86 . AEON. 



I have further obtained a very striking proof of the fact that the 

 rice with a low content of phosphorus will actually cause beriberi, 

 whereas that with a considerably higher content will not, by the study 

 of an outbreak of beriberi on an English steamer which came to this 

 port. Through the courtesy of the captain of this ship I obtained the 

 following data : 



The Indian crew of the steamship Knight Templar, used rice almost entirely 

 for food, because the religious laws of this people do not allow them to eat 

 meat except that killed in a special way. For this reason, in addition to rice, 

 only small amounts of mutton could be given to the crew not oftener than once 

 a week. The identical crew had often before sailed on this vessel, and the 

 captain, because of his own previous experience, wished to obtain a certain 

 kind of Indian rice, which he always purchased at Calcutta and which he knew 

 would in all probability not cause beriberi. This I will term "Calcutta" rice. 

 It appears to be a grain which retains a great deal of the pericarp; it therefore 

 is unpolished. The vessel on this particular voyage sailed from Bombay June 5, 

 1909. Another variety of rice was purchased in Bombay, which I will designate 

 as "Bombay" rice. It was used as food for the crew and they showed no untoward 

 symptoms. 



The supply of rice taken from Bombay was exhausted when the vessel reached 

 Liverpool, therefore a fresh supply was purchased. Unpolished rice, in spite of 

 great endeavor, could not be purchased in Liverpool; the grain bought in the 

 latter port ("Liverpool" rice) was of good appearance, white and highly polished. 

 This was given to the crew, beginning about July 25, 1909, under the same con- 

 ditions and in all likelihood in the same quantity as the "Bombay" rice on the 

 voyage before. 



On September 25 a member of the crew became ill and unable to 

 work, but the sickness was not recognized by the captain; but when on 

 October 1 and 2 a man on each day felt weak and could neither walk 

 nor work, the captain then recognized the disease as beriberi. On Oc- 

 tober 16 the ship arrived at the port of Cavite (in Manila Bay). Here, 

 upon the advice of the boarding officer, the two sick sailors were 

 admitted to the United States Naval Hospital at Cariacao. After Octo- 

 ber 18 the disease increased so rapidly among the crew that 10 addi- 

 tional men were removed to the hospital on October 25. Here, through 

 the courtesy of Dr. E. -E. Stitt, United States Navy, I was able to 

 examine the patients and to confirm the diagnosis of beriberi. One man 

 in the hospital died (probably from paralysis of the diaphragm), but 

 an autopsy was refused by the patient's friends. 



The 11 men in the hospital were no longer given rice, but only 

 European food, such as milk, eggs, meat, etc. They showed considerable 

 improvement in a short time. ''Bombay" rice and also Philippine red 

 rice was fed to the remaining healthy crew, and only one light case of 

 beriberi developed afterwards. The ship sailed on November 5 with the 

 same crew, the latter having recovered to an astonishing degree in the 

 short time which had elapsed after changing the food. 



