Note 28 — MINERALS.
Reading edition
The Boracic is a peculiar kind of acid, which, in combination with soda (200), forms the substance that we import from the East Indies under the name of borax (204). When extracted from borax this acid does not assume the form of a fluid, but appears in thin six-sided scales or flakes, of white colour, which adhere slightly together, and feel somewhat greasy in handling. To the taste it is at first sour, then bitterish; and at last it leaves an agreeable sweetness on the palate.