492 Journal of Agricultural Research voi.v, no.h 



The remaining lo pigs are being continued on the rice and cottonseed- 

 meal rations. At the time this article is written they have been almost 

 90 days on these feeds. All the pigs are sick, and the same symptoms 

 have appeared in each lot. In fact, it may be said that the most typical 

 and acute cottonseed-meal symptoms are seen among the pigs receiving 

 rice. 



A mature brood sow, weighing 400 pounds, due to farrow on November 

 14, 1915, was placed on a cottonseed-meal ration on September 2. She 

 was started on a ration of 4 parts of com meal and i part of cotton- 

 seed meal, the quantity of com meal being gradually decreased until, on 

 October i, she was receiving equal parts of corn meal and cottonseed 

 meal. Up to November 14 she had eaten 134.65 pounds of cottonseed 

 meal. She showed no serious sign of sickness, except nausea on 

 November 4, when she vomited. At 8 p. m. on November 13 she 

 began to farrow and delivered 9 pigs, the last one being born at 4 o'clock 

 the following morning. Four of these pigs were bom dead, and of 

 those born alive all but one died in a few minutes. The last pig bom 

 lived less than eight hours. 



Post-mortem examinations were made of seven of these pigs, four of 

 which had been bom alive. All of them showed enlarged hearts, and 

 serum was found in the pericardial sac, the thoracic cavity, and the 

 abdominal cavity. The quantity of serum was a little greater in the 

 pigs bom alive than in those bom dead. In the pigs born ahve there 

 was some injection in the lungs, liver, and small intestines, but none in 

 those born dead. There were no alterations in the kidneys of any of 

 the pigs born alive or dead. 



These pigs were very well developed, plump, and apparently had been 

 well nourished. They averaged slightly over 2 pounds 6 ounces in 

 weight. The analogy with infantile beriberi is apparent. Yet the 

 dam had never eaten rice, and the only assignable cause for the death 

 of her litter was the cottonseed meal in her ration. Her breeding record 

 for previous farrowings is as follows: 



Date of farrowing. . . 



Number of pigs 



Number bom alive. 

 Number raised 



Apr. 



The sow was a good breeder, and difficult labor can not be given as 

 the cause of the death of the litter. 



CONCLUSIONS 

 The studies of the writers seem to lead to three general conclusions: 

 (i) Pigs are susceptible to beriberi when fed on vitamine-deficient 

 rations, such as rice. The disease develops much more rapidly in pigs 



