318 



- KNOWLEDGE • 



[Oct. 17, 1884, 



pamphlet issued by the Company,* in -which a large 

 amount of useful information is incorporated. There are 

 two qualities of the Fluid — one crims-on and the i.ther 

 green ; both have the same properties, but difler in degree 

 of strength, the crimson being the more potent of the two, 

 and better adapted for general domestic purposes than the 

 green. 



A preparation called " Martin's Crimson Salt " deserves 

 special mention here because it fvilfils, in their integrity, 

 all the requirements of a good disinfector, which we have 

 noted above. As its name implies, it is prepared in form 

 of a readily soluble salt, a shilling bottle of which will 

 make 300 gallons of crimson fluid of a strength sufficient 

 to supi>ly the wants of any ordinary case where disinfection 

 may be necessary. It thus comes within the easy reach of 

 even the poorest householder, and we therefore strongly 

 recommend it to the notice of those who are desirous of 

 promoting really valuable sanitary measures. 



"McDougall's patent Carbolic and Sulphurous Disin- 

 fectants, in Powder, Fluid, and Soap ; or, in other words, 

 the most potent Antiseptic with the best Disinfectant," is 

 the title of a descriptive and illustrated price-list issued by 

 Messrs. McDougall Bros., of 10, Mark-lane, in which a 

 large variety of excellent preparations, each adapted to 

 some special want, is given. Amongst other things, we 

 may draw attention to the " Fluid Carbolate," — a combi- 

 nation of carbolic and sulphurous acids in the strength of 

 1 per cent, each, which is an antiseptic of value for healing 

 purposes, being applicable both externally and internally. 

 It is a neutral solution of carbolate of lime and sulphite of 

 magnesia, and combines all the valuable qualities of both 

 carbolic and sulphurous acids without any of their objec- 

 tionable properties. We shall have occasion to notice 

 these exhibits once more in connection with improved 

 appliances for disinfection, fumigation, itc. 



The old-fashioned plan of burning sulphur and charcoal 

 in the fumigation of infected dwellings has not been aban- 

 doned. It is, indeed, a most effective method of operation; 

 its only drawback lies in the fact that it is inconvenient. 

 We are glad to find, however, that this really useful process 

 bids fair to be revived in the compact sulphur disinfectant 

 cakes brought into use by Mr. Charles Gander, Sanitary 

 Inspector of Alcester, aud now being exhibited by Mr. 

 Overbury. One of the cakes can be carried by the sanitary 

 inspector in his pocket, and lighted in the house after the 

 patient has recovered sufficiently. It is estimated that the 

 fumigation of one house would by this means cost about 

 Gd., so that we consider it to be, from every point of view, 

 a decided advantage over all former methods. 



Under the fanciful name of "Affinitan," an excellent 

 disinfectant, manufactured by Mr. A. J. Shilton, F.C.S., 

 of 40, Paradise-street, Birmingham, is now being exhibited. 

 The inventor claims that it "is entirely fiee from smell, 

 and does not stain. All foul odours are instantly destroyed 

 by it, and as a means of preventing the spread of disease it 

 is unrivalled." Its cost brings it within the reach of all. 



Anti-Microbe t is another valuable disinfectant. It is 

 said to act as much on ammoniacal aud sulphuretted 

 hydrogen gases, as on organic matters which are subject to 

 decomposition, and this it does without any disagreeable 

 odour. These combined with its non-poisonous properties, 

 place it in the foremost rank of modern disinfectants. 



A novel device is the Austin Porous Disinfector,* of 



* "The Book of Directions for the U.se of Condy's Fluid." 

 Condy & Mitchell (Limited), 67 and 68, Tornmill-street, E.G. 



t To be obtained from J. E. Meihe, 15, Abchurch-lane, London, 

 E.G. 



I Called after its inventor, Mr. Austin, 61, Wool Eschange, Cole- 

 man-street, London, E.G. 



which the following quotation will give a stifficiently 

 explicit outline : — 



" They require no fixing, as they can either be suspended 

 or placed at the bottom of the cistern. There are no 

 mechanical parts whatever in them, as the disinfector con- 

 sists merely of a box of a porous material, through which 

 the disinfectant passes after the crystals are dissolved by 

 the action of the water. They will deodorise the water in 

 the w.c.'s drains for fourteen months, and prevent zymotic 

 diseases. The crystal disinfectant contained therein is 

 inodorous, non- poisonous, and non corrosive." We consider 

 that every household ought to be pro\'ided with one of 

 these useful disinfectors. 



VACCINATIOISr FOR YELLOW FEVER. 



DR. FREIRE, of Rio Janeiro, in a recent letter to the 

 Sanitary Neics, writes as follows : — 



In compliance with your request, I will give you an 

 account of the chief points of interest connected with my 

 studies on yellow fever. I can, of course, give you only a 

 very brief summary, and for further information may refer 

 you to my two memoirs — "The Cause, Nature, and Treat- 

 ment of "Yellow Fever" and "The Contagion of YeUow 

 Fever." An extended report on all the theoretical and 

 practical bearings of my researches is now in press, and a 

 copy will be sent to you as soon as issued. 



The method of culture which I have followed is Pasteur's. 

 I withdraw blood, or any other organic liquid, from per- 

 sons sick with yellow fever, or from the bodies of the dead, 

 using the most scrupulous precautious, and introduce these 

 liquids into Pasteur's flasks, pre^'iously sterilised, and con- 

 taining a solution of gelatine or beef " bouillon." In these 

 conditions the microbe develops abundantly, and becomes 

 of itself attenuated by the action of the air, which filters 

 through the tampion or amianthus with which the flask is 

 corked. The purity of these cultures is demonstrated by 

 microscopic examinations, of which you will find a good 

 illustration in my memoir, " Experimental Studies on the 

 Contagion of Yellow Fever." 



The microbe appears in the form of little black points, 

 like grains of sand (780 diameters) ; in the mature form it 

 presents the appearance of round cells with an ash-grey or 

 black rim, containing in their interior yellow and black 

 pigment and some granulations which will be the future 

 spores. These cells burst at a ^iven moment, and pour 

 out their contents, i.e., the spores, the pigments, and a 

 nitrogenous substance composed of ptomaines, which I 

 have isolated not only from vomited matter, but also from 

 the blood itself, and from the urine. The yellow pigment, 

 being very soluble, produces the icteric infiltration of all 

 the tissues by a sort of tinctorial imbibition which may go 

 on even after death ; the black pigment, as well as the 

 detritus, resulting from the rupture of the cells, being 

 insoluble, is carried into the general circulation, and pro- 

 duces obstructions in the sanguine capillaries, whence the 

 apopleptic symptoms so common in yellow fever and in 

 the urinary tubules, whence the suppression of the urine, a 

 very frequent and terrible symptom in this disease. 



I have described this microscopic organism under the 

 name of Cryptococcus xantliogeniciis ,: its development re- 

 sembling that of this genus of alga>. 



After having demonstrated the contagious nature of 

 yellow fever by experiments upon barndoor fowls (see my 

 memoir), I made experiments in preventive inoculations, 

 first upon animals and afterward upon men : I did not fear 

 to do this, because a multitude of experiments upon animals 



