﻿20 BULLETIN L138, I . B. DEPARTMENT OE AGKICULTURE. 



other is surprising. The most reasonable explanation is that this 

 variation is due to a difference in the antineuritic properties of the 

 rations led to the animals. This view is supported by the work of 

 various investigators who have studied the eficct of the character of 

 the ration upon the vitamin content of milk — Dutcher and associ- 

 ates (11) (1920); Drummond and associates <!.') [18) (1920) (1921); 

 and Kennedy and Dutcher (14) (l'.i22). Unfortunately we have no 

 data as to the effect of the character of the feed consumed upon the 

 antineuritic properties of the muscle of cither the ox, sheep, or hog. 

 It is possible, also, that the hog may have the peculiar function of 

 storing up a larger proportion of the vitamin in its tissues than do 

 the other animals named. 



It i- hardly necessary to state that, while the experiments which 

 have been reported in this paper indicate that ox muscle has a much 

 lower antineuritic value than hog muscle, it, of course, does not follow 

 that beef has a low nutritive value. Rather, meat has a high nutri- 

 tive value regardless of its vitamin content, and the presence of one 

 or more of the vitamins in considerable quantities simply enhances 

 the value of meat as a food. Naturally, if meat were the sole source 

 of vitamin B in the diet, or even the most important source, then 

 pork would be preferred to beef; on the other hand, if an ample sup- 

 ply of the B vitamin is furnished by other foods, then the relative 

 antineuritic properties of beef, pork, and mutton become a matter of 

 minor importance. 



SUMMARY OF PART I. 



The results of experiments to determine the antineuritic values of 

 ox. hog, and sheep muscle when fed to pigeons may be summarized 

 as follows: 



1. Ox muscle (mature ox). — The samples of ox muscle examined had 

 relatively low antineuritic values when used in rations to the extent 

 of 25 per cent. This percentage would correspond to 3.75 grams of 

 the dried tissue in the daily ration of a pigeon weighing 300 grams. 



2. Ox muscle (calf). — The average antineuritic value oi the samples 

 tested was practically the same as the average value of the samples 

 from the mature ox. 



3. Sheep muscle (lamb). — Two samples of muscle had relatively 

 low antineuritic values; one had a fair value (tongue) ; and the fourth 

 had a reasonably high value. 25 per cent of the dried muscle in the 

 ration protecting a pen of pigeons against polyneuritis and loss in 

 weight during a period of 32 days. 



4. Hog muscle. — The antineuritic values of the samples of uncooked 

 hog muscle tested were very much higher than those of the ox or 

 sheep muscle. Fifteen per cent of each of the samples tested was 

 sufficient in a ration to protect a pen of pigeons against polyneuritis 

 for a period of 55 days, and in only one instance did a pen of the 

 birds lose slightly in weight, the other pens gaining from 3.1 to 16.8 

 per cent. 



5. Effect of cooking upon the antineuritic value of hog muscle. — Baked 

 tendermin had practically the same value as the uncooked muscle, 

 but cooked ham had a slightly lower value than the raw product. 

 However, 15 per cent of cooked ham in a ration protected a pen of 

 pigeons against polyneuritis and loss in weight during a period of 55 

 davs. 



