1/2 pints; dissolve, suffer the impurities to subside, add of liquor of ammonia, 4 fl. oz.; oils of rosemary and horsemint, of each 1 fl. oz.; and pour it into phials, as before.

=OPOPONAX.= A resinous substance obtained from the roots of the _Opoponax chironium_. It occurs in lumps of a reddish-yellow or brown colour, and has a waxy fracture. It has a powerful odour, which somewhat resembles garlic, and a bitter taste.

Opoponax is only partially soluble in alcohol, According to Payen it consists of a little volatile oil, a resin that melts it at 100° C., gum, inorganic and organic salts, and mechanical admixtures. It is used in French pharmacy; and was held in great esteem by Hippocrates, Theophrastus, and Dioscorides, all of whom employed it therapeutically.

=ORANGE.= _Syn._ AURANTIUM, L. The common SWEET ORANGE is the fruit of _Citrus Aurantium_. The SEVILLE or BITTER ORANGE is produced by _Citrus vulgaris_ or _Bigaradia_.

Oranges are probably about the most wholesome and useful of all the subacid fruits. Their juice differs from that of lemons chiefly in containing less citric acid and more sugar. In their general properties the two are nearly similar.

FACTITIOUS ORANGE JUICE is made by dissolving citric acid, 1 oz., and carbonate of potassa, 1 dr., in water, 1 quart, and digesting the solution on the peel of half an orange until sufficiently flavoured; Narbonne honey or white sugar is then added to impart the necessary sweetness. Instead of orange peel, 5 or 6 drops of oil of orange peel, with 1/2 fl. oz. of tincture of orange peel, may be used.

ORANGE PEEL (CORTEX AURANTII) is an agreeable, stomachic, bitter tonic, especially useful as an adjunct to more active medicines. That ordered to be used in medicine is the exterior (yellow) rind of the _Citrus Bigaradia_, or bitter orange, dried in the months of February, March, or April. See CANDYING, INFUSION, ISSUE PEAS, OILS (volatile), &c.

=ORANGEADE′.= _Syn._ ORANGE SHERBET. 1. Juice of 4 oranges, thin peel of 1 orange, lump sugar, 4 oz.; boiling water, 3 pints.

2. Juice and peel of 1 large orange, citric acid, 15 gr.; sugar, 3 oz.; boiling water, 1 quart.

=Orangeade, Effervescing or Aerated.= 1. Mix 1 lb. of syrup of orange peel, a gallon of water, and 1 oz. of citric acid, and charge it strongly with carbonic acid gas with a machine.

2. Syrup of orange juice, 3/4 fl. oz.; aerated water, 1/2 pint.

3. Simple syrup, 1/2 fl. oz.; tincture of orange peel, 1/2 dr.; citric acid, 1 scruple; fill the bottle with aerated water.

4. Put into a soda-water bottle 1/2 oz. to 1 oz. of syrup of orange peel, 30 gr. of bicarbonate of potash, 8 oz. of water, and, lastly, 40 gr. of citric acid, in crystals, and cork immediately.

5. Put into each bottle 2 or 3 dr. of sugar, 2 drops of oil of orange peel, 30 gr. of bicarbonate of potash, or 25 gr. of bicarbonate of soda water to fill the bottle, and 40 gr. of citric acid, as before.

=OR′ANGE CHROME.= _Prep._ 1. From a solution of chromate of potash and diacetate of lead, as chrome yellow.

2. From chrome yellow or chromate of lead, by acting on it with a weak alkaline lye, until sufficiently darkened. Used as a pigment.

=ORANGE DYES.= These are produced from mixtures of red and yellow dyes in various proportions; or by passing the cloth, previously dyed yellow, through a weak red bath.

1. A very good fugitive orange may be given with annotta, by passing the goods through a solution made with equal parts of annotta and pearlash, or, still better, through a bath made of 1 part of annotta, dissolved in a lye of 1 part each of lime and pearlash and 2 parts of soda. The shade may be reddened by passing the dyed goods through water acidulated with vinegar, lemon juice, or citric acid, or through a solution of alum. The goods are sometimes passed through a weak alum mordant before immersion in the dye bath.

2. (For COTTON.) For 40 lbs. 2-1/2 lbs. annotta, 24 lbs. of bark, 3 quarts of chloride of tin. Boil the annotta, put off the boil, enter and wince until it has a good body. Then wring out, wash well, wring again, and shake out. Next, in a clean boiler, boil the bark in a bag for a quarter of an hour, add the chloride of tin, and enter, wince at the spring till the required shade is got.

3. (For SILK.) For 10 yards. Annotta, 1-3/4 oz.; bark, 1-1/4 oz.; chloride of tin, 1-1/2 oz. Give a good body of annotta at 212° Fahr.; wash in one water, then top with the bark and chloride of tin.

4. (For WOOL.) For 50 lbs. Boil 10 lbs. of bark and 1-1/2 lbs. of cochineal; add 2 lbs. of tartar, 2-1/2 quarts of yellow spirits. Enter at 200° Fahr.; boil 30 minutes. See ANNOTTA, DYEING, &c.

=ORANGE RED.= _Syn._ SANDIX. From white lead, by calcination, in a nearly similar manner to that by which red lead is prepared from the protoxide. Brighter than red lead. Used wholly as a pigment.

=OR′ANGERY.= The gallery, building, or enclosure in a garden, in which orange trees are preserved or cultivated, to shield them from the effects of the external winter, or to assist their growth by artificial heat.

=OR′CHARD.= See CIDER.

=OR′CEIN.= C_{7}H_{7}NO_{2}. _Syn._ LICHEN LAKE. A brownish-red powder, obtained by dissolving orcin in ammonia, exposing the solution to the air, and then precipitating with dilute acetic acid. It is nearly insoluble in water, but dissolves freely in solutions of ammonia and the fixed alkalies, with the production of a rich purple or violet colour. It probably constitutes the leading tinctorial ingredient in ARCHIL, CUDBEAR, and LITMUS. (See _below_.)

=OR′CHIL.= See ARCHIL.

=OR′CIN.= C_{7}H_{8}O_{2}. The general product of the decomposition of the acids obtained from the tinctorial lichens under the influence of heat or the alkaline earths.

_Prep._ 1. The powdered lichen is treated with boiling alcohol, the tincture filtered whilst hot, and again after it has become cold; the alcohol is then removed by distillation, and the remainder evaporated to the consistence of a syrup; this is redissolved in water, and the solution is again filtered and evaporated to a syrup; it is then set aside some days in a cool place, and the crystals of orcin which form are collected, and dried by pressure in bibulous paper. Impure.

2. Lecanoric or orsenillic acid (impure will do) is boiled in baryta water, and the excess of baryta is precipitated by carbonic acid; the filtered liquid is then evaporated to a small bulk, and set aside to crystallise, as before.

_Prop., &c._ Large, square, prismatic crystals; slightly yellowish; intensely sweet; very soluble in both water and alcohol; melt to a syrupy liquid, and then distil unchanged. Alkalies decompose it; when exposed to the air, it gradually reddens. (See _above_.)

=OREIDE.= A variety of brass, in appearance very much like gold. The following, according to MM. Menrier and Valient, its inventors, is the composition of this alloy:——Copper, 100 parts; zinc, 17 parts; magnesia, 6 parts; sal ammoniac, 3·6 parts; quicksilver, 1·80 parts; tartar of commerce, 9 parts. The copper being first melted, the other ingredients are added by small portions at a time, the whole being kept in fusion for about half an hour, and during which time they are kept skimmed. The oreide has a fine grain, is malleable, is capable of being brilliantly polished, and has its lustre restored by the use of acidulated water.

=OR′ELLIN.= A yellow colouring matter contained together with bixin in annotta. It is soluble in water and in alcohol, slightly soluble in ether, and dyes alumed goods yellow. Also the name sometimes given to purified annotta. The commercial annotta is dissolved in an alkaline solution, either caustic or carbonated, and then precipitated by an acid. See ANNOTTA.

=ORES.= The mineral bodies from which metals are obtained. The processes adopted for this purpose constitute OPERATIVE METALLURGY; those by which their value is determined, MINERAL ASSAYING.

A very small proportion only of the metals are met with in nature in the free or elementary condition, by far the greater number found being united with some non-metallic element or elements, in definite atomic proportions, and as such forming true chemical compounds, in which in almost every instance the physical and chemical properties of the metal are obliterated. In these bodies, which, when they are used as sources of the metals commonly employed by man, are called ORES, the metal is mostly combined with oxygen or sulphur, sometimes with carbonic acid, and less frequently with chlorine, and other negative elements. Thus we have the native combinations of iron and oxygen constituting the minerals known as hæmatite iron ore (Fe_{2}O_{3}), bog iron ore (Fe_{2}O_{3},3H_{2}O), and magnetic iron ore (Fe_{2}O_{3},FeO), of tin and oxygen in tin stone (SnO_{2}), and of copper and oxygen known as red copper ore (Cu_{2}O). Of the principal ores into which sulphur enters as a chemical ingredient, we may mention native sulphide of antimony (Sb_{2}S_{3}); the two native sulphides of arsenic, realgar (As_{2}S_{2}) and orpiment (As_{2}S_{3}); galena, or native sulphide of lead (PbS), blende, or native sulphide of zinc (ZnS), and cinnabar, or native sulphide of mercury (HgS). Besides the above, there are also certain double native sulphides, such as the double sulphide of iron and copper, known as Peacock ore, and having the composition Fe_{2}S_{3},3Cu_{2}S; iron and copper pyrites (Fe_{2}S_{3},Cu_{2}S); and red silver ore (Sb_{2}S_{3},3AgS).

In the state of carbonate, ores occur——as malachite native carbonate of copper (CuCO_{3}.Cu(HO)_{2}), as calamine, or native carbonate of zinc (ZnCO_{3}), and as spathose iron ore, or native carbonate of iron (FeCO_{3}). Horn silver and horn lead, the former having the composition AgCl, and the latter PbCO_{3} + PbCl_{2} are illustrations of ores containing chlorine.

The process of obtaining the metal from the ore of course varies with the nature and character of the latter. Before, however, this operation can be undertaken, the ore itself is subjected to certain mechanical operations, in order to remove the gangue or the adhering earthy, rocky, stony, and other matters with which it is always more or less mixed up. The amount of attention which is given to this preparatory treatment of the ores greatly depends upon their value; those, for instance, of copper and lead as commanding a higher market price than those of zinc and iron being submitted to commensurate treatment. This process of freeing the ores from the gangue, which is termed dressing, is generally conducted as follows, mostly near the pit entrance of the mine whence the ores have been extracted.

If the material brought up to the pit’s mouth is a lead or a copper ore, it mostly contains a number of lumps, which are considered sufficiently pure for the smelting oven, and these are set aside without being dressed. Generally, however, the ore is first broken by hammers into pieces about as large as a walnut, and the best pieces are then selected for smelting.

The remaining or inferior portions are then crushed under the large and horizontal cylinders of a grinding mill, to which they are supplied by hoppers. After being ground the ore is separated by being made to pass through coarse sieves, the coarser portions being set aside for the stampers, whilst the finer ones are subjected to the operation of jigging. This consists in a workman separating the contents of the sieve under water by imparting to them such a movement that the bits of ore (particularly if they are of a friable nature like galena) become broken, and thus pass through the meshes of the sieve to the bottom of the water, whilst the less friable and specifically lighter matter, mostly consisting of gangue, remains behind on the sieve. This residue, being mixed with the coarser portions resulting from the first sifting, and which have not been subjected to the jigging process, is transferred to the stamping mill, whilst those portions of ore found at the bottom of the well are reserved for smelting. If the ore be one containing tin, it does not undergo the above processes, but passes at once to the stamping apparatus.

This stamping apparatus consists of five or six large wooden beams, each weighing 1/8th of a ton. Each beam is covered at the bottom with iron, and is made to rise and fall in succession by means of projections from a horizontal axle, made to revolve either by water or steam power. Behind the stampers is an inclined board, upon which are placed the residue and coarser portions of the ore already described, and when the stampers are in motion the ore slides down the inclined plane under them, and thus gets crushed. When it is thought the ore has been sufficiently crushed, it is, by means of a current of water running through the mill, carried away through a grating in front of the mill into a channel in which there are two pits, with the result that the more valuable and heavier portion of the ore becomes deposited in the first pit, whilst the inferior portion is carried on, and falls into the second one.

The crushed ore has, however, to undergo other operations before it is considered sufficiently pure for the furnace. That part (the purer portion, called the crop by the Cornish miner) which has deposited in the first pit after removal therefrom, is subjected to a series of further washings, the different apparatus by which these are effected being known in Cornish language as a buddle and a kieve.

“The crop is first subjected to washing in the buddle; this is a wooden trough about 8 feet long, 3 wide, and 2 deep, fixed in the ground with one end somewhat elevated. At the upper end a small stream of water enters, and is reduced to a uniform thin sheet by means of a distributing board, on which a number of small pieces of wood are fastened to break the stream. The ore to be washed is placed in small quantities at a time on a board just below the distributing board, and somewhat more inclined than the body of the buddle, and as the ore is spread out into a thin layer the water carries it forward.

“The richer portions subside near the head of the trough, and the light ores are carried further down. ‘The heads’ are then tossed into the kieve, a covered wooden tub, which is filled with water and ore added by a workman, who keeps the contents of the kieve in continual agitation by turning an agitator, the handle of which projects through the lid of the tub. When the vessel is nearly full the agitation is stopped; the kieve is struck sharply upon the side several times, and its contents are allowed to subside; the upper half of the sediment is again passed through the buddle. Various modifications of the washing process are resorted to, but they are all the same in principle.”[78]

[Footnote 78: Miller.]

The water which has been used in washing the ore on the buddle, as well as that in the kieve, contains in addition to the débris of the gangue more or less of small pieces of the ore itself. Hence this water is not allowed to escape, but conveyed into a narrow channel cut at the end of the buddle, where it deposits the solid materials. These being then removed undergo a second washing on an inclined stage, a process by which any remaining mineral is recovered, followed in Cornwall.

The above is the method of dressing the ores of lead and tin, and, with some modifications, those of copper.

Some metals, as, for example, certain iron and zinc ores, previous to being dressed, require a preliminary exposure for some time to the atmosphere. This operation, which is called ‘weathering,’ has the effect of aiding the subsequent removal by water of certain materials of a clayey, slatey, or marly nature, which sometimes adhere very tenaciously to the ores in question.

Again, in some cases weathering is had recourse to for obtaining a metallic compound in a soluble form. It is by this means that iron pyrites if exposed to the air after a time becomes converted into a sulphate of the metal.

Large quantities of commercial sulphate of iron or green vitriol are manufactured from this natural sulphate after it has been dissolved by the rain, and then crystallised. Sometimes the ores after dressing, and previous to roasting or smelting, are subjected to a process of calcination without access of air, with the object of depriving them of water, carbonic acid and bituminous matters, and also of rendering the ore softer and in a favorable condition to be acted upon by the subsequent metallurgic operations.

The ores having been by these various processes sufficiently freed from extraneous matters, are next, according to their composition, either submitted to the operations of roasting or smelting, and in many cases to both.

_Roasting._ This operation is mostly carried out in a reverbatory furnace. The result of the process upon the ores containing sulphur, which are those chiefly subjected to it, varies with the nature of the ore. Thus, when the sulphides of antimony, arsenic, or zinc are roasted, the sulphur escapes as sulphurous anhydride with the formation of the volatile oxides of arsenic, antimony, or zinc, which sublime, and are afterwards collected and purified with cinnabar or native sulphide of mercury.

Sulphurous anhydride is evolved with the vapours of metallic mercury, these being at the same time condensed by cooling. When copper pyrites (the double sulphide of copper and iron) is placed in the reverbatory furnace, the copper and iron become converted into oxides.

When galena or lead sulphide is exposed to the roasting process, lead oxide and sulphate, with the copious escape of sulphurous acid, are at first formed. The oxide and sulphate become eventually decomposed, leaving behind metallic lead, with a small portion of a subsulphide of the metal. In most cases, however, the effect of roasting on an ore is to convert it into an oxide.

Clay ironstone, which is that from which the greater part of the iron is manufactured in Great Britain, and that known as the black band of the Scotch coal fields, are impure carbonates of iron, and these when roasted yield ferric oxide. The roasting in the case of these minerals is sometimes effected in kilns, but more frequently in the open air; in the latter case by the firing of stacks composed of alternate layers of the ore and of small coal. Calamine or native carbonate of zinc is converted into oxide sometimes by being roasted in kilns, but more frequently in a reverbatory furnace.

_Smelting._ Except in those cases in which the ore is directly reduced from the state of a sulphide to that of a metal, it is, as has been shown, converted into an oxide. If, therefore, it be required to procure the metal _per se_, some method must be adopted for the removal of the oxygen from its oxide.