14 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
Mr. George Foord read the following paper 
on “ Phenol:’’ 
Phenol. 
Galvanism took its name from its discoverer, 
the Italian philosopher, Galvani. It has been 
remarked that if the name of the discoverer 
had been Barber, the science thus named after 
him would have been called Barberism. 
Mineralogy teems with hundreds of names of 
mineral species after more or less illustrious 
or titled men, these names showing nothing 
of either composition, characters, or relation. 
Biotite, Scheelite, Brookite, Davyne, Berzelyn, 
Haidingerite are examples. So, too, of 
Botany, while Chemistry — exempt from this 
vagary, and endeavouring to name the so- 
called chemical elements and their multiform 
combinations so as to signify, in each instance, 
some characteristic and distinguishing pro- 
perty of the former, or to give the composi- 
tion and interrelation of the latter, falls into 
confusion and many needless complications. 
Owing to the progressive characterof theoreti- 
cal chemistry, the new chemistry of to-day over- 
laying the old of yesterday, the same chemical 
compound bears often six or more names, each 
of which was accordant with the state of 
chemical knowledge when it was first given, 
but which has had to be partially suppressed 
in conforming to newer views, especially to 
those of chemical relationship, or the modes 
of chemical change. This is to be regretted, 
as its tendency is to keep an intelligent public 
mystified and very much in the dark concern- 
ing the common sense meaning of chemical 
writings. Some of our readers may very 
naturally ask, “ What is Phenol P Where is 
it to be obtained P And how is it to be used 
by the beekeeper ?” To these questions we 
shall now endeavour to give a satisfactory 
answer. Phenol is hydrate of phenyl ; it is 
phenylic alcohol, it is phenic acid, it is coal 
tar creasote, and it is carbolic acid. By all 
these names it is known, but by the latter 
more familiarly recognised by the public at 
large. The beekeeper can buy carbolic acid 
of the druggist as a beautiful colourless 
crystalline acid, or as a more or less brown 
coloured somewhat oily fluid, the difference of 
state resulting from difference in the degreeof 
purity of these several forms. We advise him 
to commence with the purest form, asking for 
Grace Calvert’s best quality of crystallised 
carbolic acid — a little of it will go a long wav, 
and after he has ascertained from personal 
experience concerning the points of efficacy 
and expense, he may then, if he pleases, try 
the cheaper qualities, but he will do well to 
remember that when a weak, watery solution 
of carbolic acid is administered to bees in their 
saccharine food, the questions of purity of tabte 
and odour are most probably of greater 
importance than that of cost, and that in the 
lower qualities of carbolic acid, admixture of 
tarry and more or less fetid impurities imparts 
to them this lower quality, and warrants their 
sale at the lower price. Carbolic acid in its 
purest form exists as a beautiful mass of 
delicate, snow-white crystalline needles, 
radiating, interlacing, and thus forming a solid 
network. Very little water added to the 
carbolic acid when in this form rapidly reduces 
it to the fluid state, but without this addition 
the acid may be easily fused and poured out 
of the containing bottle by gently and 
gradually heating the latter by standing it up 
to the shoulder in a vessel of warm water. 
The precaution of gradual heating is to avoid 
cracking the glass phial in which the solid 
acid is purchased. 
To make the weak aqueous solution it is 
only necessary to shake a small portion of the 
liquid acid with a comparatively large bulk of 
rain water in a clear glass stoppered or well- 
corked bottle, as long as the water continues 
to dissolve the acid : that is to say, as long as 
the added oily drops of acid disappear on 
agitation. We shall not attempt giving 
directions for weighing the acid and water to 
be thus brought into combination, preferring 
to state that the crystalline acid rendered fluid 
by addition of a very small proportion of 
water, will be found to be a little heavier than 
water itself, having a density of 1*06 to that 
of water as TOO (say it is six per cent, 
heavier than its own bulk of water;) it would 
not therefore, be a wide departure to regard 
the acid in this liquid form as very nearly of 
the same density as water, measuring it in 
this state in a druggist’s minim measure, and 
the water in which it is to be dissolved also in 
a druggist’s measure of larger size, say of 20 
or 40 fluid ounces capacity. A few additional 
sentences will explain those properties of car- 
bolic acid not yet mentioned, and which are of 
more or less significance to the beekeeper. 
Carbolic acid is sparingly soluble in water, 
but dissolves in all proportions in alcohol, 
aether, and strong acetic acid. It is powerfully 
antiseptic, coagulating albumen ; fi-h, leeches, 
and, indeed, aquatic life generally, die in its 
aqueous solution. It preserves animal sub- 
stances, converting them into ,l mummy 
but, as with the Egyptian mummy, the pre- 
servation is not for all time. The carbolic 
acid eventually disappears from the animal 
tissues by conversion or evaporation, and then 
comes a stage when acari (mites) attack the 
dried-up tissues, which consequently crumble 
to a mass of living dust- A caution may be 
finally added — The odour of carbolic acid may 
be compared to that of wood smoke or wood 
tar; its taste is sweetish and biting, but 
the strong acid is not devoid of corrosive 
