170 
ON  CHARCOAL  AS  A  DISINFECTANT. 
worn,  no  air  enters  the  lungs  without  first  passing  through  the 
charcoal,  and  any  effluvia  or  miasmata  contained  in  the  atmosphere 
are  absorbed  and  oxidized  by  the  charcoal.  This  form  of  the 
respirator,  therefore,  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  protecting  the 
wearer  against  fevers  and  other  infectious  diseases, 
The  third  form  of  the  respirator  is  also  ori-nasal,  but  is  much 
larger,  and  therefore  more  cumbrous  than  the  preceding  variety. 
It  is  intended  chiefly  for  use  in  chemical  works,  common  sewers, 
&c,  to  protect  the  workmen  from  the  noxious  effects  of  the  dele- 
terious gases  to  which  they  are  frequently  exposed. 
I  think  it  but  justice  to  myself  to  state,  that  I  have  no  pecu- 
niary interest  in  any  of  these  respirators.  Though  strongly 
urged  to  do  so,  I  refrained  from  securing  them  by  patent,  on  the 
ground  that  inventions  for  the  prevention  of  death  and  disease 
ought  to  be  sold  at  the  lowest  price,  and  should  not,  therefore, 
be  encumbered  with  the  expense  and  restrictions  attendant  upon 
patent  rights.  These  respirators  have  been  very  successfully 
manufactured  by  Mr.  W.  B.  Roof,  of  8,  Willow  Walk,  Kentish 
Town,  who  sells  the  one  for  the  mouth  alone  at  6s. ;  the  small 
ori-nasal  at  8s. ;  and  the  large  ori-nasal  at  10s.  each. 
I  am  aware  that  some  persons,  who  admit  the  deodorizing  pro- 
perties of  charcoal,  deny  that  it  acts  as  a  disinfectant.  I  would 
direct  the  attention  of  such  persons  to  the  following  statement 
of  facts  : — About  a  year  ago  the  bodies  of  a  full-grown  cat  and 
two  rats  were  placed  in  open  pans,  and  covered  by  two  inches  of 
powdered  charcoal.  The  pans  have  stood  during  all  that  time  in 
my  laboratory,  and  though  it  is  generally  very  warm,  not  the 
slightest  smell  has  ever  been  perceptible,  nor  have  any  injurious 
effects  been  experienced  by  any  of  the  nine  or  ten  persons  by 
whom  the  laboratory  is  daily  frequented. 
Now,  had  the  body  of  these  animals  been  left  to  putrify  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  not  only  would  the  stench  emitted  have 
been  intolerable,  but  some  of  the  persons  would  certainly  have 
been'  struck  down  by  fever  or  other  malignant  disorders.  Within 
the  last  few  months  charcoal  powder  has  been  most  successfully 
employed  both  at  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospitals, 
to  arrest  the  progress  of  gangrene  and  other  putrid  sores.  The 
charcoal  does  not  require  to'  be  put  immediately  in  contact  with 
