52 



feeding was of no avail. The animal got anaemic, showed the typical 

 aspect of polyneuritis in the J 7^'' week and died a few days later. 



Cases in which the same diet 



Change in body-weight in percentages 

 of the initial weight. 



110 

 100 



ï)() 

 no 



70 



(H) 



140 



ir,o 



120 



110 



100 



t)0 



no 



70 



is wholesome for the one and 

 injurious to the other animal are 

 not without parallel. Every bio- 

 logist has to take account of 

 individual ditferences. These dif- 

 ferences also hold for the need 

 of vitamins. Gryns has even known 

 the disease to break out after a 

 prolonged diet of un[)olished rice, 

 though animals that ha\ e already 

 been attacked, may most often be 

 cured with the same diet. At- 

 tendant circumstances, such as 

 IV intercurrent diseases, weakening 

 influences may also come into 

 play in such cases. Many even 

 regard an infection as a neces- 

 saiy condition for l)ei-i beri to 

 break out. 



Wittebrood = White-bread. 

 Bruinbrood = Brown-bread. 



In resuming it may be allow- 

 able to state that brownbread yields undoubtedly more satisfactory 

 results than whitebread. In connection with what we said at the 

 beginning, we believe the same to hold good also for human nourishment. 

 The drawback of partial indigestibility must not be overestimated. 

 Besides, by improvements in the mode of grinding the miller is able 

 to neutralize this drawback by a finer distribution of the bran along 

 the dry or the wet path, or by removing the coarsest and least 

 nutritive outer layers of the grain. This method should henceforth 

 be more generally applied. Nature, as it were, has destined the bran 

 to eke out the flour; it seems unreasonable, therefore, to separate 

 the two and to replace the bran by polatomeal, which last should 

 be admixed only in the second place and preferably in the form of 

 potato-powder. The use of white-bread should be restricted as much 

 as possible. 



Foodstuffs that are fit for man, nay that are preferable for human 

 sustenance, must in times of scarcity not be given to the cattle. 



The Hygienic Institute of the Utrecht University. 



