THYMIC AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PHENIC ACID. 399 
Pharmacopoeia; so that, if chemically pure bismuth was required, its cost 
ought not to stand in the way. 
THYMIC AS A SUBSTITUTE EOR PHENIC ACID. 
BY M. BOUILHON, PHARMACIEN. 
Creasote and phenic acid, although known and employed for some time with 
considerable success, have never really been favoured by the profession. This 
can only be attributed to their persistent odour, which most persons find dis¬ 
agreeable and repulsive. It is, in fact, almost impossible to dress a wound with 
phenic acid in a hospital without inconveniencing all the other patients ; its 
application at home disgusts all those who are under the same roof. The ope¬ 
rator himself, should he happen to get ever so little on his hands, which is 
almost invariably the case, is literally smoked, and notwithstanding all the 
washings and soapings imaginable, is condemned to carry during the rest of the 
day the disagreeable smell to the bedside of his other patients. These inconve- 
viences, of a secondary nature, it is true, as far as regards the relief of the sick, 
have, however, their weight, and explain, to a certain extent, the very limited 
employment of phenic acid, consequently it has remained almost exclusively a 
commercial article. 
As to creasote, it is only employed as an odontalgic by those who have tried 
all other remedies, and whose patience and repugnance have at length been over¬ 
come, unfortunately nearly always too late to receive any benefit from its appli¬ 
cation. Persons, completely ignorant of chemistry, have often asked this naive 
question,—Why do not chemists make inodorous creasote, or, at any rate, some 
which does not smell so bad ? It is useless to try and make them understand 
that the properties of a body cannot be modified without changing its composi¬ 
tion ; the chemist must find it, unless he wish to pass for an ignoramus. 
These considerations led me to try whether, among the many compounds of 
organic chemistry, one could be found resembling, as nearly as possible, the 
wished-for type. Thanks to the multifarious researches in this branch of the 
science, the series of phenols has been enriched with several homologous com¬ 
pounds ; some have been discovered in the products of the distillation of pit- 
coal, their smell, however, like that of phenic acid, prevented their employment. 
One only, obtained from oil of thyme, was worthy of attention. 
This body, rightly considered by Gerhardt as being a homologue of phenic 
acid, agrees with the general formula of the phenols, which is represented by 
Cm + H b _6, 0 2 
Phenol, or phenic acid, has the formula— 
Cresylic acid— 
and the new homologue obtained from oil of thyme— 
c 12 +h 6 0 2 
Ci4 + H 8 0 2 
C 20 + h 14 0 2 - 
This compound known as thymol, and which I shall call thymic acid, for the 
same reason as phenol is called phenic acid, may be obtained in a crystallized 
state, in which it melts at 44° Centigrade, and boils at 230°, at a barometric 
pressure of 76 centimetres. Once melted, it often presents the peculiar property 
of remaining for an indefinite time in the liquid state. 
t Its odour is weak, agreeable, and resembles that of thyme. It is little soluble 
in water, very soluble in alcohol, especially if concentrated. It dissolves also 
