Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 103

_Uses._ Boracic acid was once administered internally, in large doses, as an anodyne, antispasmodic, and sedative, but is now scarcely ever employed as a medicine. The crude acid is used in the manufacture of borax; the pure acid in the manufacture of certain chemicals.

Boracic acid is extensively used in Sweden and other countries for the preservation of milk. Meat which has been soaked in a solution of the acid for a few seconds, and milk to which a small quant.i.ty has been added, will keep much longer than they would otherwise do. In Sweden alone boracic acid to the amount of 75,000_l._ was consumed in one year. It is said to be a perfectly harmless antiseptic.

=BORACIC ANHYDRIDE.= See BORIC ANHYDRIDE.

=BORATE.= [Eng., Fr.] _Syn._ BO"RAS, L.; BORAXSaURE SALZE, Ger. A salt in which the hydrogen of boracic acid is replaced by a basic radical. The borates may be formed by either digesting the hydrate of the base in a solution of the acid, with the a.s.sistance of heat, or from a solution of borax and a soluble salt of the base, by double decomposition. They are all decomposed by the stronger acids.

_Tests._ The borates may be tested by digesting them in a slight excess of oil of vitriol, evaporating the resulting solution to dryness, powdering the residuum, and dissolving it in alcohol; the resulting solution possesses the property of burning with a green flame if the sample examined was a borate, or contained a notable quant.i.ty of one. See BORACIC ACID.

=BORAX.= [Eng., Fr.; Ger., L., B. P.] 2NaBO_{2}.B_{2}O_{3}. _Syn._ BIBO"RATE OF SO'DA, BO"RATE OF S*, SUBBO"RATE OF S., GOLD SOLDER*, REFINED' TINC'AL*; SO'Dae BIBO"RAS, S. BO"RAS, L.; CHRYSOCOLLE, &c., Fr.; BORAXSAURES NATRON, &c., Ger. COMMERCIAL BIBORATE OF SODA. Borax is obtained either by purifying native borate of soda (TINC'AL, TINC'AR), or by saturating crude boracic acid with the alkali. It is never prepared on the small scale unless for chemical a.n.a.lysis.

_Prop._ Crystals, six-sided prisms, which contain 10 equiv. of water, and effloresce in dry air; soluble in 20 parts of cold, and in 6 parts of boiling water; solution has an alkaline reaction on test-paper; by heat it loses its water of crystallisation, and at a higher temperature fuses to a gla.s.s-like substance (see _below_).

_Pur._ This may be ascertained by determining the quant.i.ty of sulphuric acid required to neutralise a given weight of the sample under examination, as indicated by litmus paper. Common salt and alum are frequently mixed with borax to lower the value. The first may be detected by a solution in hot water giving a curdy-white precipitate with nitrate of silver, soluble in ammonia; the last, by water of ammonia, giving a bulky-white pulverulent precipitate. The former must be distinguished from the white pulverulent precipitate of borate of silver, which is thrown down from pure borax.

_Uses, &c._ Borax is extensively employed as a flux for metals, for soldering, and in medicine. Internally it is diuretic, sedative, emmenagogue, and refrigerant, in doses of 15 to 40 gr.; externally, made into a gargle for sore throat, and in powder as a detergent in aphthae, and ulcerations of the month. Dissolved in rose-water, it is used as a cosmetic; and mixed with about 8 times its weight of lard, forms a useful ointment in piles and sore nipples.

The 'Comptes Rendus' (lx.x.x, 473) contains the results of some experiments made by M. Schnetzler, with the view of testing the antifermentative and anti-putrefactive properties of borax.

When the leaves of the _Elodea Canadensis_ were plunged into a concentrated solution of borax, the living matter of the cell was killed, and the same result followed with the fresh leaves and spores of the _Vaucheria clavata_, the spores of the grape fungus (_Oidium sacchari_), and of yeast moulds, &c. Infusoria, rotifera, and _entomostraca_, placed in water containing borax, quickly ceased to move and then died. The larvae of frogs placed in a solution of borax were killed in less than an hour after immersion. M. Schnetzler thinks the deduction to be drawn from these facts is that borax ought to act antagonistically to fermentation, if this latter be a chemical phenomenon accomplished under the influence of the life of the yeast. To test the correctness of this hypothesis experiments were undertaken with a view of determining the action of borax upon fermentable matters.

Ripe grapes and currants after being kept two years in a concentrated solution of borax, in a closed vessel, presented no trace of fermentation, although, however well preserved, they were not eatable. As a counter test grapes were placed in a well-closed vessel filled with ordinary water, when after a time, according to the temperature, fermentation took place, with evolution of carbonic acid. Thirty cubic centimetres of fresh milk were placed in a test tube with one gram of borax. The cream quickly formed a rather thick layer on the upper portion. Although the test tube was closed by a cork a mould was formed upon the cream, but the remainder of the liquid underwent no acid fermentation, and retained during several months the appearance of very clear creamed milk, and although afterwards under the influence of summer heat the liquid became perfectly limpid, and deposited the casein as a soft white matter, neither the deposit nor the liquid had an acid taste, and after three months they still had the odour of fresh milk. Fresh milk put into a well-closed tube without borax underwent fermentation in two or three days. A piece of sheep's brain treated with powdered borax, after eight days, although it evolved sulphuretted hydrogen, gave no indications of putrefaction, and after retaining a soft consistence during some months, became hard and almost h.o.r.n.y without any disagreeable smell.

A pound of beef was placed in a concentrated solution of borax, in a tin case not hermetically sealed.

The liquid into which the colouring matter of the blood, and some of the soluble nitrogenous substances of the meat had diffused, was three times removed during a year and a half, and the meat washed with cold water; but at the end of the above time it had not the least odour of putrefaction.

It was of a yellowish colour, but soft and tender as fresh meat. Removed from the borax solution the meat remained in the same state in the air.

Beef, veal and portions of sheeps' brains were placed in a vessel which was filled with solution of borax and hermetically sealed. The liquid soon became clear red, and this colour remained during several months without alteration. The meat presented not the least disagreeable smell as long as excess of air was prevented. Meat placed in water in a flask hermetically sealed became rotten in a few days.

The peculiar odour of the meat preserved in borax in contact with air the author considers to be due to the decomposition of matters which result from the metamorphosis of substances that const.i.tute the muscular and intermuscular fibre. Although probably the use of borax will not be applicable to the preservation of meat for culinary purposes, the author considers that it may be economically subst.i.tuted for alcohol in the preservation of anatomical specimens. Moreover, its power of suspending life in the lower organisms would seem to indicate its probable utilisation in the treatment of wounds, &c.

In support of the above views as to the antiseptic properties of borax, M.

Schnetzler refers to a letter from an English traveller in California, who there observed that in a soil containing borax the carca.s.s of a horse had, for four months, remained without decomposition, the flesh continuing perfectly fresh, and the eye retaining its clearness and brightness. For most of the proposed applications of salicylic acid to the preservation of milk, and the products derived from it, it is affirmed that borax is equally efficacious, and has the advantage of being cheaper and more convenient.

=Borax, Gla.s.s of.= Borax dried at a gentle heat, and then melted by increasing the heat until it forms a vitreous ma.s.s on being cooled. Used in soldering, and as a flux, particularly in blowpipe experiments.

=BO"RIC ACID.= See BORACIC ACID.

=BORIC ANHYDRIDE.= B_{2}O_{3}. _Syn._ ANHYDROUS BORACIC ACID, BORACIC ANHYDRIDE, BORIC OXIDE. The only known oxide of boron. It can be produced by burning boron in oxygen, in the air, or in nitrous oxide, but is most easily and economically prepared by strongly heating boracic acid so as to deprive it of water. It is a brittle vitreous solid, not volatilised by heat except in the presence of water. Dissolves in water, forming boracic acid. Its alcoholic solution burns with a green flame, like that of boracic acid.

=BO'RON.= B. The base of boracic acid. It was discovered by Homberg in 1702; but, from attracting little notice, was soon forgotten. It was rediscovered, almost simultaneously, by Sir H. Davy and by Gay-Lussac and Thenard, in 1807-8.

_Prep._ Boron is prepared by a process similar to that employed to obtain silicium:--Pota.s.sium and perfectly dry boracic acid, or, preferably, boro-fluoride of pota.s.sium, intimately mixed together, are placed in a gla.s.s adopter-tube, and submitted to a low red heat. When cold, the loose cork that fastened its mouth is removed, and hot water poured in, in successive portions, until the whole matter is detached and all its soluble portion dissolved; the liquid is next allowed to settle, and the precipitate washed first with a solution of sal-ammoniac, and afterwards with alcohol; the residuum (boron) is lastly dried in a capsule, and put into a well-stoppered phial.

_Prop., &c._ A solid, tasteless, and inodorous powder, of a dark greyish-brown colour. With sulphur it unites at high temperatures, forming sulphurets (sulphides of boron); and when placed in chlorine gas it spontaneously inflames, and a gaseous chloride of boron is formed. The compounds of boron with basic radicals are termed BORIDES.

_Obs._ Among the most remarkable of the recent discoveries in chemistry are those of MM. Wohler and Deville, relative to silica and boron. Each of these substances is now proved to exist in three very different states, a.n.a.logous to the three known states of carbon, namely, charcoal, graphite, and diamond. The last of these states is, of course, the most interesting.

Crystallised boron possesses a hardness, brightness, and refractive power comparable to those of the diamond; it burns in chlorine, without residue, and with circ.u.mstances resembling those of the combustion of diamond in oxygen; it is not acted on by any of the acids, and appears to be the least alterable of all the simple bodies. Its powder is already used in the arts, instead of diamond-dust; and it seems not improbable that, when obtained by the chemist in crystals of a larger size, it may rival even the diamond as a gem.

Some late experiments by Wohler and Deville seem to have established the fact, that the so-called "graphitoidal" boron is really a boride of aluminium. Its formation on fusing aluminium with amorphous boron or boric oxide appears to take place more particularly when the heat applied is neither very strong nor long continued.

=Boron, Terflu'oride of.= See FLUOBORIC ACID.

=BOTHRIOCEPHALUS CORDATUS.= Leuckart was the first to describe this creature, which is a parasitic worm infesting the human intestines. It is, however, much more commonly met with in dogs than in man. The annexed engraving depicts--_b_, the head (back view), magnified five diameters; _b'_, upper part of body and head, magnified two diameters; _a_ is a portion of the worm, natural size. See BOTHRIOCEPHALUS LATUS.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

=BOTHRIOCEPHALUS LATUS.= A parasitic worm infesting the human intestines.

Although cla.s.sed with the tapeworms, it differs essentially from _taenia_.

The head is of an elongated form, compressed with an anterior obtuse prominence into which the mouth opens.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The animal has the power of elongating and contracting the neck, so that it appears sometimes short, sometimes long. The joints or segments commence about three inches from the head; the anterior ones are nearly square, but the remainder are much elongated transversely. Each segment contains on its flat surface two orifices, the anterior connected with a male, the posterior with a female organ of generation. The parasite is of a brown colour, and from six to twenty feet in length.

Those who are affected by this worm never pa.s.s the single segments from the bowels, but void them in chains of many links. The ova are also frequently to be met with in the faeces; they are of an ovoid shape; the capsule is perfectly translucent, and the yolk is distinguishable. The yolk undergoes segmentation, and ultimately develops an embryo with six hooks at the anterior extremity, cased in a mantle studded with vibratory cilia, and the lid of the capsule then opens up; and the embryo escapes.

If they do not obtain access to the intestines of an animal within a week, they lose their ciliated mantle and perish. Drinking-water is supposed to be the chief if not the only medium through which the parasite gains admissions to the intestines in man. It seems to be unknown in England, except when imported; but is common in Russia, Sweden, Norway, Lapland, Finland, Poland, and Switzerland.

=BOTS.= The larvae of the gad-fly. The eggs are deposited by the female fly on the horse's shoulder and on parts of the body within reach of the tongue, by which they are carried to the mouth and find their way to the stomach. They usually resist all attempts to expel them. The most promising treatment consists in rubbing down in hot water about 2 or 3 _drms._ each of aloes and a.s.saftida; and when the solution has cooled, adding to it 1 _oz._ each of turpentine and ether. Repeat this dose two or three times a week, omitting the aloes if necessary.

=BOT'TLES= (bot'lz). See GLa.s.s, INFANCY, LACTATION, PHIALS, &c.

=BOTT'LING= (bot'l-ing.) See CORKS, MALT LIQUORS, WINE, &c.

=BOUGIE= (boo'-zhe). [Fr.] _Syn._ CE'REUS, CERE'OLUS,[227] CANDE'LA PROBATO"RIA*, L. In _surgery_, a long slender instrument, originally of wax,[228] introduced into the urethra, sophagus, or r.e.c.t.u.m, in stricture and other diseases of those organs.

[Footnote 227: Properly, a 'little bougie.']

[Footnote 228: Hence the name.]

_Prep._ 1. (Prof. Pickel's.) Amber (melted), 1 part; boiled oil, 3 parts; mix, cool a little, and further add of oil of turpentine, 1 part; spread the mixture, at 3 successive intervals, upon loose spun-silk cord or web; dry in a heat of 150 Fahr., and repeat the process until the instrument has acquired the proper size; lastly, polish it, first with pumice-stone, and afterwards with tripoli and oil. This is the original receipt of the once celebrated French professor Pickel, and is still generally used, slightly modified, on the Continent. At the present time, in Paris, a little caoutchouc, equal to about 1/20th of the weight of the oil employed, is generally added. For the best ELAS'TIC BOUGIES the process usually occupies from 6 to 8 weeks, to allow full time for the drying and hardening of the composition. When the bougie is required to be hollow, a piece of polished metallic wire is introduced into the axis of the silk; or tin-foil is rolled round the wire and the composition applied as before. When dry and hard the wire is withdrawn.

2. (Hunter's.) Yellow wax, 2 parts; red lead, 3 parts; olive oil, 6 parts; slowly boiled together until combination takes place; strips of soft linen (rather wider at the one end than the other) are then dipped into the composition, rolled up firmly, and finished off on a polished slab.

3. (Piderit's.) Olive oil, 1 part; wax, 6 parts; as before.

4. (Bell's.) Lead-plaster, 11 parts; yellow wax, 4 parts; olive oil, 1 part.

5. (St. B. Hosp.) Wax, 12 parts; Chio turpentine, 4 parts; red sulphide of mercury, 1 part.

6. CAOU'TCHOUC BOUGIES:--In France, where ether is comparatively inexpensive, these are made by applying an ethereal solution of india rubber to the silk or foil prepared as before. In England, naphtha was, until recently, employed instead of 'ether,' but it furnishes a very inferior product. Now bisulphuret of carbon is generally used as the solvent. Sometimes strips of india rubber, previously boiled in water, or that have had their edges softened by moistening them with a little ether, or bisulphuret of carbon, are wound round the 'wire or foil,' and kept in their place by a piece of tape applied over them. They are afterwards carefully smoothed off and polished.

7. GUTTA-PER'CHA BOUGIES:--These are formed of gutta percha (previously softened by immersion in boiling water), by rolling it between plates of polished gla.s.s or marble. When skilfully prepared from the best (uncoloured) gutta percha, they are admirable instruments. A bougie of this description, of moderate size, and slightly oiled, or wetted with glycerin or gum-water, may be pa.s.sed through the whole length of the urethra of a healthy person without causing the slightest pain.

Gutta-percha catheters (hollow bougies) are still more flexible and easily introduced, and may remain in the urethra for a long time without causing irritation; an important advantage in such matters. The reader cannot, however, be too careful to avoid those made of coloured gutta percha, which, unfortunately, rapidly become very brittle by age. Those originally manufactured in this material were coloured black, and were constantly breaking whilst in use--a disaster from which several serious and even fatal cases ensued. There is no such danger to be dreaded from those made of the uncoloured material when of good quality.

=BOULES DE NANCY.= See b.a.l.l.s (Martial).

=BOUILLI.= [Fr.] A name frequently applied by cooks to dishes of boiled or stewed meat, as a refinement on its plain English synonymes. Thus, beef bouilli, beef in bouilli, &c., mean stewed or boiled beef, &c. As, however, the name is a la francais, so must be the 'accompaniments,' which generally consist of herbs and vegetable seasoning in greater quant.i.ty and variety than is usually deemed essential for an humble dish of English boiled or stewed meat.