49 2 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol.V, No. n 
The remaining io pigs are being continued on the rice and cottonseed- 
meal rations. At the time this article is written they have been almost 
90 days on these feeds. All the pigs are sick, and the same symptoms 
have appeared in each lot. In fact, it may be said that the most typical 
and acute cottonseed-meal symptoms are seen among the pigs receiving 
rice. 
A mature brood sow, weighing 400 pounds, due to farrow on November 
14, 1915, was placed on a cottonseed-meal ration on September 2. She 
was started on a ration of 4 parts of com meal and 1 part of cotton¬ 
seed meal, the quantity of com meal being gradually decreased until, on 
October 1, she was receiving equal parts of com meal and cottonseed 
meal. Up to November 14 she had eaten 134.65 pounds of cottonseed 
meal. She showed no serious sign of sickness, except nausea on 
November 4, when, she vomited. At 8 p. m. on November 13 she 
began to farrow and delivered 9 pigs, the last one being bom at 4 o’clock 
the following morning. Four of these pigs were bom dead, and of 
those bom alive all but one died in a few minutes. The last pig bom 
lived less than eight hours. 
Post-mortem examinations were made of seven of these pigs, four of 
which had been bom alive. All of them showed enlarged hearts, and 
serum was found in the pericardial sac, the thoracic cavity, and the 
abdominal cavity. The quantity of semm was si little greater in the 
pigs bom alive than in those born dead. In the pigs bom alive there 
was some injection in the lungs, liver, and small intestines, but none in 
those bom dead. There were no alterations in the kidneys of any of 
the pigs bom alive or dead. 
These pigs were very well developed, plump, and apparently had been 
well nourished. They averaged slightly over 2 pounds 6 ounces in 
weight. The analogy with infantile beriberi is apparent. Yet the 
dam had never eaten rice, and the only assignable cause for the death 
of her litter was the cottonseed meal in her ration. Her breeding record 
for previous farrowings is as follows: 
Item. 
1914 
1915 
Date of farrowing. 
Apr. 7 
5 
5 
4 
Apr. 2 
12 
9 
5 
Number of pigs.. 
Number bom alive. 
Number raised.... 
The sow was a good breeder, and difficult labor can not be given as 
the cause of the death of the litter. 
CONCLUSIONS 
The studies of the writers seem to lead to three general conclusions: 
(1) Pigs are susceptible to beriberi when fed on vitamine-deficient 
rations, such as rice. The disease develops much more rapidly in pigs 
