— 341 -^ 



tor unites the best condition for the neutralisation of 

 such enianiitiona. 



The S'cretary presented a coniniunication respecting^ 

 H (lisinfectfint powder invented by Messrs Come & De- 

 meaiix at Paris, its ronipoiition is most simple, it is a 

 c'i>ml)ination of plaster and coal tar, and one eannot 

 h( Ip wondering that the ])roiierties of so common a 

 Fulisiancp, as coal tar should have remained so lonj 

 undiscovered. 



Dr Fre'=sanges, in studying this process and its mode 

 of application, has inquired if lime could not be subs- 

 tituted for plaster which is rather expensive in the co- 

 lony, costin* a shilling a pound, whereas lime cost« 

 tw(» shillings the bag of one hundred or one hundred 

 and twenty-five pounds. Besides the enormous dif- 

 ference of price, it would be giving encouragement to a 

 colonial manufacture, as justly observed by Mr Fropier. 

 Dr Fiessanges also suggested another substitution, viz. : 

 that of ereasnte for the coal tar. The r ason is that 

 the former substance in combining with lime and when 

 mixed with fecal matters, leaves a barely perceptible 

 smell, and moreover a much smaller quantity is re- 

 qi'.ire I than when coal tar is used. 



T'king the lime as a basis, instead of the plaster, 

 I)r Fressanges, with the view of affecting a large saving 

 i>' tiie cost piice of his disinfectant powder, recommends 

 that cnal tar should be used instead of creasote. His 

 powder would then only differ from that of Messrs 

 Coine & Demeaux, in the nature of ths agent used as 

 ft vehicle and acting as an absorbent, in the one it is 

 the plaster, and in the other it is the lime. 



Dr Barraut has also entered the list. He has pro- 

 posed a disii'f-^ctant agent composed of a mixture of 

 ashes and lime to which he has added a substance call- 

 ed Paraffine, obtained from the vegetable tar produced 

 by the riistillaiiou of ligneous substanf^es. Paraffine 

 bears a great re.«emblance to the solid carbon of hydro- 

 gen called veijptable w^x fouiul in iron ore or in its 

 neighbourhood. A larg- quantity of it is extracted in 

 Moldavia, and mannfiictured into candles. A Com- 

 pany has been formed in London for the purpose of 

 applying the Paruffinc ty the iiime use. 



