The disinfectant question : review of a book by Dr. R. Angus Smith, entitled Disinfectants and disinfection.

Date:
1869
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The disinfectant question : review of a book by Dr. R. Angus Smith, entitled Disinfectants and disinfection. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the Cattle Plague Commission gives an account of only nine practical experiments, some of which amount to no more than this,—that carbolic acid was used on farms where cattle plague had not come, and no cases of the disease appeared between the time of the trial and that of the report; the returns of Dr. Ballard extend to fifty-three cow-houses wherein the plague had broken out, and comprise an accurate record of the conditions in respect to crowding, cleanliness, and disinfection, under which the disease re-appeared or not in the infected sheds among the cows purchased „ to replace those that had died. Compared with Dr. Ballard’s observations those of Mr. Crookes are of very little value indeed, not only on account of their limited number, the hurried way in which they were made, and the inexperience of the observer in the kind of work, but also on account of the unsystematic manner in which they are recorded. To give an idea of the valuable nature of' the information contained in Dr. Ballard’s tables, as printed in the Appendix to the Second Report of the Cattle Plague Commission (p. 7,) we subjoin two of his most instructive entries.'4 In the same way that, after apparently stating with fairness the properties of chlorine, he gives it a back- handed blow as being destructive to manure, so Dr. Smith takes care, while in appearance doing justice to another valuable disinfectant of the oxidizing class, namely, Condy’s Fluid (permanganate solution), to * Condition of sheds Number of cows usually kept Cubic space in sheds per cow Dung-pit within shed or not Number of cases of plague up to date of return Died, or slaughtered on appear¬ ance of plague Number of cows in sheds at date of return Brought in since outbreak Shed ever quite empty of cows, <or not Disinfectants used Cases of plague since habitual use of disinfectants Dennison, Garland and Swan Yard. Jloyte. good bad 20 25 580 300 not not 20 <> 20 5 7 13 7 12 not not Chlorine and JCondy’s Fluid . Condy’s Fluid ( Stockholm tar none none
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