418 VEDDER. 



Wiley's figures representing the composition of polished rice 

 are as follows. 



Constituent. Per cent. 



Moisture 12.40 



Proteids 7.50 



Ether extract 0.40 



Crude fiber 0.40 



Starch 78.80 



Ash 0.50 



100.00 



Therefore, these fowls, receiving 100 grams of polished rice 

 daily, received 78.8 grams of starch which is equivalent to 3,940 

 grams for a man of 150 pounds. This is more than seven times 

 the amount required according to Voit's standard. They re- 

 ceived 7.50 grams of proteid in this rice, equivalent to 375 grams 

 for a man, in addition to which they received 1 cubic centimeter 

 of egg albumin equivalent to 50 grams for a man. Therefore, 

 they received proteid far in excess of Voit's standard. The 5 

 cubic centimeters of fat which were administered are equivalent 

 to 250 cubic centimeters of fat for a man as compared with 

 Voit's requirement of 56 grams. The diet which these fowls 

 received was, therefore, not balanced in the sense that the food 

 principles were administered in exactly correct proportions, but 

 it is plain that this diet contained an ample sufficiency of all the 

 food elements. They received a great excess of proteids, car- 

 bohydrates, and fats, and by the addition of egg albumin and 

 saccharose a certain amount of variety of proteid and carbohy- 

 drate food was provided. In addition to the 0.5 gram of inor- 

 ganic salts contained in the rice, they received the salts given in 

 the solution described above. 



From this experiment it appears to be conclusively shown 

 that polyneuritis gallinarum does not result because of any de- 

 ficiency in the ordinary food elements, and assuming that beri- 

 beri in man is a similar disease, it is apparent that beriberi may 

 develop in men who are receiving what is supposed to be a 

 balanced ration, provided that none of the components of that 

 ration contain the neuritis-preventing principle. It has been 

 shown that onions, egg albumin, and cottonseed oil are lacking 

 in this important principle, and it appears quite possible that 

 many other articles of food are similarly deficient. This point 

 must be considered in the future in determining the components 

 of a ration, particularly when that ration is intended for natives 

 using rice as a staple. 



