257 
1911-12.] Autolysis of Animal and Vegetable Matter. 
or the even less homogeneous masses obtained by disintegrating animal 
or vegetable tissue. The following antiseptics were included in the 
experiment : — 
1. Chloroform. 
2. Bromoform. 
3. Benzol. 
4. Nitrobenzol. 
5. Toluol. 
6. Xylol. 
7. Phenol. 
8. Benzoic acid. 
9. Salicylic acid. 
10. Eucalyptus oil. 
11. Creosote. 
12. Cymol. 
13. Thymol. 
14. Naphthalene. 
15. Camphor. 
16. Mustard oil. 
17. Formaldehyde. 
18. Hydrocyanic acid. 
A solution of iodoform in aceton was also employed in a few cases, but 
was given up owing to practical difficulties which were experienced in 
following the reactions in its presence. 
Of the eighteen antiseptics, the following had apparently no appreciable 
influence on the development of bacteria in freshly prepared, clear beef- 
extract, which had been saturated with the various antiseptics, and to which 
had been added a drop of canal water — bromoform, cymol, naphthalene, 
camphor, mustard oil, benzol, toluol, xylol. The possible influence of excess 
of the antiseptics was then tried in the case of benzol, toluol, xylol, with the 
result that, although the development of bacteria was distinctly retarded in 
all cases, the antiseptics could not, nevertheless, be regarded as efficient. 
This was shown by preparing plates of alkaline, pepton-meat-extract 
gelatine from the material before digestion and after periods of two days 
and four days respectively. A continued increase was shown in the number 
of colonies in all cases. All these antiseptics were accordingly discarded. 
Similar results were obtained in the cases of nitrobenzol, phenol (*2 per cent.), 
eucalyptus oil, creosote, thymol, which were also excluded from the later 
experiments. There were consequently only the five following antiseptics 
left for further examination : chloroform, formaldehyde, hydrocyanic acid, 
benzoic acid, and salicylic acid. These were tested in the following 
materials : milk, egg yolk, egg white, minced fish, minced pancreas, 
pancreas ground to pulp with sand, barley ground with water. In the 
first instance, the pancreas was put through a mincing machine ; but as it 
was found that none of the antiseptics were capable of preserving sterility, 
it was decided to repeat the experiment with more finely disintegrated 
material. In the subsequent experiments, the pancreas was first put 
through the mincer, and afterwards reduced to a practically homogeneous 
mass by trituration with sand in a mortar, and ultimately passed through a 
fine sieve. The large amount of air which was necessarily introduced 
during these manipulations was afterwards removed by means of a vacuum 
VOL. xxxii. 17 
