272 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOED. 



" The total work accomplished by the vegetarians during their life was per- 

 formed by the omnivorous rats when but 20.9 per cent of their lives had been 

 lived. 



" The vegetarian rats age much earlier in life, it requiring almost half 

 their lifetime to perform the last one-eighth of their life's work, as compared 

 to three-tenths for the omnivorous rats. 



" The growth of the vegetarians was greatly retarded. The ratio of maxi- 

 mum weights was a 1.62 : 1 in favor of the omnivorous feeders. 



" The effect on general conditions of the body was most overwhelmingly in 

 favor of the omnivorous. The vegetarians were frail, weak, and showed ex- 

 treme lassitude and indifference. The omnivorous were the reverse in all 

 these resi>ects. 



" The average life of the omnivorous was 1.020 days, that of the vegetarian 

 555 days. This was a ratio of 1.84 : 1. 



" The control rats in stationaiy cages lived longer than the exercised rats 

 of the same group. 



" All of the omnivorous rats surpassed the greatest age attained by the oldest 

 A'egetarian rats. 



" From numerous observations and experiments of other investigators on man 

 we would infer that similar results would obtain if he were subjected to 

 similar conditions throughout his lifetime." 



Effects of coffee drinking- upon children, C. K. Taylor (Psych. Clin., 6 

 {1912), No. 2, pp. 56-58). — Statistics were obtained from 464 children with 

 respect to coffee drinking, and physical measurements were made, as well as 

 observations regarding the character of their school work. 



It was found that about 29 per cent of these children drank no coffee, 46 per 

 cent a cup a day, 12 per cent 2 cups, S per cent 3 cups, and the remainder 4 or 

 more cups a day. The statistics obtained, according to the author, " are hardly 

 sensational," but he believes that " if such differences exist between the mental 

 ability, as shown by lesson work, and behavior, as shown by conduct marks, of 

 those drinking and those not drinking coffee, this beverage must have some 

 unwholesome effect upon children that it does not have uix)n adults." 



As regards physical measurements, " the children concerned in this test who 

 drank coffee regularly averaged from li to more than 4 lbs. less in weight, 

 from i in. to more than 1 in. less in height, and all the way to 3 lbs. less in 

 hand strength than those who never drank coffee. These differences may not 

 be startling, but it is evident that there are differences. 



"As a conclusion, tlien, to this very brief paper, the writer would say that it 

 s-eems likely that the regular drinking of coffee by children has an effect which 

 is certainly not beneficial, that indeed it seems to make children less ' fit ' 

 physically as well as mentally than those who do not use coffee. If this be 

 true, then some support is given to the modern movement which advocates the 

 substituting of cocoa or chocolate for coffee as a beverage for childi'en." 



The cleavag-e of xanthin and caffein in tlie human body, W. Levinthat, 

 (Hoppe-Seyler's ZtscJir. Physiol. Chcm., 77 {1912), No. 4, pp. 259-279).— From 

 an experimental study of the subject the conclusion is reached that very prob- 

 ably the xanthin metabolized by man is excreted quantitatively without break- 

 ing the purin ring, the greater part being oxidized to uric acid and the small 

 remainder leaving the body unchanged. 



On fat absorption, W. R. Bloor {Jour. Biol. Chem., 11 {1912). No. J/, pp. 

 Ji29-fi3^i). — The results obtainetl in experiments with dogs show quite conclu- 

 sively, according to the author, " that none of the isomannid esters had passed 

 unchanged into the chyle, although considerable quantities had been digested 

 and absorbed." This result, which is in accord with work which has been 



