394 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Maynard and Miller (19'27b), in calcification studies with men- 

 haden fish meal, concluded that the better calcification of fish meal 

 oyer oil meal of similar calcium and phosphorus ratio was due to 

 vitamin D rather than the quality of the protein. 



Miller and Maynard (1927) conducted calcification studies with 

 rats fed menhaden oil and various menhaden fish meals. Rats re- 

 ceiving fish meal grew more rapidly than those in the check lot, and 

 the ash content of the bones was about 15 per cent higher than that 

 of the bones of the rats on the rachitic ration. The experiments in- 

 dicated that both menhaden fish meal and menhaden oil contain the 

 specific factor that aids in calcification. 



Mussehl, Hill, and Ackerson (1928) said: "Cod-liver meal con- 

 tains some vitamin D, but not as much as is associated with an 

 equal amount of fat in cod-liver oil. Five per cent of cod-liver meal 

 did not provide sufficient vitamin D to prevent rickets on a ration 

 complete in all but the rickets-preventing factor." Poultry were 

 used in the experiments. 



In accordance with a report from Stuart (1928), the results of 

 experiments indicated that 5 per cent of fish meal in the ration con- 

 tains sufficient vitamin D to prevent rickets in chicks for at least 

 eight weeks. Fish meal, however, did not produce as much growth 

 as the cod-liver oil or cod-liver meal. Cod-liver oil and cod-liver 

 meal were about equal in growth promotion. Two per cent of cod- 

 liver oil was fed to one group, 2 per cent of cod-liver meal to the 

 second group, and 5 per cent of fish meal to the third group. Other- 

 wise, the rations were the same for each group and only water was 

 allowed for drinking. 



Bethke (1927) stated that cod-liver meal prevents leg weakness, 

 that the meal varies in vitamin potency just as the oil does, that 

 heat may attentuate its vitamin content, and that the source of the 

 meal and its probable method of manufacture influence its anti- 

 rachitic properties. 



As reported by Cruikshank (1927) "a sample of cod-liver meal 

 was tested for its potency in vitamins A and D, using white leghorn 

 ■chicks as the experimental animals and for the basal ration a mix- 

 ture of corn 97, calcium carbonate 2, and salt 1 part, with skim milk 

 ad libitum. In the vitamin D experiments the corn was yellow and 

 in the vitamin A experiments, white. Positive and negative controls 

 were run in both series. It was found that 1 per cent of cod-liver 

 meal was sufficient to protect the chicks against rickets and from 7 to 

 10 per cent to meet the requirements of vitamin A. Ophthalmia was 

 not observed in the vitamin A deficiency, but respiratory and lung 

 trouble, with nodular lesions of mouth and pharynx, and charac- 

 teristic changes in the kidneys, in which the ureters and renal tubules 

 were filled with an accumulation of urates, were observed." 



E. M. Cruikshank, E. B. Hart, and J. G. Halpin report as fol- 

 lows on a poultry-feeding exiDeriment, using cod-liver meal, cod-liver 

 oil and ultra-violet light, in their vitamin studies : 



Cod-liver meal containing 45 per cent of oil and 43 per cent of 

 protein was tested for its vitamins A and D potency at the Wisconsin 

 experiment station, using day-old chicks for the determination. In 

 testing the vitamin D content 9 groups of chicks were fed for 6 weeks 

 on a basal ration of 97 parts of yellow corn, 2 parts of calcium car- 



