BERIBERI AND COTTONSEED POISONING IN PIGS 1 
[PRELIMINARY NOTE] 
By George M. Rommel, Chief, Animal Husbandry Division, Bureau of Animal In¬ 
dustry , and Edward B. VeddER, Captain, Medical Corps, United States Army 
SO-CALLED COTTONSEED POISONING OF ANIMALS 
Cottonseed meal is one of the most valuable feedstuffs at the command 1 
of the American stockman. After the animal has digested it, the value 
of the residue as fertilizer is about three-fourths the original value of the 
meal. The United States uses only part of the cottonseed meal which it 
produces, and one of the reasons which prevent a larger domestic con¬ 
sumption of this by-product of the cotton industry is the danger that 
sickness and death may follow its use. 
Cattle fed for more than 90 to 120 days on a heavy cottonseed-meal 
ration (6 pounds or more per head daily) become lame, and their eyes 
discharge freely, blindness often resulting. Deaths may occur, especially 
in young animals. Pigs are peculiarly susceptible to the effects of cot¬ 
tonseed meal, possibly because they are usually fed a larger quantity of 
the meal in proportion to their body weight. In feeding pigs, symptoms 
of sickness may appear at any time after three weeks of feeding, and 
deaths frequently occur with little warning. 
Various systems of feeding cottonseed meal to pigs have been devised. 
Some of them appear to minimize its danger somewhat, but none of them 
prevent it entirely. This product, therefore, can not be regarded as a safe 
feed for pigs in the combinations in which it has heretofore usually been 
fed. 
Among the more pronounced symptoms observed in pigs suffering from 
the effects of cottonseed-meal feeding are diarrhea; a harsh, rough, curly 
coat; paralysis; and shortness of breath. Emaciation and dropsical con¬ 
ditions are frequently observed. The disease manifests two forms— 
acute or chronic. 
The acute form is much more serious to the farmer, because pigs are 
. attacked by it with little warning and may be dead before any indications 
of disease are noticed. The largest and best nourished pigs are often the 
ones attacked. The attack is sudden and sharp. The pig experiences 
extreme shortness of breath and suffers the most intense pain. If he 
recovers, recurrences of the attack are likely, especially if the pig is a 
heavy feeder. Subsequent attacks may end fatally, or the disease may 
assume the chronic form. 
1 This opportunity is taken to express appreciation of the cooperation of Dr. Adolph Eichhom, Chief 
of the Pathological Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry, in having made the necessary post¬ 
mortem examinations of pigs used in these experiments. 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Dept of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
bq 
(489) 
Vol. V, No. 11 
Dec. 13, 1915 
A-17 
