VIII, B, 5 Gibson: Salt Mixtures and Beriberi 359 



The addition of the compensated salt mixture, then, has not 

 prevented the development of polyneuritis in fowls. In the 

 experiments reported above, however, the onset of the disease 

 seems to have been slightly protracted, and the degenerative 

 changes in the nerves were less pronounced than in the controls. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH CALCIUM CHLORIDE AND WITH LACTATES 



As has been stated, as compared with Osborne and Mendel's 

 salt mixture, the rice is notably deficient in calcium. Accord- 

 ingly, 3 pairs of fowls were fed on rice with the addition of the 

 calcium lactate and calcium chloride, and with the calcium 

 chloride alone. 



One fowl, allowed to eat voluntarily, progressively increased in 

 weight from 1,035 to 1,212 grams on the calcium lactate and 

 calcium chloride mixture, but on the fiftieth day developed 

 neuritis. Histological examination of the sciatic nerve showed 

 typical degeneration in a few nerve fibers, along with many nuclei 

 of the embryonic or regenerating type in the fiber sheath. 

 (These histological findings and their significance for the ques- 

 tion of regenerative changes in nerve fibers are to be discussed by 

 Clark in a paper shortly to be published.) The other fowl of this 

 pair, which received the calcium chloride rice only, gradually 

 dropped in weight from 1,165 to 744 grams, and died of general 

 physical weakness, there being no symptoms of neuritis. Histo- 

 logical examination of the sciatic nerve gave only one or two fibers 

 showing the typical degeneration. These and the other experi- 

 ments are given in Table III. 



The calcium lactate-chloride fowl of the second pair lost weight 

 after the second week, developed chicken pox on the thirty-second 

 day of the experiment, and practically recovered from this but 

 was found dead on the forty-seventh day. There were no symp- 

 toms of neuritis. At necropsy, numerous nodules were found 

 in the wall of the intestine, which on section seemed to inclose 

 som^e animal parasite. Histological examination of the right 

 sciatic nerve showed fibers in the preparation typically degen- 

 erated. The calcium chloride fowl gradually fell in weight from 

 1,076 to 940 grams developing chicken pox on the twenty-seventh 

 day, when the daily weight fell rapidly. This fowl practically 

 recovered from the pox, but gradually grew weaker, and was 

 killed on the thirty-sixth day. Neuritis was questionable, and 

 probably had not developed. Only a very few fibers of the 

 sciatic showed the Wallerian degeneration. Both the above 

 chickens were allowed to eat voluntarily. 



