146 THE VITAMINES 



perhaps the wet form of beriberi in man, and quite analogous to the 

 symptoms which pigs develop when fed white rice. Zilva and col- 

 laborators (426a) found that the pig was susceptible to the develop- 

 ment of experimental rickets, but in this animal, the lack of vitamine 

 A (of milk) was not the sole causative factor. 



In spite of this series of results we are not yet clear as to the vita- 

 mine requirements of pigs, so that further work is necessary. 



Horses. In 1908, Friedberger and Froehner (427) described edema 

 in horses and oxen which performed heavy work in the sugar refiner- 

 ies, and were fed on sugar beet residues. These residues contained 

 only a slight amount of protein, about 0.5 per cent, very little dry 

 substance (5 per cent) and high water content (95 per cent). This 

 diet which, aside from the protein, appeared to be lacking in other 

 constituents, together with the hard work and high water content of 

 the food, was supposed to be responsible for the development of this 

 disease. Similar pathological conditions were likewise noted in 

 horses by Hutyra and Marek (428). 



Scheunert, Schattke and Lotsch (429) observed a disease in horses, 

 resembling osteomalacia, in the poor mountainous districts in Saxony, 

 Kawakami (430) observed in horses, a disease called "sukumi" or 

 "gokusukumi," which developed when rice, barley and oats were fed. 

 The disease exhibits a certain similarity to experimental beriberi and 

 starts with gastro-intestinal disturbances. Theiler, Green and 

 Viljoen (I.e. 278) fed horses on white rice for six months without 

 noticing any signs of an avitaminosis. This is the more remarkable 

 since white rice is supposed to be lacking in protein, salts and vitamine 

 A, besides vitamine B. 



Cows and oxen. In 1913, the late Dr. Donald Macauley called our 

 attention to a South African cattle disease, known there as "Stijf- 

 ziekte" and "Lamziekte." On perusing the available literature, it i& 

 apparent that similar conditions are known in all parts of the world. 

 Stewart (431), for instance, reported a disease known in Australia 

 mostly as "rickets." 16 In the poor mountainous districts of Sax- 

 ony, according to the report of Lotsch (432), there is not so infre- 

 quently a pathological condition called "Stallm angel," supposed to 

 be caused by a diet poor in salts. This severe disturbance of metabo- 

 lism reminds one strongly of human rickets and osteomalacia. 



18 Stewart was disposed to consider the disease as an avitaminosis. 



