The "salicylic-acid question," as it is called, has received a great deal of attention for several years in Europe, and much has been written, pro and con, on the question of the propriety of its use as a preserving agent in articles of food and drink. In France its use as a preservative in any form of food or drink was forbidden by ministerial decree on the 7th of February, 1881. This decree was based upon a decision of the consulting committee of hygiene that its constant use was dangerous to health.

In Germany its use is prohibited, except in beers intended for export to other countries where its use is allowed.

Its prohibition in France called forth a great deal of opposition, and experiments were made and published, which were intended to show that its constant use in small doses exerted no injurious influence upon the system. Kolbe himself made experiments upon himself and his assistants by taking doses of .5 to 1.0 gram daily for several days, and found no appreciable ill effects to follow its use.2 Whether such experiments suffice to prove its harmlessness when used for many years and without regard to age, sex, or personal idiosyncrasy is still an open question. A most interesting and exhaustive discussion of the reasons for and against its use can be found in the report of the fourth meeting of the "Independent Union of the Bavarian Representatives of Applied Chemistry, at Nurnberg, 7th and 8th August, 1885,"1 when this body refused, with but one dissenting voice, to grant its sanction to the proposed use of salicylic acid in beer in the quantity of .05 grams to the liter. Certainly no one would deny the advisability of at least restricting the amount to be used of so powerful an agent. In an article of daily consumption, and in consideration of the prevalence of kidney disease2 at the present day, it is a matter worthy of grave consideration, whether it would not be more prudent to forbid its use altogether. At all events, beer in which it is used should be sold under its proper designation as "salicylated beer." It would certainly be of interest to the physician, who prescribes beer as a tonic bo a weak convalescent invalid, to know if he were giving at the same time not inconsiderable doses of a strong therapeutic agent, expressly contra-indicated perhaps, in the case he has on hand.

1 In the case recorded in the Virginia Medical Monthly, June, 1877, forty-eight grains of the acid were taken in four hours. The symptoms were violent vomiting, headache, total unconsciousness, with stertorous breathing. Death occurred forty hours after the first dose.

1 Jour. prak. Chem. 13, 106. Reference may be made to similar experiments, as follows: J. A. Barral, Jour. de l'Agriculture, 1332, 69. M. Blas, Bull. de l'Acad. Royale de Med. de Belgique. Bd. 12, No. 9.

The following amounts of salicylic acid were found in various articles of diet by Ch. Girard, director of the Municipal Laboratory, in 18813:

Wine contained in the liter, 1.95,1.60,1.48, 1.41,1.35,0.81, and in one case even 3.50 grams salicylic acid. Sirup contained in the liter, 0.5 to 1.50 grams. Beer contained in the liter, 0.25 to 1.25 grams. Milk contained in the liter, 0.25 to 1.85 grams.

It will be noticed that in one case of wine mentioned it contained in one liter the full therapeutic dose for twenty-four hours.

In this country but little attention seems to have been given to the use of salicylic acid as a preservative. In the investigation made by the New York State Board mentioned above, no search was made for it, or, in fact, for any other preservative. In the last year the municipal boards of New York and Brooklyn seem to have been taking cognizance of its extensive use, as is shown by the following extract from a paper read by Dr. Cyrus Edson, of the New York Board of Health, before the New York Society of Medical Jurisprudence and State Medicine, November 12, 1886:4

Within the past few months I have been confronted with a subject the importance of which to the community is very great. I have already touched upon it. It is the use of salicylic acid, a food preservative. Many, if not all, the manufacturers of preserved foods are adding small amounts of this substance to their goods to prevent loss by decomposition. The amount used is probably between one-third of a grain and a grain to the pound, and in the case of wines and beer, to which it is also added to prevent over-fermentation, from a grain to 3 grains to the pint in quantity. The French authorities, as 1 have said, believe that the use of salicylic and boric acids tends to irritate delicate digestive organs, and to also irritate the kidneys, through which they are eliminated under their own forms. Though I have talked with a number of scientific gentlemen in this country, few are willing to go into court and swear that this is also their opinion. It must not he lost sight of, however, that a person might at a meal take several articles of diet, each containing that which if taken alone would be a harmless dose, hut taken together, and possibly for a considerable time, would prove highly injurious. The only safe way is to discard all additions to food which may possibly become a source of damage.

1 Published by Drs. A. Hilger and R. Kayser, Berlin, 1866.

2The most common form is popularly known as "Bright's disease ."

3Pharm. Cent. 22,296.

4 American Analyst 1887, p. 7.

The following is of interest as establishing a precedent for the condemnation of articles containing salicylic acid:1-

Dr. Cyrus Edson, of the Board of Health, condemned and seized on November 11, 5,280 gallons of artificial wine in the possession of a Front street merchant. Dr. Edson reported the following as the process of manufacturing the stuff: "Dried fruits, such as raisins, currants, and peaches, are macerated with water, to which a certain amount of sugar is added. The mixture is then fermented, and when fermentation is considered sufficiently advanced it is checked by the addition of salicylic acid, sufficient being added to act as a preservative and prevent further fermentation. The so-called wine is then clarified, flavored, and colored to cause it to resemble port, claret, or any desired kind of wine. The object of the sophistication is to imitate and undersell natural native wines. The use of salicylic acid as a preservative is forbidden in France, as the French authorities consider it detrimental to health. I have consulted a number of noted chemists in this city as to their opinion concerning its use and nearly all unhesitatingly condemn it, holding that depressing effects in the nervous system would follow the daily use of the acid in small doses. It is my opinion and the opinion of Drs. J. B. Isham and J. B. Linehan, whom I have called on to assist in condemning and seizing the so-called wine, that the adulteration is a dangerous one and likely to cause sickness. The amount of acid used is about four and a half grains to the pint."