8 



acid be not used in a greater proportion than 1 grain per pint in liquid 

 food and 1 grain per pound in solid food. Its presence in all cases to be 

 declared." 



"(b) That the use of any preservative or coloring matter whatever 

 in milk offered for sale in the United Kingdom be constituted an offence 

 under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act." 



"(c) That the only preservative which it shall be lawful to use in 

 cream be boracic acid, or mixtures of boracic acid and borax, and in 

 amount not exceeding 0.25 per cent., expressed as boracic acid. The 

 amount of such preservative to be notified by a label upon the vessel." 



"(d) That the only preservative to be used in butter and margarine 

 be boracic acid or mixtures of boracic acid and borax, to be used in pro- . 

 portions not exceeding 0.5 per cent., expressed as boracic acid." 



"(e) That in the case of all dietic preparations intended for the use 

 of invalids or infants chemical preservatives of all kinds be prohibited." 



"(/) That means be provided either by the establishment of a separ- 

 ate Court of Reference, or by the imposing of more direct obligation on 

 the Local Government Board to exercise supervision over the use of pre- 

 servatives and coloring matters in foods, and to prepare schedules of 

 such as may be considered inimical to the public health." 



It is evident that Dr. Wiley and the British Committee agree regard- 

 ing the harmfulness of even the boron compounds when taken into the 

 system in large doses. But, while Dr. Wiley contends that the continu- 

 ed use of small amounts for a long period will "create disturbances of 

 appetite, of digestion and of health," the British* Committee concludes 

 that "there exists no suflficient reason for interfering to prevent the use 

 of boron preservatives when used in fresh and cured meat, fish, butter, 

 margarine, and other food substances in the consumption of which but 

 small quantities of the antiseptic are taken into the system." Dr. Wiley's 

 conclusions were reached after a comparatively long study of cases un- 

 der direct medical supervision ; the Committee's conclusions were reached 

 from experiments of much shorter duration, and from the fact that al- 

 though preservatives were found to be used quite extensively, very few 

 cases of sickness had been traced to them. 



To gather further information on this point and to ascertain what 

 effects the small amount of preservative commonly placed in butter would 

 have on the system, it was suggested that experiments be carried on with 

 the students in residence at the College. A table of twelve men, from 18 

 to 22 years of age and in good health, eagerly volunteered for the work. 

 All they were asked to do was to use the butter provided regularly and 

 to report if they felt the least pain or any unusual sensation develop. 

 The butter prepared for this experiment contained one-half of an 

 ounce of salt per pound and one-half per cent, of borax. For twenty- 

 six days during the fall term the twelve men used practically three pounds 

 of butter per day and would, consequently, have consumed, provided all 

 preservative was retained in the butter about .5 grams of borax per 



