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views, but if anything to accentuate them. For example, J. Neu- 
mann (25) fo x und that only very large doses of boric acid can cause 
death by gastroenteritis or from its effects on the nervous or muscular 
systems. He therefore recommended it for the preservation of milk. 
According to Cyon (26) borax diminishes proteid metabolism, but all 
that can be learned from his work on the subject is, that metabolism 
and assimilation were not seriously interfered with by borax in the 
quantities administered. Gruber (27), on the other hand, found that 
borax increases proteid metabolism and concludes that borax exerts 
no unfavorable influence on the assimilation of food. According to 
this author, no harmful effect followed a maximum dose of 20 grams. 
Forster (28), from his studies on the applicability (verwendbarkeit) of 
boric acid as a food preservative, concludes that, while boric acid is 
without influence on proteid metabolism, the continuous administra- 
tion of small amounts of it in food is not without its drawbacks so far 
as the health of the individual is concerned, and its use as a milk 
preservative, especially in milk to be used by children, should be con- 
demned. G. T. Welch (19) records some alarming instances of poison- 
ing following the local application of large amounts of boracic acid; 
and Chittenden (30) observed that while borax in moderate amounts 
exerts no inhibitory action on the peptic and tryptic digestion of pro- 
teids, in larger quantities it retards the proteolytic activity of both of 
these digestive fluids. Later, Chittenden and Gies (31) made an 
exhaustive study of the action of borax and boric acid on nutrition, 
with especial reference to their effect on proteid metabolism, the 
experiments being made upon full-grown dogs. They found as the 
result of these studies that small doses of boric acid, up to 3 grams per 
diem, are practically without effect upon the proteid metabolism and 
the general nutrition of the animals, and even moderate doses of 
borax are practically without effect. Large doses of borax tend to 
retard somewhat the assimilation of proteid and fatty foods, and with 
very large doses there is a tendency to diarrhea and an increased 
excretion of mucus. Borax and boric acid in very large amounts 
(equal to 1.5 to 2 per cent of the food) are liable to produce nausea and 
vomiting. Both borax and boric acid are quickly eliminated from 
the body, almost entirely through the urine, and in none of the experi- 
ments were any abnormalities in the urine observed. 
Reference has already been made to the work of Rideal and Fou- 
lerton (18) on boric acid and formaldehyde as milk preservatives. 
In this connection it may be well to call attention again to their 
conclusions. According to these authors, (1) boric acid, 1:2,000, 
formaldehyde, 1:50,000, are effective preservatives of milk for 
twenty-four hours; (2) in these quantities these substances have no 
appreciable effect on digestion or on the digestibility of foods thus 
