1918.] ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 875 



value of tlie pigs 1 ct per pound over straight peanut-fed pigs. Lot 3 returned 

 tlie greatest profit and lot 2 tlie least profit per head. 



[Feeding pigs com, velvet beans, and peanuts], G. S. Templeton {Ala- 

 'bama Col. Sta. Rpt. 1911, pp. 23, 24). — In an experiment in feeding pigs on 

 coi-n, velvet beans, and peanuts in various combinations, the velvet-bean meal 

 produced a carcass as firm as that of the pigs fed on corn. In appearance the 

 fat was slightly darker. The carcass of the pigs fed on peanut meal and corn 

 (1:1) was somewhat softer than the corn-fed carcass, while that of those fed 

 on peanuts and corn (1:1) was considerably softer. 



The influence of the ration upon the intestinal flora of swine, L. D. Bush- 

 NELL and J. J. Feey (Kansas Sta. Tech. Bui. 3 (1917), pp. 3-54, flds. 3). — The 

 literature of the relation of bacteria to the development of higher animals, the 

 harmful and beneficial influence of bacteria in the intestinal tract, and the 

 effect of diet upon the intestinal flora is reviewed, and a bibliography of 78 

 titles is listed. 



An investigation was made of the effect of different diets upon the intestinal 

 flora of pigs as shown by the Gram method of staining, and the influence of 

 tliese diets upon the number and types of bacteria in the feces. A special study 

 was made of the effect of such diets upon the Bacillus coli gi"Oup in the intes- 

 tinal contents and feces of the pigs. The six pigs used in the studies were given 

 the experimental diet for 200 days from the time of weaning. Four of the pigs 

 were fed corn meal alone, and the other two corn meal plus the albumin from 



12 lbs. of milk to each pound of corn meal. Three of the corn-fed pigs gained 

 in weight from an average of 30.6 lbs. each at the beginning of the test to 79 lbs. 

 at the end of the 200 days, while the two corn-and-protein-fed pigs gained from 

 an average of 29.8 to 268 lbs. The fourth pig of the corn-fed group was kept on 

 the corn-meal diet for about IS months. This pig made only slight gains fgr 



13 months, but during the next 5 months gained about 140 lbs., due mostly to 

 the laying on of fat 



The Gram method was found to be an index to the influence of diet upon in- 

 testinal flora only within limits. Observations made upon samples taken from 

 the stomach and at about each 6-ft. level of the intestines to the rectum of two 

 slaughtered pigs showed that the Gram-positive types were more prevalent at 

 lower levels in the corn-and-protein tlian in the corn-alone pig. S.-coii-like or- 

 ganisms were isolated from the stomach and at each level below to the rectum 

 in the corn-alone pig, while in the corn-and-protein pig organisms of this type were 

 not found in the stomach or for about IS ft. below in the small intestine. All 

 the data obtained indicate that about 10 per cent more organisms are present in 

 the feces of corn-and-protein pigs than in the feces of corn-alone pigs. There 

 were, however, great individual and daily variations. In reference to the types 

 present, there were great individual variations in the mixed intestinal flora, 

 but it was noted that pigs on a corn diet generally show a slightly more sim- 

 plified flora than pigs fed on a more complex diet. 



" There is a tendency for a diet of corn alone to throw the varieties of the 

 colon bacilli into the B. communis variety rather than into the B. communior 

 variety. This is not due entirely to the physical condition of the feces, as the 

 poverty of B. communior was as marked in the contents of the intestine as in 

 the feces. Small variations in diet affect the intestinal flora, but very little as 

 compared to highly carbonaceous or nitrogenous diet. A study of the fermenting 

 capacity of the colon bacilli will not explain the difference in metabolism in 

 pigs on a strict corn diet and one of corn plus milk albumin. It is not possible 

 to attribute the stunting effect of a strictly corn diet to marked variation in the 

 bacterial flora of the alimentary canal as determined by the present technique." 



