EXTRACTS FROM GERMAN PAPERS. 
281 
the liquid has been introduced into the stomach, or if the full 
stomach is kneaded too vigorously, vomiting readily occurs. In 
this case the catheter must be removed at once, as otherwise 
aspiration of the vomited matter with its severe consequences 
might occur. The result of this treatment has been very satis¬ 
factory in numerous cases on record. Dogs which persistently 
refused food have taken their food with relish after a single 
application of this improvised stomach pump. Although the 
apparatus has been used only in the treatment of dogs, there is no 
reason why good results could not be obtained in the treatment 
of other domestic animals also .—Dev Thierarzt. 
FERMENT IN OATS, AND THEIR EFFECT ON DIGESTION. 
By the Same. 
Previous researches have proved that during the process of 
digestion, in such animals as partake of raw, unboiled food, 
especially grain, a certain starch ferment which these grains con¬ 
tain assists in that function; i.e., a part of the digestion of starch 
taking place in the stomach is due to the action of the amylotic 
ferment found in the grains. We might be led in the same man¬ 
ner to suppose that a part of the digestion of albumen depends 
on the action of a ferment contained in plants. In order to de¬ 
cide this question, we have first to prove the existence of a pro¬ 
teolytic ferment of a given energy in the ordinary grain or oats, 
used as food for domestic animals. Repeated investigations have 
given the following principal results. When a pulp, prepared out 
of water and ground oats, is subjected for some time to a temper¬ 
ature equal to that of the stomach, three different ferments, 
amylolytic, proteolytic and lactic acid become active. These 
ferments of oats are destroyed at the boiling point, but remain 
active in the stomach of a living animal, which proves that these 
ferments are important factors in assisting digestion in the 
stomach of such animals as partake of their food in a raw state. 
Without doubt, the amylolytic ferment is the strongest, as the 
latest experiments have shown about two per cent, of sugar after 
three hours of digestion with water, and 0.2 per cent, of lactic 
