BORIC ACID UPON NUTRITION. 25 



balance for the eight normal days of 4- 0.429 grams. The dog 

 used in this experiment, although short-haired, lost considerable 

 hair daily. This was therefore collected and at the end of 

 each period its content of nitrogen was determined and the 

 amount added to the nitrogen of the urine and faeces, as seen 

 in the accompanying tables. It is interesting to note in this 

 connection that the loss of hair in periods of eight days' 

 duration may be considerable; so large, indeed, that an 

 appreciable loss of nitrogen may result. Thus, hi the seven 

 periods of this experiment the total amount of hair shed was 

 61.98 grams, i. e., 8-10 grams for each period, the total 

 nitrogen thrown off in this manner amounting to 7.856 grams. 

 These figures show that the hair shed contained 12.6 per cent 

 of nitrogen. Obviously, in careful experiments, this source of 

 loss cannot be overlooked. 



In the first borax period of eight days, the daily dose of 

 borax ranged from 2 to 5 grams, the total amount administered 

 being"32.5 grams. In the following boric acid period the daily 

 dose ranged from 1 to 3 grams, a total of 17 grams of boric 

 acid being given. On commencing the second borax period 

 the daily dose of borax was placed at 10 grams. This was 

 continued for two days, but on the third day after taking the 

 morning dose of 5 grams the animal's appetite began to fail so 

 that it became necessary to coax her considerably in order to 

 have the day's ration consumed. On this day, therefore, only 

 5 grams were given, but on the following day the appetite 

 was nearly normal and 6 grams of borax were given. The 

 dose was then raised to 10 and 8 grams daily, as shown in the 

 tables, a total of 64 grams of borax being given in this period 

 of eight days. Throughout the entire experiment of fifty-six 

 days the animal remained perfectly well, kept a fairly constant 

 body-weight, and showed no symptoms of nausea or vomiting 

 during the administration of either borax or boric acid. The 

 only noticeable effect was a seeming loss of appetite on one 

 day, as mentioned above. At the termination of the final after 

 period, a single dose of 5 grams of boric acid was given. 

 This resulted in vomiting 4-5 hours afterward. 



