Am.  Jour.  Fharm.  ) 
July,  1915.  J 
Disinfection. 
315 
neutral  fat  the  use  of  the  factor  1.046  can  introduce  no  appreciable 
variation,  as  palmitic  acid  has  a  factor  of  1.049,  stearic  a  factor  of 
1.044,  and  oleic  a  factor  of  1.045. 
Summary. 
The  estimation  of  "fat  by  the  use  of  solvent  alone  gives  all  sub- 
stances soluble  in  the  menstruum  employed.  Simple  extraction,  there- 
fore, gives  approximately  true  results  for  fat  only  when  that  is  the 
only  soluble  substance  present.  In  the  back  fat  of  the  hog  this  is  the 
case,  and  we  obtained  very  concordant  results  with  the  Soxhlet 
method ;  but  with  blood  and  liver  the  results  were  not  reliable.  The 
Kumagawa-Suto  method  is  difficult  of  manipulation,  and  there  seem 
to  be  many  possibilities  of  error  in  the  separation  of  the  unsaponifi7 
able  substances.  With  the  method  proposed  this  preparation  is 
avoided.  The  use  of  the  arbitrary  factor  does  not  introduce  an 
appreciable  error. 
DISINFECTION. 
What  Disinfectant  is  the  Most  Genebl\lly  Applicable  for 
Clinical,  Surgical  and  Sanitary  Purposes  ? 1 
By  Herbert  C.  Hamilton,  Detroit,  Mich. 
Phenol,  discovered  in  1834,  was  at  first  thought  to  be  identical  with 
wood  creosote,  which  at  that  time  was  regarded  very  highly  as  a  dis- 
infectant. This  was  proved,  however,  to  be  incorrect,  and,  while  there 
were  points  of  resemblance,  there  were  also  several  properties  not 
common  to  both.  Beechwood  creosote  is  less  poisonous  and  more 
germicidal  than  phenol  proper,  but  it  is  only  very  slightly  soluble, 
coagulates  albumins  more  completely,  and  for  various  other  reasons 
is  almost  discredited  except  for  a  few  special  purposes. 
The  discovery  by  Lister  (1871)  that  suppuration  of  wounds  could 
in  almost  every  case  be  prevented  by  use  of  carbolic  acid  gave  a  great 
impetus  to  its  use  as  a  germicide  and  antiseptic.  This  work  was  the 
basis  of  the  whole  modern  theory  and  practice  relating  to  microorgan- 
isms, not  only  as  they  apply  to  Lister's  special  field  of  surgery  but  to 
that  of  sanitation  as  well. 
Probably  no  discovery  in  biology  has  been  more  revolutionary  and 
Reprinted  from  Therapeutic  Gazette,  1914,  p.  311. 
