The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-03-13
PREPARING OPIUM.
How the Deadly Drug Is Fixed for Smok-
ing Purposes.

ing purposes
Before entering upon an account of
the manner in which the pernicious
habit is practiced, it would be well to
describe how the opium is prepared for
smoking, as but few smokers, even
those who are veteran fiends, seem to
know any thing about it. Williams,
in ''The Middle Kingdom" thus de-
scribes the process:
The utensils used for preparing opium
for smoking consist chiefly of three
hemispherical brass pans, two bamboo
filters, two portable furnaces, earthen
pots, ladies', straining cloths and
sprinklers. The opium ball, which is
covered with poppy leaves, being cut
in two, the interior is taken out and the
opium adhering to or contained in the
leafy covering is simmered three times,
each time pint of spring water being
used, and the liquid strained into an
earthen pot; cold water is poured over
the dregs after the third boiling, and
from half cake of opium, weigh
ing at first about twenty-eight pounds,
there will be about five pints of
liquid. The interior of the cake is then
boiled with this liquid for about an hour,
until all is reduced to a paste, which
is then spread out with a spatula in two
pans and exposed to the fire for two or
three minutes at time, until the water
| Is all dried off; during this operation it
is-often broken up and re-spread, and
at the last drying cut across with q
knife. 1t is all then spread out on the
pan in one cake and covered with six
pints of water and allowed to remain
several hours or over night for diges-
ton. When sufficiently soaked rag
filter is placed on the edge of the pan,
and the whole of the valuable part
drips slowly through the rag into q
basket lined with coarse bamboo paper;
pan, about as much liquid going
through as there was water poured
over the cake. The dregs are
again soaked and Immediately filtered
until found to be nearly tasteless. This
weaker part usually makes about six
pints of liquid. The first six pints are
then briskly boiled, being sprinkled
with cold water so as to allay the heat
and not boil over, and the scum is re-
moved with a feather into separate
vessel. After boiling twenty minutes
five pints of the weak liquid are poured
in and boiled with it until the
whole has been evaporated to about
three pints, when it is strained
through paper into another pan
and the remaining pint thrown into
the pan just emptied to wash
away any portion that may re-
main in it, and also boiled little while,
when it is also strained into the three
pints. The whole is then placed over a
slow fire in the small furnace and boiled
down to a proper consistency for
smoking. While it is evaporat-
ing, ring forms around the
edge, and the pan is taken
off the fire at intervals to prolong the
process, the mass being meanwhile
rapidly stirred with sticks, and famed,
until it becomes thick like treacle, when
it is taken out and put into small pots
for smoking. The dregs containing
the vegetable residuum, together with
| the scum and washings of the pan,
are lastly strained and boiled with
water, producing about six pints
of a thin, brownish liquid, which
is evaporated to a proper consist
ence for selling to the poor. The
process of seething the crude. opium is
exceedingly unpleasant to those un.
accustomed to it, on account of the
overpowering narcotic fumes which
arise. The loss of weight by this mode
of preparation is about one-half.-San
Francisco Chronicle