360 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



catabolism resulting from an excessive fat diet. The diet in these experiments 

 contained no protein and consisted either of pure olive oil or olive oil plus 

 pure anhydrous glucose. It was impossible to continue the experiment beyond 

 three days, owing to the objectionable nature of the diet. 



The addition of small amounts of sugar to the basal oil ration resulted In a 

 decrease in the output of total nitrogen. A meal rich in carbohydrate but not 

 poor in protein, given on the fourth day, resulted in a fall in the output of 

 total nitrogen and a decrease in the degree of acidosis. 



In the opinion of the author, protein, carbohydrate, and fat are replaceable 

 only to a limited extent, and " in isodynamic or any other amount they are not 

 isotamientic — that is, equal sparing." 



Chemical studies -of growth, C. Funk and A. B. Macalltjm (Uoppe-Seyler's 

 Ztschr. Physiol. Chcm., 92 (WUt), No. 1, pp. 13-20, pi. i).— The authors review; 

 the work by Osborne and Mendel (E. S. R., 30, p. 560), in which they were 

 able to support growth by the addition of rectified butter containing no nitro- 

 gen. From similar experiments carried out by themselves the authors maintain 

 that such rectified butter does contain small amounts of nitrogen and that it is 

 impossible to free butter fat from nitrogen entirely by pipetting off the clear 

 fat from centrifuged butter. 



A number of other factors which may iufluence growth and maintenance are 

 discussed. 



Observations on the isolation of the substance in butter fat which exerts 

 a stimulating influence on growth, E. V. McCollum and Marguerite Davis 

 {Jour. Biol. CJievi., 19 (WlJf), No. 2, pp. 2Jf5-259, figs. 2).— The authors report 

 data regarding the maintenance and growth of laboratory animals (rats) when 

 fed upon fat-free diets alone and fat-free diets to which was added olive oil 

 which had been shaken with a soap solution prepare<l by complete saponification 

 of butter fat with potassium hydroxid in the absence of water. By the addi- 

 tion of this modified olive oil the authors were enabled to induce the resumption 

 of growth in rats which had ceased to grow upon a fat-free diet. The experi- 

 ments of these authors with Butter fat tend to strengthen the conclusion drawn 

 by Funk and Macallum (see above), regarding the difficulty of completely 

 freeing butter fat from nitrogen. 



Contribution to the study of the origin of fatigue, G. Viale (Atti R. 

 Accad. Lincei, Rend. CI. Sci. Fis., Mat. e Nat., 5. ser., 22 (1913), I, No. If, pp. 

 263-256; abs. in Zcntbl. Biochem. u. Biophys., 16 (1914), No. 22, p. 838).— A 

 summary of experimental data to show the relationship between the secretion 

 of salt and water and work. 



The author concludes that one of the causes of fatigue may be the increase 

 in the water supply, which results in a disturbance of heat regulation and an 

 increase of toxins in the blood. While fatigue on high mountains accompanies 

 the using up of hemoglobin in the circulating blood stream, this does not affect 

 the thinning of the blood but, on the contrary, takes place as a result of a 

 hyperemia in some of the central organs, namely, the lungs. 



ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 



Recent studies in animal pigmentation, R. C. Schiedt (Science, n. ser., 40 

 (1914), ^0. 1025, pp. 279-283). — Reviewing the work of other investigators and 

 summarizing the results of his own studies, principally with the oyster, the 

 author concludes that " animal pigmentation is probably a protein formation 

 due to an enzym which is circulating in the blood and present in the nucleoplasm 

 of all secreting cells. This, of course, could only be proved by chemical analysis. 

 In some cases the leucocytes are transformed into specific chroma topho res or 



