Papaver. Poppy Capsules. The nearly ripe Capsules of Papaver somniferum, the Garden, or Opium Poppy; Lin. Syst., Polyan-dria monogynia; a native of Syria and Egypt, cultivated in Britain.

Description. The ripe fruit, poppy-heads, or capsules, are globular, from 2 to 4 inches in diameter; of a pale brownish-yellow colour, smooth, with a radiating stigma on the top; within are parietal placentas, and very numerous small pale brownish, reni-form seeds; the texture of the heads is light and papery, with little or no odour, and some bitterish opiate taste.

Prop. & Comp. Besides woody fibre, etc, the capsules contain a small amount of the principles found in opium; and the seeds, called maw seeds, have much bland oil (poppy-oil), but possess no narcotic properties. When gathered unripe, more opium is present in the capsules.

Off. Prep. Decoctum Papaveris. Decoction of Poppy-heads. [Not officinal in U. S. P.] (Poppy-heads bruised and free from seeds, four ounces; distilled water, three pints. Boil for fifteen minutes and strain. The product should measure thirty-two fluid ounces.

Syrupus Papaveris. Syrup of Poppy. [Not officinal in U. S. P.] (Poppies bruised, the seeds being removed, thirty-six ounces; refined sugar, four pounds; boiling distilled water, twenty-pints; rectified spirit, sixteen fluid ounces. Macerate the poppy capsules in the water for twelve hours; evaporate and strain; reduce the strained liquor to three pints, and when quite cold add the spirit, mix and filter; distil off the spirit, evaporate the remaining liquor to two pints, and then add the sugar.) The product should weigh six pounds and a half, and should have the sp. gr. 1.320.

Therapeutics. Syrup of poppies acts in the same manner as opium, but is much weaker, and less certain in its action than most of the officinal preparations of that drug. The decoction is not given internally, but is employed as an external application to allay pain and soothe.

Dose. Of the syrup, 1 fl. drm. to 1/2 fl. oz.; for children, 1/2 fl. drm., cautiously increased, these patients being very susceptible of the influence of opium.

Opium. Opium; Turkey Opium. The juice from the incised unripe fruit of Papaver somniferum, hardened in the air.

Morphiae Hydrochloras. Hydrochlorate of Morphia. The Hydrochlorate of an alkaloid, prepared from opium.

Synonym. Morphiae Murias. [U. S.] Edin. Dub.

Description. Opium is prepared by making horizontal incisions with a sharp instrument, into poppy capsules, a few days after the petals have fallen, taking care not to penetrate the interior; a milky juice exudes, which soon becomes brown, and forms tears; these, when scraped off, and wrought together into masses or cakes, form opium: it is usually enveloped with some leaf.

Of Turkey opium there are two varieties, viz., Smyrna and Constantinople. Smyrna opium occurs in masses more or less flattened, from 1/4 to 2 pounds in weight, covered externally with the capsules of a species of rumex; internally, when fresh, it is soft, of a rich brown colour, heavy .narcotic odour and bitter taste; it is made up of agglutinated tears. Constantinople opium is met with in small lenticular masses, from 1/4 to 1/2 a pound in weight, often inclosed in a poppy leaf, and marked with the midrib; it was at one time inferior to the Smyrna variety.

Besides Turkey opium, there are several other kinds, which are however not officinal, and should not be employed in making the Pharmaceutic preparations of the drugs; among these are -

Egyptian opium, in flat cakes, more or less circular, and about two or three inches in diameter, covered with some leaf (perhaps the poppy); internally hard, of a dark reddish-brown colour, and a musty narcotic odour: it is met with in English commerce, but is very inferior to Turkey opium.

East Indian opium is found in round balls, like twenty-four pound shot, about 4 pounds in weight; covered with a thick case of poppy leaves, agglutinated; internally rather soft and black; called Chinese investment opium. East Indian opium also occurs in cakes, called Malwa, and Garden Patna opium. Nearly all the Indian opiums are inferior to Turkey opium, and are not found in English commerce.

Other varieties of opium, such as Persian, or Trebizond, in sticks, or occasionally in masses, and European opiums, as English, French, and German, are now and then met with.

Hydrochlorate of Morphia should be in a crystalline form.

Prop. & Comp. Opium is rich in crystalline principles; it contains a peculiar acid, and several alkaloids and neutral bodies, the most important of which are as follows: -

Meconic Acid (3 HO, C14 Ho11 + 6 HO), in crystalline, pearly scales; it is soluble in water; and forms insoluble salts, with lime, baryta, and oxide of lead; meconic acid strikes blood red with persalts of iron; it is easily decomposed.

Morphia (C34 H10 No6), an alkaloid in the form of six-sided prisms; soluble in alcohol, and caustic fixed alkaline solutions; very slightly so indeed in ether or water; its solutions are reddened by nitric acid: it has the power of liberating iodine, and hence bluing starch, when added to iodic acid; morphia, and its salts, strike blue with persalts of iron; and when the solutions are treated with free chlorine, and excess of ammonia afterwards added, a brown colour is produced, disappearing with excess of chlorine.

Acetate of Morphia (not officinal), [Officinal in U. S. P.] occurs in very fine needles; generally in powder; apt to lose a part of its acid; soluble in water and alcohol. Composition (C34 Hl9 No6, C4 H3 O3 + HO).

Hydrochlorate of morphia when pure is found in plumous acicu-lar crystals; requires about twenty parts of water to dissolve it; soluble in spirit; when pure, both this salt and the acetate are entirely dissipated at a red heat. Composition (C34 H19 No6, H Cl + 6 HO). The aqueous solution gives a white curdy precipitate with nitrate of silver, and a white one with potash, redis-solved by excess. Moistened with strong nitric acid, it becomes orange red, with perchloride of iron greenish blue. Twenty grains of the salt dissolved in half an ounce of warm water, with ammonia added in the slightest possible excess, give on cooling a crystalline precipitate, which when washed with a little cold water, and dried by exposure to air, weighs 15.18 grains.