630 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



proven that they are not without injurious effect on the human 

 system. Again what may prove harmless for healthy men -may be 

 not only injurious but actually poisonous to those ill, convalescent, 

 or to young children and babies even in minute quantities. But, 

 what is meant by "small quantities"? There are foods on the 

 market containing many times the amount of preservative actually 

 needed to preserve them and as a Wyoming bulletin truly puts it: 

 "When the greater part of the foods used in this State are shipped 

 in from neighboring States and the foods are necessarily from two 

 to ten days on the road, the subject of preservatives becomes one of 

 vital importance to the people of Wyoming. If we sit down to a 

 dinner and eat canned vegetables, ^reserved with salicylic acid, 

 meats containing boric acid, catsup with benzoic acid, canned fruit 

 containing salicylic acid, milk containing formaldehyde, bread 

 containing alum, and a number of these containing a goodly 

 sprinkling of poisonous aniline dyes and perhaps some compounds 

 of copper, the amount of preservatives and poisonous material taken 

 into the stomach is not a negligible factor. Chemical preservatives 

 cannot be considered as harmless, and it is now unlawful to use 

 them to preserve food products." 



There are firms engaged in the business of manufacturing and 

 selling these preservatives with the statement that they are harm- 

 less and that they comply with the food laws. In this way some 

 small manufacturing companies have unknowingly violated the 

 law and others have put on the market preparations containing a 

 preservative when none was used in the factory. A case in point 

 was one in which borax was found in mince-meat. This was traced 

 to raisins so treated before the firm bought them. In another case 

 the formaldehyde found in condensed milk had been used by the 

 producer who delivered the milk to the factory. 



These products under various names are sold to farmers and 

 housekeepers at large profits. Some of them and their names are 

 given below. Freezine, Preservaline, Milk Sweet, contain formal- 

 ine; extract of Salyx is salicylic acid; butter preservative, borax, 

 boric acid and salt; general preservative for fruits and meats, sodium 

 sulphite. Secret preparations for "cold process" preserves are sold to 

 many housekeepers and often when used according to directions for 

 keeping fruit without any heat are used far in excess of that which 

 even the advocates of food preservatives advise. 



A weak solution of formaldehyde is used as an embalming 

 fluid by specimen collectors of small animals and also by under- 

 takers. (Wyoming Sta. B. 56, 62; N. Dak. E. S. B. 63; Bu. Chem. 

 100.) 



INVESTIGATIONS OP PRESERVATIVES. 



Doctor H. W. Wiley of the Bureau of Chemistry made a num- 

 ber of investigations of the effects on the human system when 

 chemical preservatives were taken with the food. The first of these 

 was the Borax Investigation. 



Twelve healthy young men of approved character, not users of 

 alcoholic beverages, some college trained and the majority engaged 



