a3 
Le 
~~ 392 
APPENDIX. 
Experiments on the D'sinfecting Powers of Increased Temperatures, 
with a view to the suggestion of a substitute for Quarantine ;* by 
Winuram Henry, M.D. F.R.S. See 
To the Editors of the Philosophical Magazine and Annals. 
Manchester, Oct. 14, 1831. 
Gentlemen—Several years have elapsed since | was requested, by 
an eminent merchant of this town} extensively concerned in the im- 
portation of Egyptian cotton, to take into consideration, whether any 
effectual method could be devised of guarding against the introdue- 
tion of the Plague into this country by means of that raw material, 
without incurring the serious commercial sacrifices, which then at- 
tended the enforcement of the quarantine laws on large cargoes of 
that article.t Chlorine might have been proposed for the purpose; 
but it was evidently inapplicable, not only on account of its chemical 
activity on vegetable substances, but of the necessity of washing and 
drying the cotton, in order to free it from any adhering portions of 
that powerful agent, the smallest remains of which would be injuri- 
ous to the spinning machinery. In proposing any new method of 
destroying contagious matter, ,it was represented to me as quite es 
sential that it should be incapable of impairing, by its chemical ac- 
ition, the tenacity of the fibre, as this would unfit the raw materi 
for the operations through which it has subsequently to pass ve 
By this restriction, the ground for experiment was considerably 
narrowed ; and after giving much attention to the subject, n° means 
occurred to me of effecting the object in view, but that of apply bw 
to the raw cotton such a degree of heat as, while it should do no 1° 
jury to the staple of the article, might yet be sufficient for the de- 
struction of any contagious virus which it might have imbibed. 
a, (Dec. 28, 1831,) 
hole is now print 
* A revised copy of Dr. Henry’s paper having been just receive 
th th oe oe mm ore 
as already 
: l remarks in the form of notes, the w 
ed, instead of an abstract of the original paper by Mr. Griscom, which w 
; aainied t William Garnett, Esq. eae 
t The evils of quarantine are much greater than is generally supposed. . ed 
of cotton, from the Mediterranean, have been detained three months at Milford sa 
ven, to the great injury of the owners. Nor is the evil compensated by pe mak 
rity whatsoever, for the cotton is not unpacked, as it is at the lazarettoes 00 e@ 
tinent of Europe. 
