6 
Man naturally has an instinctive repugnance to all offensive exhala- 
tions, and from the earliest times has sought to overcome their presence 
in some way, and it is natural that any substance giving promise in this 
held should gain more or less popularity. 
Not manv vears ago the inhalation of foul odors was regarded as one 
of the principal etiological factors concerned in the transmission of 
some of the infectious diseases, which may in part account for and 
have justified the use of chloride of zinc. 
There is no doubt that the virtues accredited to chloride of zinc have 
been acquired largely through what power it may have for remov- 
ing obnoxious effluvia and not because of its power to destroy micro- 
organisms. 
The literature covering the experimental work that has been done 
with chloride of zinc for the purpose of ascertaining its antiseptic and 
germicidal properties is meager, and the results that have been 
published by different investigators are not always satisfactory and 
sometimes contradictory. 
REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 
Chloride of zinc as a deodorant and disinfectant Avas A'ery popular 
in the British navy^^ about the middle of the last century, some of the 
naval medical officers stronglv recommending its use in the treatment 
of dysentery and in preA’enting the spread of cholera. It was found 
particularly useful in overcoming the disagreeable smells arising from 
the excretions of patients sick with these diseases. 
The deputy inspector of royal naval hospitals in Bermuda published 
a report in 1851^ in which he regarded chloride of zinc as a most' 
powerful and instantaneous deodorant, and he, too. used it with great 
success in OA’ercoming the foul emanations arising from patients dying 
in the wards in every stage of the worst forms of yellow feA^er. The 
waAung of fiags moistened with the solution and the employment of 
other means recommended for its use dissipated the foul air and 
restored freshness. 
Concerning chloride of zinc as a disinfectant, the royal scientific depu- 
tation of medical officers,^ 1856, states that there is no doubt and no 
further research is necessary to show that a solution of zinc chloride 
will perform A^ery good seiudce in protecting the bilge and preA'enting 
« Royal XaA'al lleclical Reports: Extracts from official reports upon the effects of 
chloride of zinc in deodorizing offensive effluvia from cesspools, sewei’s, etc., and in 
decomposing poisonous emanations from the bodies of those affected by contagious 
diseases, 5Ied. Times and Gaz., London, 1853, n. s, 7, pp. 341-344. 
^Hilditch, E. : Report on deodorizing and disinfecting properties of the chloride 
of zinc. Med. Times and Gaz., London, 1854, n. s. 9, p. 106. 
^^L'eber den Chlorzink als Desinfectionsmittel. Viertelj. f. gericht. und off. Medi- 
cin, Berlin, 1856, pp. 104-107. 
