666 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECOED. 



sugar and is of technical and toxicological importance. Possibly it might be 

 used in the preparation of alcoholic beverages. There also exists in the seeds 

 of the blue lupine a nonpoisonous agglutinizing enzym, a " phasin," as defined 

 by Wienhaus and Robert. On heating this enzym to from 70 to 75° C, it is 

 rapidly destroyed. The enzym ricin, on the other hand, is not aifected by this 

 temperature, and this distinction between the two ferments serves as a useful 

 test for detecting an admixture of castor oil seeds with blue lupine seeds. 

 Further investigations are necessary to determine what kind of substance takes 

 the place of phasin in the white and yellov/ lupines. 



The influence of the composition and amount of the mineral content of 

 the ration on growth and reproduction, E. V. McCollum and Marguerite 

 Davis {Jour. Biol. Chem., 21 {1913), No. 3, pp. 615-643, figs. 11).— In these studies 

 with rats, a ration was given the organic constituents of which were believed 

 to be perfectly satisfactory for complete nutrition, but which was so low in 

 mineral content that it would not suffice for gi-owth at the normal rate. A mix- 

 ture of a small amount of milk powder with purified sucrose, casein, butter fat, 

 agar-agar, and dextrin was used. By lowering the content of milk powder, the 

 only ingredient which carried appreciable amounts of bases, it was possible to 

 regulate the base content of the diet at will. The rations ranged from an acidity 

 of 14.31 cc. to an alkalinity of 102.09 cc. normal solution per 100 gm. In 

 modifying the balance between the acid and basic radicals, additions of a salt 

 mixture were employed. 



liecords of the growth and reproduction of the 20 groups of rats, and records 

 of reproduction and certain details regarding the hi.stories of the young were 

 taken. A surprising uniformity of growth in all the animals of the various 

 groups except the two receiving the highest additions of salts, which w^ere 

 stunted by the high salt content, was found. It was demonstrated that, pro- 

 vided the other factors in the ration are adequate, young rats can grow nor- 

 mally and remain in apparent good health on rations whose base content varies 

 widely in amount. 



Confirming the results of previous experin:ients, in which egg yolk as a re- 

 stricted diet was found not to be deleterious as the result of its acid character, 

 four of the rations employed in this work were highly acid, yet growth and 

 well-being were not markedly interfered with. It was further found that 

 growth to the normal adult size at the usual rate and a continued well-nourished 

 appearance are not sufficient evidence that a ration is fully adequate. Only 

 when normal reproduction and rearing of the young is repeated at normal inter- 

 vals can a ration be said to be physiologically sufficient. 



The improvement in the growth of rats noted as the result of adding suitable 

 salt mixtures to rations restricted to corn or wheat kernel, or to other rations 

 made up of purified food substances, is attributed to the fact that there is a 

 correction of the mineral content of the ration. On the other hand, the addi- 

 tion of salts alone to a ration derived entirely from wheat or wheat and wheat 

 gluten gives a diet which is a wonderful improvement over the grain alone, yet 

 such rations give less than half normal growth and do not suffice for prolonged 

 maintenance. 



The query is made whether there is an interdependence between an unfavor- 

 able mineral content and other factors in the diet which causes the inorganic 

 deficiencies to be more pronounced in some cases than in others. See also pre- 

 vious notes (E. S. R., 26, p. 467; 29, p. 64). 



[Animal husbandry work in Alaska], C. C. Georgeson et al. {Alaska Stas. 

 Rpt. 1914, pp. 32-34, 40-42, 74, 75, 76-77).— It is noted that two dairy herds are 

 being kept near Fairbanks. The cows are kept warm and comfortable in 

 winter, while in summer they run at pasture for about three or four months. 



