350 Proceedings of Boy al Society of EdinhurgJi. [sess. 
are eminently suitable. Even after a copious meal, in from twelve to 
twenty-four hours the stomach and small intestine are found empty, 
and absorption is completed, as is shown by the next Experiment. 
Experiment III . — Five rats were starved for twenty-four hours 
and then one. A, was killed, and the others were fed on beef fat 
and water. The food was given at night, and was freely eaten. 
In the morning the residue was removed from the cages. After 
four hours, one of the rats, B, was killed ; another, C, was killed 
after twenty hours ; another, D, after twenty-five hours ; and the 
last, E, after forty-eight hours. 
From the middle of the small intestine a small piece was taken 
in each case, and treated as above described. 
A showed no sign of fat. 
B showed the absorption of enormous quantities of fat. The 
whole length of each villus, right down to the mouths 
of the Lieberkiihnian glands, was involved in the absorp- 
tion ; but while at the tips of the villi the fat globules 
were so large and numerous that nothing could be seen 
of the epithelial cells, towards the bases they greatly 
diminished in size and number. 
C, D, and E showed no signs of fat absorption. 
Having thus shown that absorption from the intestine is in the 
rat completed within twenty-four hours, the following experiments 
were made: — 
Experiment IV . — Four white rats were starved for twenty-four 
hours. In the evening — 
A got 17 grms. of lean horse flesh. 
B got 7 grms. of starch and sugar. 
C got II grms. of ox fat. 
D got no food, and was found dead next morning. The others 
were killed in the morning, after feeding for twelve 
hours. 
On examining the intestine, fat absorption was going on actively 
in C. In A and B and D there was no sign of fat in the intestine 
or epithelium. 
