4 



dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, and human beings, and have come to opposite 

 conclusions. The most elaborate experiment of this nature was recent- 

 ly conducted by Dr. H. W. Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Bureau of 

 Chemistry, Department of Agriculture, Washington,* in which twelve 

 young men, under close supervision, were given definite amounts of 

 boracic acid and borax with their regular food. Dr. Wiley thus sums 

 up the results of the effect of these preservatives upon the general health 

 of the young men : 



"The most interesting of the observations which were made during 

 the progress of the experiments was in the study of the direct effect of 

 boric acid and borax, when administered m food, upon the health and 

 digestion. When boric acid, or its equivalent in borax, is taken into the 

 food in small quantities, not exceeding half a gram (7 1-2 grains) a day, 

 no notable effects are immediately produced. The medical symptoms of 

 the cases in long-continued exhibitions of small doses, or in large doses, 

 extending over a shorter period, show in many instances a manifest ten- 

 dency to diminish the appetite and to produce a feeling of fullness and 

 uneasiness in the stomach, which in some cases results in nausea, with 

 a very general tendency to produce a sense of fulness in the head, which 

 is often manifested as a dull and persistent headache. In addition to the 

 uneasiness produced in the region of the stomach, there appear in some 

 instances sharp and well-located pains which, however, are not persistent. 

 Although the depression in the weight of the body and some of the other 

 symptoms produced persist in the after periods, there is a uniform ten- 

 dency manifested after the withdrawal of the preservative toward the re- 

 moval of the unpleasant sensations in the stomach and head above men- 

 tioned. " 



"The administration of boric acid to the amount of 4 to 5 grams per 

 day, or borax equivalent thereto, continued for some time results in most 

 cases in loss of appetite and inability to perform work of any kind. In 

 many cases the person becomes ill and unfit for duty. Four grams per 

 day may be regarded then as the limit of exhibition beyond which the 

 normal man may not go. The administration of 3 grams per day pro- 

 duced the same symptoms in many cases, although it appeared that a 

 majority of the men under observation were able to take 3 grams a day 

 for somewhat protracted period and still perform their duties. They com- 

 monly felt injurious effects from the dose, however, and it is certain that 

 the normal man could not long continue to receive 3 grams per day." 



"In many cases the same results, though less marked, follow the 

 administration of borax to the extent of 2 grams and even of 1 gram per 

 day, although the illness following the administration of borax and boric 

 acid in those proportions may be explained in some cases by other causes, 

 chiefly grippe." 



"The administration of borax and boric acid to the extent of one-half 

 gram per day yielded results markedly different from those obtained with 



♦Bureau of Chemistry, Department of Agriculture, Washington, Bulletin Nc». 84. 



