17() BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doe. 



We have conducted a lot of experiments on certain young 

 men, to determine whether or not certain things are injurious 

 to health. This was done under the authority of Congress, 

 and the work has now proceeded for two years ; we are now 

 in the third year of this investigation. The first year's 

 Avork has been completed and the data tabulated, and we 

 know Avhat effects were produced upon the young men by 

 the foods Avhich Ave gave them. During this year Ave fed 

 these young men, in addition to ordinary foods, borax and 

 boracic acid, because these are substances largely used in 

 the preservation of food. I believe Massachusetts is much 

 interested in this, because the codfish, Avhich you produce 

 in this State, and Avhich AA^e enjoy even so far south as Wash- 

 ington ever}' Sunday morning, in the form of fishballs, is 

 largely preserved by borax or boracic acid. 



We fed these young men very nearly a year with foods 

 that contained these substances. I am not going into detail ; 

 it would take 600 pages of print to tell in detail what I am 

 going to tell in five minutes. It produced injurious results 

 in a great many cases, not only on one but every one of 

 the twelve young men subjected to this experiment. The 

 result of this Avork shows that borax is not a proper sub- 

 stance to be placed in human foods for anybody. There 

 may be occasions when exigency arises, — Avhen there is an 

 absolute necessity for the use of such things. I may illus- 

 trate : England, as you knoAv, buys her food mostly from 

 other countries, largely from her colonies. Australia, for 

 instance, sends large quantities of dairy })roducts and meats 

 to England ; this is a journey of 12,000 miles. It is far 

 better to eat food that has borax in it than to eat food which 

 contains ptomaines, Avhich arise from not keeping. While 

 you don't feel any immediately noticeable effects from the 

 one, the other makes you decidedly ill ; and I prefer to eat 

 borax, because I don't know how I would feel if I ate the 

 other, and I don't Avant to take any chances. So in that 

 case I think it is perfectly proper for the English, Avho have 

 pretty good digestive organizations, any way, to use it, in 

 order that they may get their food free of ptomaines. 



For instance, I have often read of the orders which they 



