52 EXPERF.MF.XT STATION BuLLETIX 363 



part for methionine and c\stine. Animal and marine protein are good 

 sources of all three of these compounds while present information indi- 

 cates that soybean oil meal is most likely to be deficient in methionine. 

 In view of the unknown requirements of laying hens for choline, it is pos- 

 sible that additional choline might improve the nutritive value of soybean 

 oil meal. 



In the present trial, doubling the amount of soybean oil meal in the 

 ration or supplementing the soybean oil meal rations with added choline 

 gav^e less satisfactory results. 



A reliable method for the chemical determination of choline is 

 needed and attention has been given during the year to this problem. 



R. C. RiXGROSE, T. B. Charles, S. R. Shimer, H. A. Dams 



The Cause and Prevention of Gizzard Lesions in Poultry 



At the present time, poultrymen are apparently less concerned about 

 the presence or absence of gizzard lesions in growing chicks than former- 

 h'. However, the fundamental cause of this condition is still unknown. 

 Contrary to field observations, the presence or absence of gizzard lesions 

 has no effect upon the growth of chicks in the laboratory. 



Inability to uniformly produce the condition has made it difficult 

 to interpret the results of corrective measures applied. Using one mix 

 of feed for three different experiments with chicks gave gizzard scores, 

 the measure of results, of .34, .59 and 1.18. The higher score indicates 

 a more serious condition. Growth results were comparable in all three 

 experiments. Additional work toward uniform experimental production 

 of the condition is planned. 



A more accurate method of measuring results than the visual scoring 

 used in the past has been studied. This consists of a cholic acid determi- 

 nation on the gizzard lining since cholic acid when added to the feed has 

 a very marked protective action. In one experiment two control groups 

 gave an average score of .98 with an average of 7.07 777g. of cholic acid 

 per gram of dried gizzard lining. Supplements of cholic acid or whole 

 milk markedly reduced the gizzard score and increased the cholic acid 

 content of the gizzard lining. Egg yolk also reduced the gizzard score, 

 but there was little effect on the cholic acid content of the gizzard lining. 

 As measured by the gizzard score alone, 5 per cent alfalfa leaf meal or 

 10 per cent ground oats had only slight preventative action. 



R. C. RiNGROSE, E. F. Waller, T. B. Charles 



S R. Shimer, H. A. Davis 



Transmission of Pullorum Disease to Adult Birds 



Bacteriological cultures of swabs were made from the cloacas of re- 

 acting birds. One trial was run by feeding Sabiionella piilloriiDi mixed 

 with feces. A few blood tests have been made to determine the speed 

 of development and consistency of the agglutination titre. 



Feeding Sahnonella piillorinu mixed with feces produced the disease 

 within two weeks, the same interval required by feeding pure cultures 



