ON DEODORIZATION AND DISINFECTION. 
455 
chloride of zinc which has no sulphuretted hydrogen on which to 
act, has a preservative effect on the wood, and contributes to pre- 
vent the further formation of sulphuretted hydrogen. 
4. In crowded transports and emigrant ships, and especially in 
bad weather, the air becomes very foul ; also in crowded barracks, 
badly constructed as regards ventilation, the use of the diluted 
fluid (1 to 40) is highly conducive to comfort and health. 
5. The plan of many jails is so faulty that there are many cells 
which it is nearly impossible to ventilate, and which (even after 
removing all the bedding, &c., in them) retain a peculiar and dis- 
agreeable odour. I found that this odour was removed by waving, 
for a minute or two, a flannel cloth wet with the diluted fluid ; as 
in the case of ships and barracks, or any other crowded places, 
there may also be some of the fluid sprinkled over the floor*. 
6. When the diluted fluid (one part to sixty parts of water) is 
applied by sponging to the persons of typhus patients, it removes 
the peculiar odour emitted by them. Except where cold sponging 
is indicated, the fluid ought to be used of the temperature of the 
patient. 
7. In hospital wards full of typhus and dysentery cases the air 
becomes exceedingly impure, and in cold weather, and at night, 
ventilation often cannot be had recourse to. In such cases the 
disagreeable odour is removed by waving flannel cloths wet with 
the diluted fluid ( 1 to 40) two or three times a day for a few 
minutes at a time, and by sprinkling some fluid on the floor. 
Where there is dysentery, a small quantity of fluid may be poured 
into the utensils over night. The odour emitted from the surface 
of the body of a dysentery patient is much lessened by sponging 
him with tepid diluted fluid (1 to 60). I found that having the 
fluid used in the way pf waving and sprinkling once a day, when 
the same process was repeated next morning, there was no dis- 
agreeable odour, or almost none, perceptible ; this, too, was in 
badly-ventilated wards crowded with fever and dysentery patients. 
I found that the proportion of one ounce of the strong fluid (making 
forty -one ounces of the diluted fluid) was sufficient for every ten 
persons ; the price of the fluid (as at present advertised) is three 
shillings sterling a quart, or about one penny an ounce ; so that to 
give the sick the daily benefit of having the fluid used, it would 
cost an hospital tenpence a day for a hundred sick, and eight 
shillings and fourpence for a thousand sick. The expense of any 
article for hospital use on the large scale is an important consi- 
deration, and besides the great superiority of the Burnett fluid in 
other respects, it is much cheaper than chloride of lime and other 
* Where the fluid is applied to woodwork, the use of soap, soda, or potash, 
should be avoided immediately before or after its application. 
