56 J. T. Donald on Antiferments. 



During the past two years several so-called new antiseptics 

 have been sent to me for examination. I have thought that a 

 knowledge of their constituents, and what they really effect as 

 antiferments, might be of interest to this Society ; hence these 

 notes. 



In the autumn of 1881, I received from a gentleman interested 

 in packing fish a sample of a substance called Glacialine, accom- 

 panied by a sheet describing its mode of use, and a certificate as 

 to its value. In the words of this sheet, a pinch of glacialine will 

 prevent a pint of milk, beer, wine or soup from turning sour, and 

 a nine-ounce packet will enable hundreds of eggs to be kept fresh 

 from June to Christmas ; for nine ounces is sufiiient to prepare a 

 gallon of antiseptic fluid. Examination showed that the glacia- 

 line was simply boracic acid finely ground. A number of experi- 

 ments made with it proved conclusively that it had antiseptic 

 powers of a high order, yet it did not give the results that were 

 claimed for it. Its action was not as long continued as its ven- 

 dors claimed ; eggs, kept in a solution of the boracic acid, how- 

 ever, retained their flavor, and were as good after several 

 months as when fresh-laid ; oysters remained sweet when treated 

 with it, but the flavor was said to be impaired. At the time 

 this substance was sent me, boracic acid was by no means a new 

 food-preservative ; it had been used for many years (as far back 

 as 1865), both alone and mixed with alum. In London, England, 

 it had been sold to milkmen for years under the names of Aseptin 

 and Double Aseptin. 



The next antiseptic I received, bore the name of Ozone, although 

 it was a black powder. Directions for use were somewhat as fol- 

 lows : — u Place water in which the articles are to be preserved in 

 a suitable vessel, put a quantity of the ozone in a dish, which is 

 to be floated on the water ; then set fire to the ozone, covering 

 the vessel and admitting only a small quantity of air. After the 

 ozone has ceased to burn, the liquid is to be stirred and is ready 

 for use." An examination of this so called ozone showed it to 

 be a mixture of sulphur and carbonaceous matter. When the 

 mixture was ignited sulphurous anhydride was produced and, this 

 dissolving in water, rendered it more or less antiseptic. The 

 antiseptic properties of sulphurous anhydride (the gas obtained by 

 burning sulphur) have been known for a very long time. The gas 



