THE VITAL PHENOMENA OF BACTERIA. 79 



both of the difficultly soluble compounds being 

 rendered easily soluble. Cresol and sodium 

 salicylicate taken separately are likewise diffi- 

 cultly soluble in water, but are readily soluble 

 when mixed. Sodium cresotinate is for this 

 purpose even better than sodium salicylicate 

 and, when used in this way, the resulting sub- 

 stances were designated by me as solve ole ; 

 they are neutral and not corrosive. Sodium 

 cresol is more easily soluble than cresol but 

 somewhat less powerful, just as sodium phenol 

 is less powerful than phenol. A large quan- 

 tity of cresol, however, dissolves in sodium 

 cresol, so that we can obtain watery alkaline 

 solutions of cresol in sodium cresol with any 

 required percentage content of cresol. I have 

 called this preparation solutol. The efficiency 

 of all these preparations depends partly iipon 

 their cresol content which, on account of their 

 solubility in water, may be very great (cresol 

 itself is soluble to the extent of only about 

 .5 i p.c.in water), and partly upon the solvent. 

 The absolutely neutral solveol is therefore a 

 better antiseptic for wounds than the corrosive 

 carbolic acid, and contains a larger quantity of 

 cresol than a solution in water. Lysol emul- 

 sifies fat by its soaps, while the alkaline sol- 

 utol penetrates crevices, saponifies fats, dis- 

 solves proteid bodies, and therefore unites the 



