84  The  History  of  Calif ornian  Borax.  {Am'F<*ua837.arm* 
of  impending  ruin !  (I  yet  anticipated  that  this  property  will  at 
some  future  period  be  worth  £1000  per  acre.  Experience  has  proved 
that  the  crude  borate  of  soda  on  the  surface  of  the  land  reproduces 
itself  every  three  years.)  As  soon,  however,  as  I  had  somewhat  re- 
covered from  my  shock  I  began  to  realize  that  I  must  do  my  utmost 
to  find  a  market  for  the  borax.  I  was  driven  to  every  move  that  a 
man  could  suggest  to  try  and  begin  to  get  clear  of  the  stock.  I  knew 
that  if  the  public  could  only  be  made  to  understand  the  true  merits 
of  the  article,  and  would  begin  to  try  it,  all  would  come  right  for 
myself  and  friends.  Consequently  I  set  to  work,  and  began  to  have 
the  ground  borax  packed  in  penny  packets.  Here  again  I  met  with 
disappointment,  for  I  soon  found  out  that  the  public  are  very  slow  in 
taking  to  a  new  article,  and  I  could  not  induce  the  retail  shop-keepers 
to  sell  it.  I  offered  it  to  the  druggist,  they  all  replied  "  you  want  us 
to  sell  far  too  much  for  a  penny,  we  want  eightpence  for  what  you 
want  a  penny  for;  25  per  cent  profits  won't  pay  us."  I  then  tried 
the  grocers ;  they  were  satisfied  with  25  per  cent  profit,  or  less,  but 
their  reply  was  characteristically  disheartening.  "It's  all  right," 
they  said,  "  but  borax  is  some  kind  of  medicine,  not  a  grocer's  article, 
we  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  it — it's  too  much  trouble  to  tell  the 
customers  its  merits."  The  whole  business  began  to  look  very  dark 
and  gloomy  ;  almost  in  despair  I  took  a  stand  at  the  first  dairy  show 
in  the  Agricultural  Hall,  and  met  with  marvellous  success.  I  then 
tried  many  of  the  laundries  in  and  about  the  suburbs  of  London,  and 
I  also  tried  many  of  the  hospitals  and  other  public  places  with  more 
or  less  success. 
A  lady,  universally  known  from  her  philanthrophy,  sent  her 
almoner  to  see  me  about  it,  and  a  specimen  was  sent  by  her  desire  to 
one  of  the  first  scientists  of  the  day ;  but  the  true  merits  of  borax  were 
not  then  known  even  to  the  wisest  of  the  wise.  My  belief  in  the 
borax,  however,  has  never  deserted  me.  I  made  many  experiments 
and  collected  much  information  as  to  its  uses,  and  the  consumption 
during  the  last  few  years  has  very  considerably  increased;  but  this 
has  only  occurred  since  I  parted  with  my  interest  to  the  Patent  Borax 
Company  of  Birmingham,  who  have  naturally  been  enabled  to  bring 
the  product  more  forcibly  to  the  front  as  one  of  the  most  useful  and 
important  products  yet  discovered  in  the  world.  I  still  feel  a  very 
keen  interest  in  the  future  of  this  product,  though  I  have  no 
pecuniary  end  to  serve  in  saying  so ;  but  the  multiplicity  of  its  uses 
