354 
Note  on  Boroglyeeride. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pliarm. 
t      July,  1882. 
few  specimens  of  readily  putrescible  substances,  tending  somewhat  to 
show  its  power.  The  contents  of  two  eggs,  with  2  fluidrachnis  of  a  10 
per  cent,  solution,  have  kept  sweet  from  May  22d.  The  expressed 
juice  of  two  pounds  of  finely-chopped  lean  beef,  with  fat  and  pulpy 
matter  Avhich  went  through  the  press,  has  kept  sweet  from  May  29th 
with  J  ounce  boroglyeeride.  This  shows  the  feasibility  of  preparing 
a  superior  nutriment  for  invalids,  and  deserves  fuller  investigation. 
Mucilago  Acacise,  U.  S.  P.,  substituting  the  5  per  cent,  solution  for 
water,  made  June  1st,  is  quite  sweet.  120  grains  of  French  gelatin 
were  dissolved  in  16  ounces  of  water  on  June  5th,  and  divided  in  two 
portions,  one  being  left  unprotected,  while  to  the  other  1  dram  of 
boroglyeeride  was  added.  The  latter  is  quite  good  at  eight  days  old, 
while  the  former  is  becoming  putrid.  Boroglyeeride  will  keep  infu- 
sions, decoctions,  solutions  of  the  alkaloids,  etc.,  from  spoiling.  Fruits 
and  fruit  juices  for  use  in  beverages  can  be  kept  in  this  way  without 
sugar,  and  made  into  syrups  at  any  time,  thus  securing  all  the  flavor. 
It  also  furnishes  an  excellent  means  of  preserving  anatomical  specimens 
at  a  very  small  cost.  The  skin  and  tissues  are  not  shrunken  as  they 
are  in  alcohol. 
You  will  see  on  the  table  some  specimens  illustrating  the  foregoing 
remarks.  Among  the  most  interesting  to  surgeons  are  absorbent  cotton 
and  crinoline  saturated  with  a  20  per  cent,  alcoholic  solution  of  boro- 
glyeeride. 
P.  S. — After  the  foregoing  was  written  I  saw  the  statement  in  ^'  Oil 
and  Drug  News,''  that  boroglyeeride  had  been  patented  at  Washington 
under  the  title  of  Barff's  Preserving  Compound.  I  presume  that  this 
is  to  secure  to  the  inventor  the  sole  right  to  use  it  in  preparing  and 
transporting  beef  on  a  large  scale  from  North  or  South  America  to 
Great  Britain.  This  presumption  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that 
another  process,  known  as  the  Jones  Patent,  is  being  tested  in 
London.  This  consists  in  injecting  into  the  aorta  of  animals,  after 
stunning  them  with  a  blow,  but  before  death,  of  a  solution  of  boracic 
acid.  I  do  not  imagine  that  the  inventor  would  trouble  any  one 
making,  vending,  or  using  the  antiseptic  for  medical,  surgical,  or 
pharmaceutical  uses.  I  have  written  to  the  inventor,  and  may  be  able 
to  report  on  this  point  at  our  September  meeting. 
Brooklyn,  June  12,  1882. 
