388 CARBOLIC ACID AS A DISINFECTANT, ETC. 
“Mr. Heath, house-surgeon of the infirmary, has used it with two 
parts of water as a lotion in sloughing wounds, and has found that in a 
short time after its application it entirely arrests the sloughing process, 
and produces a healthy appearance. 
“ Dr. Whitehead has used with advantage Dr. Robert Angus Smith’s 
solution of sulphites and carbonates of lime and magnesia. 
“In July, 1859, M. Velpeau drew the attention of the French Academy 
of Sciences to the value of the mixture of coal-tar and sulphate of 
lime of MM. Corne and Demeaux in the healing of ulcers and other 
offensive wounds ; and it may he added, that this mixture was used with 
great advantage in the French army after the great battles of Magenta 
and Solferino. 
“In the following month I forwarded a note to the French Academy, 
pointing out that from experiments I had made with the various sub¬ 
stances existing in coal-tar, it was highly probable that carbolic acid 
was the active agent of the coal-tar used by MM. Corne and Demeaux, 
and that much more certainty might be expected if that acid were sub¬ 
stituted in their mixture; for the composition of coal-tar varies accord¬ 
ing to the nature of the coal and the temperature employed in its pre¬ 
paration. I also suggested that it was probable that the powerful anti¬ 
septic properties of carbolic acid prevented the decomposition of the 
adjacent parts, and thus tended to restore the wounds to a healthy state 
and to remove the cause of infection. Before quitting this part of the 
subject,I beg again tocall attentionto afactwhichl havealreadypublished 
in one of my papers, namely, that the addition of two or three drops of 
this acid to a pint of freshly made urine will preserve it from fermen¬ 
tation or any marked chemical change for several weeks. 
“ l have also applied it lately to foot-rot, which annually carries offlarge 
numbers of sheep, and I have been given to understand that the reme¬ 
dies hitherto adopted in this disease have been only partially successful. 
I think that if my experiments are further confirmed, it will prove a 
great boon to the farmers of this country. 
“This acid has alsobeen applied by me during the last twelve months 
to the preservation of gelatine solutions and preparations, of size made 
with starch, flour, and similar substances, and of skins, hides, and other 
animal substances. In fact, its antiseptic powers are so great, that it is 
the most powerful preventive of putrefaction with which I am acquainted. 
It appears also to act strongly as an antiferment, for I have proved on an 
extensive commercial scale that it prevents (as stated by me in a paper 
published in 1855) the conversion of tannin into gallic acid and sugar. 
It also arrests lactic fermentation. I am now engaged in a series of 
experiments to discover if that power extends to alcoholic, butyric, and 
acetic fermentations. I hope also to communicate to you shortly the 
results of my experiments on the protection of timber from dry rot.” 
In an article, also in the Chemical News , “ On the Chemical 
Manufacturers of Lancashire,^ we find the following : 
Disinfectants. —The manufacture of disinfectants has become 
a regular and constant one, and since the inquiries instituted on the 
subject by Mr. M‘Dougall of this city, the use of those made in this 
district has been enormously increased. Mr. M‘Dougall manu¬ 
factures, near Oldham, a disinfecting powder, in which the pro¬ 
perties of carbolic and sulphurous acid are taken advantage of. This 
is used to prevent decomposition in stables, cowhouses, and 
among accumulations of putrescible matter, and generally for the 
prevention of decomposition in manures. A liquid is also pre- 
