92 THE VITAMINES 



In accordance with these experiments, we must recognize the 

 importance of two vitamines, A and B, for the growth of young 

 chickens. For the grown animal, however, the importance of 

 vitamine A had not been set forth so clearly. The recognition of 

 these related facts is important for the proper consideration of 

 chicken beriberi, 4 a disease arising largely through feeding with 

 white rice. McCollum and Davis (259) were able to show that this 

 kind of rice lacks, besides vitamine B, protein of high biological value, 

 some salts, and vitamine A. Whether these results, obtained with 

 rats, are applicable to other animals without further work, is at best 

 questionable; yet we must consider the possibility that when we try 

 to cure animals, fed with white rice, by adding vitamine B, the 

 indefinite therapeutic results sometimes obtained might be due par- 

 tially to the lack of other dietary constituents. 



In conclusion, we shall mention the work of Houlbert (260) who 

 kept chickens on white rice, wheat and barley, heated in an autoclave 

 to render them poor in vitamines; twice a week, cod liver oil was 

 added. After 40 days, it was found that the division of cells in the 

 sexual and hematopoetic organs had come to an end. However, if 

 the missing vitamine was replaced in the diet, the glands resumed 

 normal development. 



Chicken beriberi. In relation to the experiments of Eijkman and 

 Grijns, chicken beriberi, besides being brought on by white rice, may 

 arise from feeding white bread (Hill and Flack 261), an observation 

 also made by Ohler (262) and by Weill and Mouriquand (263) . Ohler 

 also produced the disease by feeding hominy, but not that from whole 

 corn. Based upon our experiments, Wellman, Bass and Eustis (264) 

 used cane sugar and corn starch; Wellman and Bass (265) also used 

 macaroni. Naturally, these experiments are only of historical inter- 

 est since they showed that the etiology of beriberi is not related only 

 to the rice consumption. We have known for a long time that all 

 food poor in B-vitamine can give rise to beriberi. 



In the work of Vedder and Clark (266), there is an excellent 

 description of chicken berberi. The first symptoms, on an exclusive 



4 In agreement with some others, in the light of the facts established in 

 this field of work, I have dropped the designation "Polyneuritis gallinarum," 

 since according to the newest developments, it has nothing to do with neuritis, 

 but perhaps with a general change in almost all of the tissues. For a long 

 time, I have used the term "experimental beriberi of animals" for this 

 condition. 



