BORIC ACID AND BORAX. 143 



35, the mean percentage eliminated in the preservative period 40.4, 

 and in the after period 37.7. Of the fat in the food, 4 per cent is 

 eliminated in the fore period, the mean of the preservative period 

 being 4.4 and during the after period 3.2. Of the total calories in 

 the food, 3.5 per cent are eliminated in the feces in the fore period, 

 4.1 per cent in the preservative period, and 3.6 per cent in the after 

 period. 



These data seem to indicate, as a result of the administration of the 

 preservative, a diminution of the absorption of nitrogen, phosphoric 

 acid, fat, and the calorific elements of the food during its passage 

 through the alimentary canal. 



No. 11 J. S. C. 



By reason of illness the regular administration of the preservative 

 is not practiced in the case of No. 11, and the data for the fore period 

 as given in the summary cover only four days, beginning March 31. 

 This insufficient time of observation is the reason of the marked dis- 

 crepancy between the average quantity of feces voided during this 

 short period (on two days of which a marked degree of constipation 

 existed) and that voided during the long preservative period which 

 follows. There is no marked tendency to any increase of the water 

 content of the feces during the administration of the preservative. 

 The percentage of nitrogen in the food which is eliminated in the feces 

 during the fore period is 0.7, during the preservative period 9.4, and 

 during the after period 7. A remarkably small percentage of the 

 phosphoric acid in the food is found in the feces during the fore 

 period, namely, 19.5 per cent, while during the preservative period it 

 rises to 37.7, and in the after period falls to 32.3. Of the fat in the 

 food, 2.7 per cent appears in the feces in the fore period, 3.9 in the 

 preservative period, and 3.2 in the after period. Of the calories in 

 the food, 3.2 per cent are found in the feces in the fore period, 4.1 in 

 the preservative period, and 3.1 in the after period. 



These data indicate that the administration of the preservative tends 

 to diminish the absorption of the elements of the food while passing 

 through the digestive organs. 



No. 12 B. J. T. 



No. 12 is irregular, as is No. 11. The fore period considered in the 

 summary is very short, covering only three days, April 3-5. The 

 percentage of water in the f ec*es in this case indicates that the preserv- 

 ative exerts no great influence one way or the other upon the water 

 content of the feces. Of the nitrogen in the food, 9.6 per cent appears 

 in the feces in the fore period, 8 in the preservative period, and 11.4 

 in the after period. In regard to phosphoric acid, 29.6 per cent 

 of the quantity present in the food appears in the feces in the fore 



