190 
RICHARD MIDDLETON. 
with sterilized wadding and a rubber cap, and then, in a hori¬ 
zontal positson, twisting it under a stream of water until the 
gelatine becomes evenly fixed upon the sides of the tube and 
solid. Baruchello demonstrated that new sponges washed 
in sterilized water also developed colonies of bacteria, though 
very few. With the room at a temperature of 65° to 77 0 F., 
a multitude of colonies began to show themselves in twenty- 
four hours, and the gelatine to assume the fluid state. On 
the second day after inoculation, Baruchello counted the 
colonies in a square centimeter. From one very dirty sponge 
23,866; from three moderately dirty, 7,534, 10,896, 6,312 ; from 
two well-washed in sterilized water, 128 and 147; from two 
• 
new sponges, 32 and 40; and from one new sponge washed in 
sterilized water, six bacterial colonies were counted. A few 
minutes heating at 189.5° F. was sufficient to kill most of the 
spores ; after this, however, there developed other colonies ; 
this pointed to a species which was extraordinarily hardy. 
After these experiments, Baruchello commenced the search 
for a suitable disinfectant; this must be of a character to de¬ 
stroy all microphytes and their spores; it must be at once 
simple, convenient, cheap, practical and not dangerous to use, 
or ruinous to the sponges. It has been known that dirty 
pieces of sponges containing the bacilli of anthrax and glan¬ 
ders were rendered sterile by boiling five minutes in water. 
In this process, however, the elasticity and porosity of the 
same were materially affected. Consequent upon this came 
a selection from the various chemicals of disinfecting value ; 
the choice fell upon a solution of corrosive sublimate, 2-1000, 
mixed with a solution of acid hydrochlor. 5-1000, which is 
the solution of Canalis (for the disinfecting of railroad cars). 
The experiments of Laplace upon the disinfecting energy of 
the sublimate, determine!the fact that this was greatest when 
combined with an acid. (Phenic may be used). The acid 
not only facilitates solution, but the subsequent decomposi¬ 
tion when subjected to the light, Laplace has found that 
0.5 cc. of blood serum from the ox was sufficient to annul the 
disinfecting power of the sublimate, because of the resulting 
decomposition of the latter. The foregoing investigations 
