ORGANIC ANTISEPTICS 89 



impregnated with this disinfectant. Antinonnin is also a very suitable material 

 to employ when it is .a question of keeping the brickwork of a building dry and 

 arresting corrosion, the cause of which latter phenomenon is probably bacterial. 

 The evil may be remedied by brushing the walls with a i per cent, solution of 

 antinonnin. If it be desired to prevent the inception of such corrosion as will 

 be specially the case when a wall is to be decorated with fresco paintings then 

 the mortar applied directly to the wall should be mixed with about 5 per cent, 

 of antinonnin. The walls of hospital wards, &c., maybe cheaply and reliably 

 disinfected by brushing them over with a saturated (5 per cent.) solution of this 

 agent. Full information concerning its successful employment in the brewery 

 has been given by AUBRY (I.), who recommends its use for purifying all utensils 

 not brought into direct contact with the beer. The walls of the fermenting and 

 storage cellars, which are frequently damp and form the habitat of mucinous 

 and malodorous fungi prejudicial to the beer, may be dried and freed from 

 mould by brushing them over with antinonnin solution. 



Ethyl alcohol, in an undiluted condition, behaves as a fairly powerful poison 

 towards bacteria, and, according to R. Koch, will hinder the germination of the 

 spores of Bacillus anthracis, even when diluted with twelve times its own 

 volume of water. The use of this compound of 90-96 per cent, strength is 

 strongly recommended to the fermentation physiologist, since it possesses the 

 advantage over sublimate of rapidly attacking the spores of those mould-fungi 

 that coat themselves with an excretion of fatty matter, owing to which they are 

 able to resist the influence of aqueous antiseptics for a long time. It is advisable, 

 before performing inoculations in Pasteur flasks, to wash the flasks all over with 

 alcohol, more particularly the part of the lateral tube covered by the caoutchouc 

 tubing, and the mouth closed by the glass stopper. The surface of the table on 

 which the inoculation is effected should also be cleaned with alcohol of about 

 50 per cent, strength. 



The disinfection of the hands is, as shown in particular by FURBRINGER (I.), 

 a very tedious labour when it has to be absolutely efficient. This, however, is 

 necessary only in the case of surgeons, and the fermentation physiologist may 

 rest contented with simply washing them with soap and water, and finally with 

 alcohol, before undertaking a delicate inoculation. The latter precaution should 

 in no wise be omitted before handling the ends of the caoutchouc tubing of 

 Pasteur flasks. The susceptibility of the different species of bacteria to alcohol 

 is various, a few of them being able to resist it very well when dilute ; and some 

 even utilise it as a source of energy, e.g. the acetic acid bacteria, which still 

 thrive freely in presence of 10 per cent, by volume of this alcohol. 



Ethyl ether is also a very powerful antiseptic, and is recommended by 

 R. WOLLNY (I.) for use in sterilising by the cold process. For this purpose 

 the ether is added in the proportion of 10 per cent, to the liquid, and then, after 

 the germs have been killed, removed by the air-pump. The advantage of this 

 method over that of heat is that it has no effect on the albuminoids coagulable 

 by the temperature of boiling water. 



Formaldehyde, also known as formol (formalin), will in the near future enjoy 

 extended employment as a powerful disinfectant. Many objects, such as clothing 

 dyed with delicate colours, furs, &c., must not be disinfected with liquid anti- 

 septics or by steam, gaseous germicides alone being suitable. Among these there 

 is but little range of choice ; chlorine and sulphur dioxide not only destroy the 

 germs, but also the materials to which the latter adhere ; and the only other 

 resource at our disposal is in formaldehyde. The antiseptic properties of this 

 substance were indicated by 0. Low (I.) and by BUCHNER and SEGALL (I.), and 

 have since been thoroughly investigated by TRILLAT (I.). Meat-broth containing 

 one-twelfth part of formaldehyde per mil was found to be perfectly free from 



