42 
CHEMICAL DISINFECTANTS. 
change of food, as, for instance, at the beginning of training 
dogs are often at once put upon a pound of flesh a day, which 
had previously been living upon barley meal and greaves. 
Instead of improving in condition, and ‘ training on/ no 
wonder that they c train off/ and the same will apply to the 
time of whelping. 
“ There is seldom much necessity for interference with the 
process of parturition. The greyhound puppy is generally 
so small in proportion to the mother that the passage into 
the world is ‘ as easy as a glove/ and as soon as they take 
the nipple the whelps may be considered safe if there is 
plenty of milk, a warm bed, good food, and a good mother. 
The first three of these requirements are mainly dependent 
upon the kennelman ; but the last depends upon the temper 
of the animal — some bite their puppies severely, some lie 
upon them, and some great awkward bitches tread upon 
their offspring ; but these are not common casualties, and if 
they occur more than once are sufficient to induce us to 
destroy any but a very great favorite.” — Bell’s Life in London; 
Nov . 28, 1852. 
CHEMICAL DISINFECTANTS. 
By George Wilson, M.D., F.R.S.E. 
“The term disinfectant , in strictness of language, can only 
be applied to those agents or substances which destroy or 
decompose infectious or contagious matter. But it is usually 
employed in a wider sense, so as to include not only disin- 
fectants proper, but likewise antiseptics and deodorisers . Any 
attempt to draw a sharp line of demarcation between these 
three classes of agents, is rendered impossible by our almost 
total ignorance of the nature of contagious matter. Some 
substances, such as chlorine and sulphurous acid, possess at 
the same time disinfectant, antiseptic, and deodorising 
powers. Some, like common salt, are probably simply anti- 
septic ; of others, such as the salts of the heavy metals, which 
are in high repute as deodorisers, it may be questioned whe- 
ther they are of any value as disinfectants, although with 
some persons they rank at the head of the list. Without 
insisting at present on this, it may suffice to define the bodies 
we are about to consider, thus : A disinfectant is an agent 
which effects the chemical decomposition of organic poisonous 
matter — the term poisonous being used in a wide sense to 
