CHLORIDE OF SODIUM. 73 



fattening of animals. These observations were made upon six 

 bullocks, selected, as nearly as possible, of the same age and vigor, 

 and subjected to comparative experiment. They were all supplied 

 with an abundance of nutritious food ; but three of them (lot No. 

 1) received also a little over 500 grains of salt each per day. The 

 remaining three (lot No. 2) received no salt, but in other respects 

 were treated like the first. The result of these experiments is given 

 by Boussingault as follows : l 



" Though salt administered with the food has but little effect in 

 increasing the size of the animal, it appears to exert a favorable 

 influence upon his qualities and general aspect. Until the end of 

 March (the experiment began in October) the two lots experimented 

 on did not present any marked difference in their appearance ; but 

 in the course of the following April, this difference became quite 

 manifest, even to an unpractised eye. The lot No. 2 had then been 

 without salt for six mouths. In the animals of both lots the skin 

 had a fine and substantial texture, easily stretched and separated 

 from the ribs ; but the hair, which was tarnished and disordered in 

 the bullocks of the second lot, was smooth and glistening in those 

 of the first. As the experiment went on, these characters became 

 more marked ; and at the beginning of October the animals of lot 

 No. 2, after going without salt for an entire year, presented a rough 

 and tangled hide, with patches here and there where the skin was 

 entirely uncovered. The bullocks of lot No. 1 retained, on the 

 contrary, the ordinary aspect of stall-fed animals. Their vivacity 

 and their frequent attempts at mounting contrasted strongly with 

 the dull and unexcitable aspect presented by the others. No doubt, 

 the first lot would have commanded a higher price in the market 

 than the second." 



Chloride of sodium acts also in a favorable manner by exciting 

 the digestive fluids, and assisting in this way the solution of the 

 food. For food which is tasteless, however nutritious it may be in 

 other respects, is taken with reluctance and digested with difficulty ; 

 while the attractive flavor which is developed by cooking, and by 

 the addition of salt and other condiments in proper proportion, 

 excites the secretion of the saliva and gastric juice, and facilitates 

 consequently the whole process of digestion. The chloride of 

 sodium is then taken up by absorption from the intestine, and is 

 deposited in various quantities in different parts of the body. 



1 Chimie Agricole, Paris, 1854, p. 271. 



