160 INFLUENCE OF FOOD PRESERVATIVES ON HEALTH. 



ing the fore period the urine is strongly acid in 22.2 per cent of the 

 cases, and in the preservative period in 53.6 per cent. It is acid in 

 the fore period in 61.1 per cent, and in the after period in 35.7 per cent. 

 It is amphoteric in the fore period in 16.7 per cent of the cases, and 

 in the preservative period in 10.7 per cent. In the case of No. 7 only, 

 the urine is strongly acid in the after period in 20 per cent of the 

 cases, acid in 40 per cent, and amphoteric in 40 per cent. These data 

 show a strong tendency on the part of the boric acid, which was the 

 preservative administered in this case, to render the reaction of the 

 urine strongly acid, at the expense both of the acid reaction and of 

 the amphoteric reaction. 



In the case of Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 a more general comparison 

 can be made, on which the following remarks may be based: In the 

 fore period 15.5 per cent of the samples are strongly acid, in the pre- 

 servative period 30.3 per cent, and in the after period 20 per cent. 

 In the fore period 55.5 per cent of the samples are acid, 44.6 per cent 

 in the preservative period, and 30 per cent in the after period. Twenty- 

 eight and nine-tenths per cent of the samples are amphoteric in reac- 

 tion in the fore period, 23.2 per cent in the preservative period, and 45 

 per cent in the after period. None of the samples is akaline in the fore 

 period, 1.8 per cent in the preservative period, and 5 per cent in the 

 after period. Attention should be called, however, to the fact that 

 the after period here was a very unsatisfactory one and the examina- 

 tion of the urine was practically the only metabolic control which was 

 secured in these cases in the after period. The condition of the sub- 

 jects was such in this period that no further control was attempted. 



The general inference from the above data is that the administration 

 of the boric acid tends to increase the strong acidity of the urine. 



SERIES III. 



In Series III a better comparison of the reactions of the urine was 

 secured, which is given in Table XXIV, both for each individual mem- 

 ber of the table and as a whole. Taking the general averages^ it is 

 found that in the fore period 11.9 per cent of the samples are strongly 

 acid, in the preservative period 36.9 per cent, and in the after period 

 56.4 per cent. Sixty-one and 'three-tenths per cent of the samples in 

 the fore period are entered as acid, 33.4 per cent in the preservative 

 period, and 26.6 per cent in the after period. Twenty-six and eight- 

 tenths per cent of the samples are found to be amphoteric in the fore 

 period, 29.7 per cent in the preservative period, and 17 per cent in the 

 after period. 



The general data in this series seem to indicate a tendency on the 

 part of the preservative to increase the strong acidity of the urine, 

 and this tendency is manifested even to a greater degree during the 

 after period, during a part of which, of course, the boric acid contin- 



