GERMICIDES AND ANTISEPTICS. 217 



Benzoic Acid. One part in 2,000 retards the 

 development of spores (Koch). One part in 1,439 

 prevents development of bacteria in unboiled meat- 

 infusion ; 1 : 2,010 does not. The bacteria of broken- 

 down beef- tea are destroyed by 1 : 77, while 1 : 

 121 failed (de la Croix). In Group II. the 

 Organic Acids benzoic has the highest prevent- 

 ive power (Dougall.) 



Boric Acid in saturated aqueous solution (four 

 per cent) failed to destroy the three test-organisms 

 employed in the writer's experiments. But it pre- 

 vented the development of the M. of pus in the 

 proportion of 1 : 200 ; of the M. of septicaemia in 

 1 : 400, and of B. tenno in 1 to 800. This differ- 

 ence, as regards ability to multiply in the presence 

 of boric acid, accounts for the fact that micrococci 

 have been observed to be present in the pus of 

 wounds treated antiseptically with this substance, 

 although no evidence of putrefaction could be dis- 

 covered. A two per cent solution destroyed the 

 virulence of septicsernic blood ; but, in view of the 

 fact that twice this amount did not kill the micro- 

 coccus to which this virulence is due, it is evident 

 that the result obtained in inoculation experiments 

 upon rabbits was due to the restraining anti- 

 septic power of the reagent, and can not be 

 taken as evidence of germicide power (S). The 

 activity of fresh virus of symptomatic anthrax 

 was destroyed by boric acid, one in five (twenty per 

 cent) the time of exposure being forty-eight 

 hours (Arloing, Cornevin, and Thomas). One part 



