786 INFLUENCE OF FOOD PRESERVATIVES ON HEALTH. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



It may be argued that in a class of this size, composed of young men 

 who knew that they might have symptoms during the administration 

 of the preservative, the reports would represent the effect of the sub- 

 ject's imagination rather than the action of the preservative. As in 

 previous experiments, this point was kept in mind, and a careful 

 record was made daily of the mental condition of the men, a personal 

 acquaintance with them helping to a great extent to eliminate any 

 effects from imagination or mental attitude. Where such existed, due 

 credit is given in the medical history; this, as well as any other idi- 

 osyncrasy of the subject, being considered in connection with the daily 

 observations. 



From a general review of Nos. 1 to 6, who received sodium sulphite, 

 it may be safe to conclude that the preservative in the majority of 

 cases caused headache and sensations of dizziness. In some cases 

 decided symptoms of indigestion and pains in the stomach and intes- 

 tines accompanied one or both of these symptoms. Nausea is re- 

 ported in one case. 



With Nos. 7 to 12, who received sulphurous acid, headache was 

 quite common, dizziness not so pronounced; nausea and feeling of 

 exhaustion and weakness noted. 



There is some tendency on the part of the preservative to produce 

 albumin in the urine and a marked tendency to increase the amount 

 of urine. 



Taken as a whole, the most general symptom was that of headache, 

 which developed about the middle of the second preservative sub- 

 period. There were also some complaints of dizziness, pain in stomach 

 and intestines, and a weak and depressed condition generally. 



BODY WEIGHTS. 

 VARIATIONS IN BODY WEIGHTS. 



In order that a comparison of the variations in weight of the several 

 members of the table and the summaries may be more readily made, 

 the data have been reduced to graphic form, as shown in figs. 1 and 2. 

 These graphic charts show the daily determinations of weight for the 

 several members and the averages by periods reduced to a straight 

 line for purposes of comparison. All of the weight figures are in- 

 cluded in these expressions, irrespective of variations in other data, 

 and therefore they vary slightly from some of the averages as given 

 in Table III. 



In the case of No. 1 the chart shows a slight increase of weight 

 during the preservative period and a very small additional increase in 

 weight during the after period. In the case of No. 2 there is a marked 

 loss of weight during the preservative period, and this is continued, 



