DEVELOPMENT 267 



The rate of growth of all animals in the two groups 

 was very similar, indicating little difference in the effi- 

 ciency of the rations. But that there was a difference 

 is indicated by the author's description : 1 " The corn-fed 

 animals (Plate XXIII) looked smooth of coat, fuller through 

 the barrel ; and, as expressed by experienced feeders and 

 judges of domestic animals, they were in a better state of 

 nutrition. On the other extreme stood the wheat-fed 

 group with rough coats, gaunt and thin in appearance, 

 small of girth and barrel, and to the practical eye, in rather 

 a lower state of nutrition." But perhaps the most sig- 

 nificant results of this experiment were the effects of these 

 rations on the reproductive functions of the mothers and 

 the vitality of the offspring. The gestation period in the 

 corn-fed mothers was practically normal, while in every 

 case the calves of the wheat-fed group were dropped 

 from two to five weeks before the end of the normal 

 gestation period. The calves from the corn-fed cows 

 were uniformly strong and vigorous and were normal 

 in every respect. The calves from the wheat-fed cows 

 were all born dead or with such low vitality that they 

 soon died. 



The yield of milk from the wheat-fed (Plate XXIV) 

 cows was distinctly below that of the corn-fed group. In 

 discussing the significant results of this investigation the 

 authors say, " These results emphatically show how de- 

 pressing or stimulating the influence of a ration may become, 

 even when it is made up of supposedly normal feed materials 

 and balanced as to ordinary chemical constituents and 

 supply of energy, especially when that ration is continued 

 for a long time. The evidence for the necessity of giving 

 much weight to the physiological influence of the ration, 

 1 Loc. cit. 



