io8  An  Experiment  on  Antiseptics.  {Am'jfc!5rm' 
AN  EXPERIMENT  ON  ANTISEPTICS. 
BY   M.   S.  BIDWELL. 
November  15th,  1875,  a  number  of  wide  mouth  8  oz.  bottles  were  pre- 
pared, each  containing  4  ozs.  of  water  and  \  oz.  raw,  lean  beef.  One 
of  these  was  left  without  any  addition,  20  of  them  were  arranged  in  sets 
of  four,  and  to  each  bottle  was  added  1,  2,  3  and  4  grs.,  respectively,  of 
each  of  the  antiseptics  under  trial,  which  were  carbolic  acid  (or  phenol), 
salicylic  acid,  chloral  hydrate  and  benzoic  acid.  Four  sets  of  bottles 
were  thus  occupied.  The  recent  statement,  that  the  alkaline  salicyl- 
ates have  no  antiseptic  power,  coupled  with  the  well-known  fact,  that 
putrefaction  is  usually  accompanied  by  an  alkaline  reaction,  suggested 
the  fifth  series,  containing  the  same  quantities  of  salicylic  acid  as  in  the 
other  series,  with  the  addition  of  half  a  drachm  of  dilute  hydrochloric 
acid  to  each  bottle.  Finally,  to  the  twenty-second  bottle  was  added 
the  same  amount  of  hydrochloric  acid  alone,  for  comparison.  The 
whole  were  loosely  covered  to  exclude  dust,  and  set  away  at  the  usual 
temperature  of  the  store,  varying  from  perhaps  550  to  700.  From 
pressure  of  business,  but  little  attention  was  paid  to  them,  and  no  record 
was  kept  of  their  progressive  changes  ;  but,  seven  weeks  later  (Jan. 
3d,  1876),  they  were  all  examined.  The  following  were  found  more 
or  less  putrid,  with  an  offensive  ammoniacal  odor,  much  like  that  of 
stale  urine,  viz  :  The  phenol,  1,  2  and  3  grs.,  salicylic  acid  the  same, 
benzoic  acid  1  gr.  and  all  those  containing  chloral.  In  the  three  contain- 
ing salicylic  acid,  the  liquid  was  covered  with  a  thick  coating  of  mould, 
which  was  not  the  case  with  any  of  the  others,  illustrating  the  fact, 
which  had  been  previously  noticed,  that  a  very  small  amount  of  this 
acid  not  only  does  not  prevent,  but  even  seems  to  favor  the  growth  of 
mould.  The  bottle  containing  no  antiseptic  was,  of  course,  quite  of- 
fensive, but  was  not  mouldy.  The  following  were  free  from  odor,  and 
apparently  unchanged,  viz  :  All  that  contained  salicylic  and  hydro- 
chloric acids  combined,  the  2,  3  and  4  grain  benzoic  acid,  the  4  grain 
phenol,  which  still  preserved,  as  at  first,  its  slightly  carbolic  or  tarry 
smell.  In  all  these  the  water  remained  clear,  or  nearly  so,  the  meat 
having  a  whitish  color  and  a  soaked  look.  In  the  sample  to  which 
hydrochloric  acid  alone  had  been  added,  the  water  was  clear  and  inodor- 
ous, but  had  a  white,  translucent  substance,  something  like  coagulated 
albumen,  floating  in  it.     No  microscopic  examination  was  made. 
From  the  results  of  this  experiment  may  be  fairly  deduced  the  fol- 
