383 
one day he took 18 decigrams without effect, except possibly to 
increase his appetite. When he took two doses of 3.654 grams in two 
hours vomiting set m, and when he took the third dose later in the 
same day he again vomited, but after two hours regained his normal 
condition. G. T. Welch quotes Gaucher to the effect that the fatal 
dose of boracic acid is 2.5 ounces, continued for at least ten days. 
On the basis of these observations and also certain observations on 
himself and from results reached in his study of the effects of boric 
acid and borax on animals, such as dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, etc., 
Liebreich (32) enters into a somewhat vigorous defense of the use of 
boric acid and borax as food preservatives. It is his opinion that much 
of the opposition to the use of boracic preparations for such purposes 
grows out of prejudices handed down from bygone times, and he 
calls attention to the fact that in this connection undue stress has 
been laid upon the accidents resulting from the use of boric acid in 
surgery, and that to a considerable extent the opposition to the use 
of boric acid and borax as food preservatives is founded upon conclu- 
sions drawn from imperfect experimental researches. To him the 
critical spirit of this later-day investigation of such subjects as food 
preservatives is a matter of regret, and in one of his communications, 
“Ueber Conservirung durch Borsaeure” (33), he inquires somewhat 
petulantly, “Who would have made the introduction of pickled meat, 
smoked beef, and such like dependent on a chemical or pharmaco- 
logical investigation?” He emphasizes the fact that notwithstand- 
ing that borax and boric acid have been in use as food preservatives 
for a series of decades not a single case of injury to health has been 
observed. Lebbin (34) failed also to discover any harmful effect 
from eating meat preserved with boric acid, and hence points out that 
no objection can be urged against its use as a preservative. Tunni- 
cliffe and Rosenheim (35) studied the influence of boric acid and 
borax on the general metabolism of three children, and arrived at the 
conclusion that small doses, up to 1 gram per day, continued for 
some time, exert no influence on the proteid metabolism in healthy 
or delicate children. Both boric acid and borax are quickly elimi- 
nated from the system, and neither substance affected the general 
health or well-being of the children in any way. 
A second treatise by Liebreich (36) on the effect of boric acid and 
borax on the human system appeared in 1902, the object of which, 
according to the author, was to refute certain erroneous and insuffi- 
cient observations likely to encourage prejudices against the use of 
these compounds. He criticises the observations of Robinson, Kister, 
Handford, Rose, Rost, Rubner, Mattern, Heffte, Le Bon, and others, 
on the grounds that the} T are based on faulty and inaccurate observa- 
tions; that the tests and observations are not decisive, that in certain 
