BORIC ACID UPON NUTRITION. 3 



animal received daily 1500 grams of meat and 200 c.c. of 

 water, the daily excretion of urea in the urine varied from 

 75.82 grams to 110.30 grams during the six days prior to the 

 administration of borax. Then 20 grams of borax were 

 introduced with the food, an amount so large that vomiting 

 was at once produced, leading to a loss of about 5 grams of 

 the borax and about 100 grams of the meat, with most of the 

 water. On this day, however, 108.20 grams of urea were 

 excreted in the urine, although the food consumed was 100 

 grams less than the usual quantity. On the two following 

 days, without borax and with the full complement of food, 

 the excretion of urea amounted to 109.00 and 107.60 grams 

 respectively. From these results Gruber concludes that the 

 borax increased the excretion of urea 4-6 per cent. In the 

 second experiment, with a dog of 34 kilos body-weight, fed on 

 a daily ration of 1100 grams of meat and 200 c.c. of water, 

 the daily excretion of urea varied from 70.86 grams to 80.60 

 grams for the four days of the normal period, while the 

 administration of 10 grams of borax was accompanied by an 

 excretion of 82.14 grams of urea, and, on the second day 

 following, the introduction of 20 grams of borax was accom- 

 panied by an excretion of 85.25 grams of urea. Further, on 

 this latter day the volume of urine rose to 1310 c.c., while the 

 largest daily excretion prior to this day was 1040 c.c. Gruber, 

 therefore, concludes that borax does not spare proteid as Cyon 

 asserts, but, just as in the case of common salt, sodium 

 sulphate, and other neutral salts, it causes an increase in the 

 elimination of water from the body and induces therewith an 

 increased proteid catabolism. It is not to be inferred from 

 this statement that there is simply an increased washing out 

 of urea from the tissues, for, as Voit * has pointed out, the 

 amounts of urea excreted on the days following the ingestion 

 of borax simply fall back to the neighborhood of the average 

 for the normal period, and do not drop below that average. 

 Gruber also concludes that borax has no unfavorable influence 

 upon the assimilation of food, since the quantity of faeces, 

 * Voit, loc. cit, p. 165. 



