ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 7l 



The action of drugs under pathological conditions, W. Salant ( U. 8. Dept. 

 Agr., Bur. Chem. Circ. 81, pp. 16). — This paper lays particular stress on the fact 

 chat a drug when administered to a normal subject will act differently than 

 when used under pathological conditions. The phases considered in this connec- 

 tion are the behavior of drugs as to organs of internal secretion, febrile con- 

 ditions, variations in body temperatures experimentally induced, starvation or a 

 restricted diet, chronic alcoholism, fatigue, and the circulatory organs. The 

 data reported are accompanied by an extensive review and bibliography of the 

 literature, which includes some of the author's own work. 



ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 



American Society of Animal Nutrition (Amer. Soc. Anim. Nutrition Proc. 

 1910, pp. .'fO). — This contains extracts from the minutes of the annual meeting 

 held November, 1910 ; a scheme for cooperative investigations upon the optimum 

 protein supply of fattening cattle; a report of the committee on terminology, 

 which consists of a list of terms used in reporting slaughtering tests : the ad- 

 dress of President H. P. Armsby, on the nutritive value of the nonprotein in feed- 

 ing stuffs, which contains similar data to that in the article noted below, 

 and a paper by P. F. Trowbridge, on the resorption of fat, which contains fur- 

 ther details concerning worlv previously noted (E. S. R., 2.5. p. 273). 



The nutritive value of the nonprotein of feeding stuffs, H. P. Aemsby 

 (U. 8. Dept. Agr., Bur. Anim. Indus. Bill. 139, pp. Jf9). — This gives a critical re- 

 view of the literature of investigations on the value of the nonprotein nitro- 

 genous substances in the ration, with numerous references, which the author has 

 summarized as follows : 



"Amino acids and amids, which ordinarily constitute the larger part of the 

 nonprotein of vegetable substances, are liatabolized in the animal body, their 

 nitrogen appearing in the urine. 



" In camivora and omnivora neither the single substances of the foregoing 

 groups nor the mixtures of them contained in plant extracts have been shown to 

 be capable of performing the functions of protein. 



" In ruminants a conversion of nonprotein into protein appears to be affected 

 by the micro-organisms of the digestive tract. The extent of this conversion 

 appears to be relatively greater in the case of ammonium salts and asparagin 

 than in that of vegetable extracts. 



" The protein formed thus from nonprotein seems to be digested subsequently. 

 The apparent formation of indigestible protein observed by some investigators 

 appears to be due to an increase in the metabolic products contained in the feces, 

 caused by a specific action of the extracts upon the digestive tract. 



" By means of its conversion into bacterial protein, the nonprotein of feeds 

 may serve indirectly for maintenance and also as a source of protein for milk, 

 and probably for growth, in rations deficient in protein. 



" The limiting factor in the indirect utilization of the nonprotein of the feed 

 appears to be the extent to which it can be converted into protein in the diges- 

 tive'tract rather than any inferior nutritive value of the protein thus formed as 

 compared with that originally present in the feed. 



" The nonproteins are much inferior to the proteins in nutritive value for 

 productive feeding. The prime effect of a substitution of nonproteins for pro- 

 teins in the ration is a very marked falling off in the production. The indirect 

 utilization of nonprotein simply serves to prevent this decrease from becoming 

 as great as it otherwise would, and so in case of need to compensate partially 

 for a deficiency of protein. On the other hand, with a reasonable supply of di- 



