30 EFFECT OF DIET ON THE ALBINO RAT 



Haecker^* experimented on two groups of cows, the first group 

 having a normal amout of protein and the second group a low amount. 

 No difference was noticed at the end of the second year, except that 

 the second group weighed less. Soon after this time the second group 

 began to decline. They grew thin, hair became harsh, and their con- 

 dition became generally poor, showing under-nutrition. The amount 

 of protein had to be increased in order to preserve their lives. Here 

 we see that this group did well for two years before any serious effects 

 were manifested. A similar result was found in the rats experimented 

 upon. The rats first showed a difference in weight. Later at the age 

 of three or four months changes in the activity and general condition 

 began to appear. One is not warranted, therefore, in drawing sweep- 

 ing conclusions of the effects of certain diets on any animal from a few 

 weeks' or months' experimentation. 



McCay^^ studied the effect of the native diet, low in nitrogen and 

 rich in non-nitrogenous foods, on the physical condition, the health and 

 the efficiency of the Bengalis, compared to European diet and Euro- 

 peans in the University of Bengal. From the data of body weight, 

 height and chest measurement of 2,500 Bengali students he concludes 

 that the Bengalis "do not reach the same standard of general physique 

 as is attained by races of European origin ; and yet from the evidence 

 we can find no cause inherent in the Bengali as a race for this deficiency ; 

 on the contrary, we consider that there may be a very close relationship 

 between the lower physical development of this people and the meager 

 protein contents of the diet on which they subsist." In comparing 

 growth of the Bengali and European students he says : " The two 

 classes enter college about the same age, live in the same climate and 

 under very similar conditions . . . but the results at the end of their 

 college career are very different. The European boys develop into 

 strong, healthy men quite up to the average of European standards, 

 while the Bengali students almost remain stationary as regards devel' 

 opment." He finds that the Europeans are much more capable of en- 

 durance. 



Watson and Hunter^ have shown that when young rats are fed 

 on a diet of rice the growth is arrested and death results in two or 

 three months. When fed on a porridge diet made by boiling together 

 oatmeal, milk, water and salt the growth was arrested and death result- 

 ed within four months. They were evidently not able to assimilate this 

 food even though it was reasonably rich in protein. When fed a strict- 

 ly flesh diet the results were disastrous in most cases when the rats were 

 very young. When rats two or three months old were put on an 



