Technical Chemistry. 127 
vegetable and mineral powders—even poudrette—when mixed with coal- 
tar furnish a more convenient and less costly disinfectant than that pre- 
pared with plaster, the experiments of the committee have proved that 
while codl-tar, mixed with common earth, well dried, or with sand, is 
equally, or perhaps much more, efficacious "for disinfecting fecal matter as 
has not been found advantageous in practice: most patients complained 
of it, their wounds — tee anything pr eenagi while the dis- 
infection was very imperfe ixture of plaster and coal-tar was 
on for it, upon to same ania, with decided advantage. 
Ithough the modifications of Corne and Demeaux’ process have not — 
been partieaincly lito thus far, they have nevertheless served to con- 
firm the fact that n reality it is the coal-tar which acts the principal part 
as eens 1D ouen various mixtures. 
* The ineffici 
by i itself may be readily pies aise I by the following prea cods which 3 of in 
dors bs Mog of the fact that a belief in eet a of gypsum as a deodorizer ap 
widely spread ee recent wri or that matter we are told by 
wilt ( (Cong tes Reds, x, 199) that ites , tis last 25 years more than fifty au- 
ears of Process: S dtichats mm have asin nced, each as he believed for the first 
gn hod use 0 aster as a means of disinfection. 
ixt ry about equal volumes ot wdered gypsum and fresh urine be 
introduced into a cet hial, the mixture placed in a warm room tap thoroughly 
shaken seve ral times a day until the urine has become putrid, ng will be observed 
: u 
ing agent, ammonia: leaving free,—purified as it were, and unadulterated, an odor, 
~ liar offensiveness ~ whic 5 remarkable. Sulphate of iron being substi- 
1 °d for gypsum in this experiment afforded a somewhat similar result, although 
ined ifle | ff 
Sulphate of pmo It should be here mentioned that the odors in question were in 
no ney ow contaminated with sulphuretted hydrogen,—as was ascertained by 
Careful trig’ F, H. Storer. 
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