MAFUAL OF CATTLE-FHEDIKa. 171 



exits and the fat itself, tliere are no otlier oi^ganic substan- 

 ces present in such quantity in the fodder, either of the 

 herbivora or carnivora, as to J)e able to contribute, in any 

 essential degree, to fat-formation. 



Forniation of Fat from Albuminoids. — That fat can 

 be formed from the albuminoids is now denied by no one 

 acquainted with the subject. 



The fact that the albuminoids in decay, and on treat- 

 ment with alkalies and with oxidizing agents, form vari- 

 ous fatty substances along with other products of decom- 

 position, favors this view. It has also been observed, that 

 in the milk of the same cow the quantity of albuminoids 

 fiequently decreases when that of the fat increases, and 

 the reverse. The occasionally observed formation of so- 

 called adipocere also favors this view ; almost all the nitro- 

 genous substances of the body disappear, and in place of 

 the muscles, etc., appears a waxy-looking, fatty mass, solu- 

 ble in ether. Somewhat similar is the fatty degeneration 

 of the muscles and other organs of the living body in cer- 

 tain diseases and not seldom in excessive fattening, of 

 swine, e. g. This fatty degeneration of almost all the or- 

 gans of the body is especially marked in phosphorus pois- 

 oning, and, according to observations made in ]\Iunich, it 

 caimot be doubted that fat in this case arises exclusively 

 from the albuminoids, urea being separated from the latter 

 and excreted. Two apparently independent alterations of 

 the tissue metamorphosis appear to occur at the same time ; 

 first, an increased protein consumption, resulting in the pro- 

 duction of urea and fat, and second, a diminished absorption 

 of oxygen by the blood and consequently a decreased oxi- 

 dation of the fat, both processes working together to cause 

 a large deposition of fat in the body. For example, the 

 liver of a man who died of phosphorus poisoning con- 



