27 



servative toward the removal of the unpleasant sensations in the 

 st>inach and head above mentioned. 



The administration of boric acid to the amount of 4 or 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 

 l>er day produced 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 a somewhat protracted period and still perform 

 their duties. They commonly felt injurious effects from the dose, how- 

 ever, 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 larger quantities of the preservatives. This experiment, Series V, 

 conducted as it was for a period of fifty days, was a rather severe test, 

 and it appeared that in some instances a somewhat unfavorable result 

 attended its use. On the whole the results show that one-half gram 

 per day is too much for the normal man to receive regularly. On the 

 other hand it is evident that the normal man can receive one-half gram 

 per day of boric acid, or of borax expressed in terms of boric acid, for 

 a limited period of time without much danger of impairment of health. 



It is, of course, not to be denied that both borax and boric acid are 

 recognized as valuable remedies in medicine. There are certain 

 diseases in which these remedies are regularly prescribed, both for 

 internal and external use. The value which they possess in these cases 

 does not seem to have any relation to their use in the healthy organism 

 except when properly prescribed as prophylactics. The fact that any 

 remedy is useful in disease does not appear to logically warrant its use 

 at any other time. 



It appears, therefore, that both boric acid and borax, when continu- 

 ously administered in small doses for a long period, or when given in 

 large quantities for a short period, create disturbances of appetite, of 

 digestion and of health. 



H. W. WILEY, M. D., 



Approved : Chief, Bureau of Chemistry. 



JAMES WILSON, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



