476 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECOKD. 



beri-beri is pointed out. Yet the dam had never eaten rice and the oulj- assign- 

 able cause for the death of her litter was the cotton-seed meal in her ration. 



The conclusions drawn by the authors are that the so-called cotton-seed 

 poisoning of pigs is a deficiency disease, analogous to the disease known as 

 beri-beri in man, if not identical with it. Acute cotton-seed poisoning corre- 

 sponds to wet beri-beri and the chronic form to dry beri-beri. 



" The cause of the so-called cotton-seed poisoning is probably a deficiency in 

 the ration, causing, among other manifestations, profound changes in the nervous 

 system. At first thought this theory is not justified. Beri-beri results from a 

 ration of highly milled rice, because substances vitally necessary to the animal 

 organism have been removed from the rice grain in the process of milling. When 

 pigs suffer from so-called cotton-seed poisoning, it is only when cotton-seed meal 

 has been added to the ration. Pigs are seldom, if ever, fed on cotton-seed meal 

 alone. 



" The following explanation of this condition is offered : The grain with which 

 the cotton-seed meal is most frequently combined is corn. Corn is notoriously 

 deficient as a single feed for animals, and it must be properly balanced to be fed 

 satisfactorily. The excellent results in feeding pigs which can be obtained from 

 rations of corn meal and skim milk or other animal products, such as tankage, 

 blood meal, fish meal, etc., are out of all proportion to the facts indicated by 

 the conventional chemical analyses of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. When 

 corn meal is fed with cotton-seed meal, a combination is made of two feeds both 

 of which are deficient." 



The toxicity of sodium pyrophosphate administered in food; with, a note 

 on toxic cotton-seed meal, W. .L. Symes and J. A. Gakdneb (Biochcm. Jour., 9 

 {1915), No. 1, pp. 9-16). — "Sodium pyrophosphate administered, with food, to 

 rabbits, cats, and rats, is devoid of the toxic action that it shows when in- 

 travenously injected. This confirms the verdict of Gamgee and his pupils, and 

 of Starkenstein. Administered to a sheep in the same way, It has proved lethal, 

 producing effects similar to those described by Crawfoi-d [E. S. R., 23, p. 8] 

 as following its administration In aqueous .solution to rabbits. Such toxic action 

 as sodium pyrophosphate exerts when administered by the mouth differs from 

 that of the same compound intravenously Injected, in that it is wholly due to the 

 alkalinity of the salt and not to the acid radicle." 



The influence of the oil of Chenopodium on the circulation and respiration, 

 W. Salant ami A. E. LmNCSTOX {Amcr. Jour. Physiol., 38 {1915), Xo. 1, pp. 

 67-92, figs. Uf). — The investigations here reported In detail have been sum- 

 marized by the authors as follows : 



" The intravenous injection of doses of 0.02 to 0.085 cc. of Chenopodium per 

 kilo produced a fall of blood pressure in dogs, cats, and rabbits. Recovery was 

 observed. The effect was greater in dogs than In rabbits or cats. A second 

 injection of the same dose produced a greater effect, but when this injection 

 was repeated until the total amount reached about 0.2 cc. per kilo, no response of 

 the circulation could be observed. This was especially the case in dogs, but 

 to a much smaller extent in cats, [and] absent in rabbits. Fall of blood pres- 

 sure was of cardiac origin, as the volume of the kidneys deci-eased with the 

 fall of blood pressure. Frequency of heart action was diminished after oil of 

 Chenopodium, [and] very marked decrease of vagus Irritability was ob- 

 served. . . . Respiratory depression such as decreased amplitude and rate, 

 with apnoea, was also caused by Chenopodium, but the effect with small doses 

 was less constant than on the circulation. Cats react more readily than dogs. 

 Small doses may stimulate respiration in rabbits. Apncea was very seldom ob- 

 served in the rabbit, even after large doses. 



