510 Messrs. Ellis and Gardner. Origin and [Aug. 14,. 



V. A cat weighing 3 - 5 kilogrammes was fed for 17 days on the above- 

 mentioned bread and egg diet, and the faeces were collected during the last 

 15 days. During the period in which faeces were collected, the animal ate 

 1390 grammes of bread, the whites of 18 eggs, and about 65 grammes of 

 cream. The weight of the cat remained quite constant until the 10th day of 

 the experiment, after which it gradually decreased to 3 - 2 kilogrammes ; 

 300 grammes of dry faeces were collected, which after extraction yielded 

 l - 735 grammes of unsaponifiable matter as a dark oil. On recrystallisation 

 from alcohol three times, - 6075 gramme of white crystalline matter, melting 

 at 125° — 138° C. was obtained. From the residues 2604 gramme of 

 benzoate was prepared. A microscopic examination of the crystalline matter 

 showed that it was a mixture of cholesterol with probably some phytosterol- 

 like substance from the bread. Eeckoning the whole as cholesterol, the total 

 weight obtained was 0"8126 gramme, corresponding to an output of 

 0"05 gramme per day. 



VI. This cat was fed for 17 days on the bread-egg-cream diet, with the 

 addition during part of the time of 2 grammes of cholesterol, given in 

 0-25-gramme portions. Altogether the animal ate 1710 grammes of bread, 

 the white of 17 eggs, and about 60 grammes of cream. It liked the food, and 

 during the experiment increased in weight from 3 - 2 to 3 - 3 kilogrammes. The 

 total weight of dry faeces was 488 grammes and yielded 2'48 grammes of 

 unsaponifiable matter of a crystalline nature. After twice crystallising from 

 alcohol, T935 grammes of white crystalline matter were obtained. This was 

 again recrystallised from alcohol, and the main crop consisted of almost pure 

 cholesterol, melting at 143° — 144° C. The final mother liquors yielded a 

 minute amount of matter, crystallising in star-shaped aggregates of needles, 

 not unlike coprosterol in appearance. The residues, on benzoylation in. 

 pyridine, yielded 0'1723 gramme of benzoates. Assuming that the whole 

 crystalline matter consisted of cholesterol, the total amount was 2 - 07 grammes, 

 a quantity only a little greater than the weight of pure cholesterol given to 

 the animal. 



VII. Four cats were fed for 10 days on the above-mentioned diet of 

 extracted germ of wheat and purified fat, the faeces being collected during the- 

 last nine days. The animals took the food readily and ate during the period 

 1980 grammes of wheat germ and 308 grammes of fat, the total weight of 

 which, when cooked as described, was 3916 grammes. The weights of the 

 cats during the experiments were as follows. 



490 grammes of dry faeces were collected and yielded on extraction. 

 3 - 3246 grammes of unsaponifiable matter of an oily semi-solid consistency. 

 After several crystallisations from alcohol, 14495 grammes of white- 



