SULPHUROUS ACID AND SULPHITES. 937 



tive balance in the preservative period of 0.228 gram considering the 

 food sulphur only, a negative balance of 0.073 gram considering also 

 the sulphur as preservative, and a positive balance in the after period 

 of 0.009 gram. 



With No. 6 the quantity of sulphur administered in the food during 

 the preservative period is markedly less than during the fore and 

 after periods. The quantity excreted in the feces, however, is very 

 slightly increased in the preservative period. The chief increase in 

 the excretion of sulphur is, as in the other cases, found in the urine, 

 where the. amount excreted in the preservative period is 0.340 gram 

 greater than that of the fore period. It should be noted, however, 

 that the excretion in the urine in the fore period is abnormally low, 

 resulting in a large positive balance. The first balance in the preserv- 

 ative period is negative, having a magnitude of 0.135 gram; the 

 second balance is positive, amounting to 0.052 gram. The balance 

 is again positive in the after period, its magnitude being 0.079 gram. 



In the case of No. 7 the incompleteness of the data render a com- 

 parison of the balances less valuable. The quantity of sulphur in 

 the food is also much less in the preservative period than in the fore 

 period. The balance in. the fore period is +0.252, becoming nega- 

 tive in the preservative period, in the case of the first balance, and 

 amounting to 0.014, while the second balance is +0.128. There 

 is no after period. 



With No. 8 the quantity of sulphur in the food is not constant, 

 being largest in the after period and smallest in the preservative 

 period. The quantities excreted in the feces do not vary greatly 

 for the three periods; but inasmuch as the sulphur in the food is less 

 in the preservative period, a part of the sulphur excreted in the feces 

 in the preservative period may have come from the added preserva- 

 tive, or be the result of incomplete absorption. The balance in this 

 case is positive in the fore period and amounts to 0.089 gram; it is 

 negative in the preservative period in the case of the first balance 

 and amounts to 0.127 gram, while the second balance is positive and 

 amounts to 0.045. It is positive in the after period, although of a 

 very small magnitude, namely, 0.003 gram. Here, again, the bal- 

 ance obtained by taking into consideration the sulphur of the pre- 

 servative is materially smaller than is found in the fore period. This 

 fact may be taken as an indication of the accelerating effect of the 

 preservative on the elimination of sulphur, and, as has already been 

 shown in the special sulphur and sulphate studies of the urine (p. 850), 

 this takes place largely in the form of neutral sulphur and inorganic 

 sulphur. 



The quantity of sulphur administered in the food of No. 9 is 

 almost exactly the same for the fore and after periods and slightly 

 less in the preservative period. The amount excreted in the feces is 



