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CHEMISTRY. (MISCELLANEOUS.) 



considerably greater. Heidenhain mentioned 

 several years ago that he had used peroxide of 

 hydrogen constantly as a gargle in cases of diph- 

 theria, and Traugott relates that a 2-per-cent. so- 

 lution of it with a young and vigorous growth of 

 the diphtheria bacillus on blood serum destroyed 

 the organism. If, however, two-days'-old cul- 

 tures were similarly treated, contact for thirty 

 minutes, even when repeated 3 times, was not 

 sufficient for its annihilation. Thus its thera- 

 peutic value depends on its immediate applica- 

 tion at the very outset of the disease ; while it 

 may be recommended as an important prophy- 

 lactic during epidemics of diphtheria, van 

 Tromp mentions that an addition of peroxide of 

 hydrogen in the proportion of 1 to 10,000 parts 

 of water, when shaken up and allowed to stand 

 for twenty-four hours, is usually sufficient to 

 sterilize a water. Altehaefer found that to in- 

 sure sterility it was well to use larger propor- 

 tions of the peroxide, or 1 to 1,000 parts of wa- 

 ter. Experiments made with waters purposely 

 infected with cholera and typhoid bacilli re- 

 spectively showed that in both cases those or- 

 ganisms were destroyed after twenty-four hours 

 in the 1 to 1,000 mixture. The dietetic value of 

 the water is not affected by the addition of the 

 peroxide, and no danger is incurred if the perox- 

 ide is pure. 



Ammonia vapor is recommended by Riglet as 

 an important means of disinfection. The author 

 experimented with Koch's cholera bacillus, the 

 typhoid bacillus. Loeffler's diphtheria bacillus, 

 and the spores and bacilli of anthrax. Threads 

 soaked in broth cultures of these various organ- 

 isms were freely exposed in a room filled with 

 ammonia vapor, while other threads were 

 wrapped up in dry and damp cloths respect- 

 ively before being submitted to the vapor, and 

 in every case control threads were simultaneous- 

 ly exposed to air. Cholera bacilli were killed 

 after two hours' exposure in the ammonia room, 

 whether free or inclosed in dry cloths, while 

 twice that time elapsed before they succumbed 

 in moist surroundings. In ordinary air they 

 were destroyed in three hours, but they were 

 alive after two days when kept in moist cloths. 

 Two hours' exposure in the ammonia vapor suf- 

 ficed to destroy the typhoid bacilli, but six hours 

 were necessary in moist surroundings, while 

 twenty-four hours' exposure in ordinary air pro- 

 duced no effect upon them. Anthrax bacilli suc- 

 cumbed in three hours in the ammonia room, in 

 five hours when wrapped in dry cloths, while they 

 were not affected by a day's exposure in ordinary 

 air. The spores were not destroyed till after be- 

 ing eight hours in the ammonia vapor, and were 

 not affected in ordinary air. Diphtheria bacilli, 

 whatever their environment, were annihilated in 

 four hours by the ammonia vapor, while they sur- 

 vived twenty-four hours' contact with ordinary 

 air. 



In the case of the poisoning of 20 persons at 

 Columbus, Ohio, in October, 1892, from eating 

 canned corned beef, examination for mineral 

 poisons formed by the action of the meat on 

 the materials of the can yielded, according to 

 Thomas K. Lewis, no traces of toxic substances. 

 A systematic examination for ptomaines was 

 then made, and gave evidence of the presence 

 of such substances. After eighteen days the 



same methods were employed without success, 

 for no tests could be obtained. When the meat 

 was first analyzed, it was found to be poisonous to 

 animals to which it was given. Eighteen days 

 afterward it was fed to animals without inducing 

 symptoms of poisoning. Hence, the poison is 

 supposed to have been decomposed during the 

 interval. 



The products of the sublimation of arsenic and 

 the various allotropic modifications of the element 

 have been investigated by Dr. Retgers. His ex- 

 periments show that there is no amorphous 

 modification of arsenic. The deposit called 

 black amorphous arsenic, which is obtained dur- 

 ing the sublimation of the element in a current 

 of hydrogen and also in a number of high tem- 

 perature decompositions of arsenic compounds 

 is found to be microcrystalline, and exhibits dis- 

 tinct evidence that it consists of the ordinary 

 regular variety. There are consequently only 

 two known well-defined modifications of arsenic : 

 the stable form, which crystallizes in hexagonal 

 prisms, is silver-white and specifically heavy, 

 and requires a comparatively nigh temperature 

 for volatilization ; and the specifically lighter and 

 more volatile modification, which crystallizes in 

 octahedrons and exhibits a black surface. These 

 two forms correspond with the two modifica- 

 tions of phosphorus the regular black variety 

 with the regular yellow form of phosphorus, and 

 the silver- white hexagonal form with the hex- 

 agonal red phosphorus. Evidence is adduced of 

 the probable existence of a third crystalline 

 modification of arsenic, the crystals of which 

 belong to the monoclinic system. All elemen- 

 tary arsenic is opaque ; the former observations 

 of yellow and brown transparent arsenic are 

 shown to relate to compounds that have been 

 mistaken for the element. Information has 

 been gained by Dr. Retgers concerning the lit- 

 tle-known solid hydride of arsenic, AsH, and 

 the suboxide, As a O, the existence of which has 

 hitherto been considered doubtful, but is now re- 

 garded by the author as reasonably established. 



Four samples of powders sold for washing 

 clothes were analyzed by W. J. Kinney, W. H. 

 Wenger, and an associate. In three of them the 

 principal ingredients were sodium carbonate, 

 45-2 to 49-2 per cent. ; fatty acids, 25-6 to 26-4 per 

 cent. ; and water, 19'1 to 24'9 per cent. ; and com- 

 bined soda, 2-6 to 3'5 per cent. The fourth sample 

 consisted of sodium carbonate, 26'9 per cent. ; 

 fatty acids, 44 per cent. ; combined soda, 3'4 per 

 cent. ; fine sand, 16'3 per cent. ; and water, 8'8 

 per cent. A portion of the water was neces- 

 sarily in the soap, and the remainder was with 

 the sodium carbonate, which had in each case 

 been partly dried. No resin or borax was found 

 in the soaps. The powders may therefore be 

 generally described as mixtures of soap and 

 dried washing soda, both powdered. While a 

 small amount of such powders may properly be 

 employed in conjunction with soap to remove 

 the "hardness" of the water in washing, the 

 substitution of any of them for soap must result 

 in the gradual corrosion of cotton, linen, or woolen 

 goods. Borax might be employed in place of 

 soda in these preparations with great advantage ; 

 for it has no corrosive action on textile fabrics, 

 and while it removes the hardness from the 

 water it is also an excellent detergent. 



