OBJECTIONS TO PRESERVATIVES. 405 



formaldehyde is necessary, and even then the effect is only equal 

 to that produced by cooling down the milk about 10 F. ; the 

 cost of cooling is approximately the same as the cost of preserva- 

 tives, and so far as milk is concerned, there is absolutely no justi- 

 fication for the use of preservatives ; the practice appears to be 

 dying out. 



Objections. The practice of adding preservatives is by 

 many considered highly reprehensible, while others are warmly 

 in favour of this course. Evidence that any well-marked 

 injurious effect follows the consumption of milk containing 

 small amounts of preservatives is not forthcoming. 



Wiley, as the result of an exhaustive experiment extending 

 over many weeks, concluded that both boric acid and borax, 

 when continuously administered in small doses for a long period, 

 or when given in large quantities for a short period, create dis- 

 turbances of appetite, of digestion, and of health. 



In certain patients medicinal doses of boric acid give rise to 

 transient erythematous eruptions after relatively short periods, 

 especially in cases of kidney disease, where the drug is not rapidly 

 eliminated in the urine. 



Tunnicliffe and Eosenheim conclude that neither boric acid 

 nor borax given for twelve days in any way affect the general 

 health or well-being of children. On the other hand, the author 

 has found a general consensus of opinion among medical men, 

 who are specialists in infant feeding, that the presence of boric 

 acid or its compounds tends to cause feeding troubles in young 

 children. 



Hehner, Weber, F. J. Allan, Cripps, Leffmann and Beam, 

 Liebreich, Halliburton, Chittenden, Mayberry and Goldsmith, and 

 Rideal and Foulerton have shown that neither boric acid nor 

 borax have any inhibitory effect on rennet action, or on salivary, 

 gastric, or pancreatic digestion, beyond that traceable to the 

 acid radicle of boric acid or the alkali of borax. 



They have, however, none of them ventured to claim that 

 their experiments in vitro have more than a partial bearing on 

 the question whether boric acid is injurious or not. 



Salicylic acid is in rather a different category ; it is a well- 

 known drug, and, when taken in moderate quantity, has been 

 proved to cause injurious symptoms ; its use is forbidden in 

 France as a preservative ; it has an inhibitive effect on enzymes. 

 Wiley has found that it tends to produce slight digestive dis- 

 turbances. Formaldehyde is of considerable activity as a 

 chemical agent, and combines with proteins to form compounds 

 of a different nature. 



It has been found by Tunnicliffe and Rosenheim that formalde- 

 hyde, when given for fourteen days to children, diminished 



