August 23, 1010 
1230 
A NEW SUBJECT.—The reader must therefore 
study the facts which follow with an open mind, 
remembering that it is only during the last five years 
that this subject has received any serious attention. 
This review has an interest for the layman, because 
it illustrates how knowledge in a new field gradually 
develops, and will enable him to realize the difficulty 
the scientist is under when called on for a specific 
answer to a particular question. The more one really 
knows about a subject the harder it is for him to 
give a positive answer, and consequently the more 
reluctant he is to do so. The popular writer who 
gives the layman a yes-or-no answer on which he 
can base his actions'with confidence, is usually held 
for a time at least in higher esteVm than are those 
who really know their subject well. Much that has 
been written for the general public concerning nutri¬ 
tion has been put forth under such conditions, and has 
led to the multitude of food fads, many of which 
involve serious danger to those who follow them. 
The lesson which I hope may be learned from this 
paper 5s that the common experience of mankind 
has taught them how to feed themselves pretty 
nearly right, and the nearer one approaches to a 
mixed diet proved by time and experience to he 
suitable for the great majority, the more likely is 
lie to he satisfactorily nourished. This does not 
mean that there are not occasional individuals who 
have idiosyncrasies in respect to some particular 
kind of food. but. such cases are comparatively rare, 
and should he studied by competent physicians when 
their occurrence is suspected. The whole subject 
of nutrition has been shown by recent investigations 
to be far more complex than was formerly supposed, 
and with the limited knowledge which even the most 
learned possess, it is obviously dangerous for the 
layman to experiment with his diet. 
CONCERNING V IT AMINES IN GENERAL.—The 
term vitamiue is used to comprise all of the still 
unknown constituents of food which are necessary 
for normal nutrition and must be present in every 
adequate diet. If we should learn what they are. 
what their chemical nature is, the vague and com¬ 
prehensive designation of vitamines would no longer 
fit them, they would simply become one more of the 
substances known to be essential for a complete diet. 
Take it the other way around; we know that iron is 
a constituent of the red coloring matter of the blood, 
and if the amount of blood in the body is to be in¬ 
creased, as during growth, iron is needed in the food. 
But if iron had not. been easily detected in the body, 
thus establishing the inference that it ought also 
to be in the food, its presence there might have been 
still unknown, for it is by no means easy to separate 
and weigh the very small amount of iron, in milk, 
for instance, which suffices to satisfy all the require¬ 
ments for the nutrition of the young. Had the 
presence of iron in the body been overlooked, iron 
in food would have still been included among the 
vitamines. Iodine is another similar example. It 
is thus clear that under the term vitamine many 
different substances may be included. IIow many 
no one knows. We do know, however, that there 
must be at least three different types of these, be¬ 
cause three distinctly different kinds of effects are 
produced, which cannot be explained in any other 
way than by the assumption that there are at least 
as many food factors involved. 
THE ANTISCORBUTIC VITAMINE.—Under the 
ordinary conditions of life there is practically no 
danger that too little of the antiscorbutic vitamine 
is present in the rations of either men or livestock. 
It is only when the diet is extremely restricted, as 
in long voyages at. sea. or in armies on special service 
where all the food has to be provided for many 
months in advance, that scurvy develops among 
adults. With' infants scurvy is more common, 
especially among the very poor, or in infant homes 
where heated milk is fed without an addition to 
the diet of some source of the antiscorbutic vitamiue. 
But the great majority of people need have little 
fear that they are suffering in any way from too 
little of this accessory in their food. This vitamine is 
essential for the well-being and even life of man, 
monkeys and guinea pigs. Cattle, swine and rats 
apparently do not require more than relatively small 
amounts of it in their food, and possibly do not 
require any. ’t has been demonstrated by experi¬ 
ments recently made at the Wisconsin Experiment 
Station by Hart, Steenbock and Smith that guinea 
pigs die of scurvy within a very few weeks when 
fed on diets on which swine can be successfully 
reared. Rats grow at a normal rate, and many of 
them reach full adult size on diets free from any 
recognized source of the antiscorbutic vitamine. 
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that a large pro¬ 
portion of rats thus fed never reach the expected 
maximum weight, and Harden and Zilva, of the 
‘Jhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Lister Institute of London, have recently shown that 
those having a small daily allowance of a prepara¬ 
tion made from lemon juice, which is rich in this 
vitamiue, attain a larger size than do those fed on 
identical diets without the addition of the anti¬ 
scorbutic substance. Experiments now being made in 
our laboratory in which very small amounts of dried 
Alfalfa, clover, or young grass.' all of which probably 
contain the antiscorbutic vitamine. are daily fed to 
rats are apparently confirming Harden and Zilva’s 
conclusion. These animals are growing with sur¬ 
prising rapidity, and many already have attained 
a size much above that of the average rat fed on 
the same kind of ration, but without the addition 
of the dried green food. It. now seems probable 
that even the rat. and perhaps all other species of 
mammals, require this food factor, but manifest the 
lack of it in their diet in a less obvious way than 
do men. monkeys and guinea pigs. The so-called 
A Double Armful of Calves. Fig. 377 
weak legs which young chickens develop when kept 
indoors too long may he a form of scurvy due to too 
little green food in their ration. Chicks which we 
have fed with diets free from any known antiscor¬ 
butic factor, but certainly containing an abundance 
of all known nutrients as well as plenty of the 
water-aiul-fat-soluble vitamine. and roughage in the 
form of dried filter paper, developed weak legs to 
a very pronounced degree within four weeks. These 
experiments must be repeated, using an antiscorbutic 
both as a preventive and a curative agent, before it 
can he concluded that this disease is scurvy. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH GUINEA PIGS.—Guinea 
pigs are more sensitive to scurvy than any animal 
jet tested, and hence are the best animal for the 
experimental study of this disease. On a diet of 
oats and hay they almost alwaj r s die with the char¬ 
acteristic symptoms of scurvy within about four 
weeks. If given a very little orange juice after the 
symptoms of scurvy develop they soon recover lost 
weight and health, and remain in good condition so 
long as the orange juice is supplied in small daily 
doses. Such experiments prove that the liay-oat 
diet is adequate for their normal nutrition apart 
from the antiscorbutic factor. In 1905 the distin¬ 
guished American investigator, Theobald Smith, 
called attention to the fact that guinea pigs when 
fed on a cereal diet develop a peculiar disease unless 
some fresh vegetable is also included in their ration. 
Twelve years later the Norwegians Holst and 
Frolicli pointed out the similarity of this disease 
with human scurvy, and also showed that the pro¬ 
tection afforded by the vegetables was largely lost 
by drying them. Later, when the importance of the 
vitamines in nutrition had become recognized, these 
earlier observations were made the subject of new 
investigations, so that during the past three or four 
years studies of experimental scurvy in guinea pigs 
have been made at the Lister Institute in London, 
and at several places in this country. As a result 
of these investigations it is now generally recognized 
that scurvy is caused by a lack of some factor in 
the food, which factor is present in relatively large 
amounts in orange and lemon juice, abundant in 
fresh vegetables, such as cabbage, carrots, turnips, 
tomatoes, potatoes, etc., and is also present in milk, 
though in relatively small proportion. 
tiios. a. OSBOKNE. 
(Continued next week) 
Alfalfa in Rotation 
A LFALFA ill the rotation in general farming has 
not been given a real trial, yet the plant is 
worthy of this opportunity to demonstrate its value. 
It has not been pastured to the extent it might have 
been at short periods, but not over-pastured. Too 
much red tape in the growing of this plant has 
appeared in the press. We cannot discover any dif¬ 
ference in method between growing a crop of Alfalfa 
and that of the other legumes in our soil. But there 
are some black soils in some parts of Ohio that as 
yet fail to produce well, and the cause not known. 
Speaking in general, the soil that is made ready 
to grow good crops of the clovers is ready to grow 
Alfalfa. Tf so. why not grow it in rotation, where 
its yield will equal that of the other legumes? We 
do not mean to substitute Alfalfa for the other 
legumes, but to grow five or eight or 10 acres per 
year in rotation to obtain this much protein feed, 
and its greater value, that of pasture, allowing it 
to staml one season. As to returns, they are quite 
interesting. The average yield in last available 
statistics for our county for the three years 1914. 
1915 and 191G are for the clovers, one and one-third 
tons per acre, two and two-thirds for Alfalfa. The 
greater yield, perhaps, comes from the first cutting, 
that is. of the first year. In rotation a small field 
may be grown, or if that is not possible, a selection 
made from an area out of a field of the mixed grass. 
The most promising soil in the field should be 
selected, and that that is well under-drained. The 
area will suit your demands, say three, five or eight 
acres. Our area this year was a part of a field of 
mixed legumes proper. The cutting of our Alfalfa 
was delayed this season a few days by reason of a 
sprinkling of volunteer Alsike, allowing it to become 
of some greater feeding value. Yield was over 2LL 
tons per acre. About the 10th of July the Summer 
pasture was rapidly being burned up. Farmers are 
now feeding their live stock in this immediate sec¬ 
tion. The second crop of Alfalfa coming on. in the 
meantime mixed hay was made. About the tenth 
of July we turned on the Alfalfa, a thick stand, rich 
green. 10 inches in height. 
We cannot place an estimate on a pasture like 
this so palatable, so sure, when other pastures are 
fallen low in production and at a period which is 
mostly critical. There is no additional labor what¬ 
ever to sow the Alfalfa: either a small field in reg¬ 
ular rotation, or a section of a field as we sow it in 
wheat, oats, barley, rye. and in the same way, at the 
same time, as the other legumes, always covering 
the seed. This Alfalfa pasture in this, the greatest 
of droughts, is a small chunk of gold. 
Where live stock and grass farming are combined 
and all grass sods are pastured following harvest, 
to have a five or seven-acre Alfalfa area out of a 
20 or 25-acre hay crop coming on ready for pasture 
about July 15 is certainly a pleasure and profit that 
must be experienced to be appreciated. Our next 
year’s sowing of Alfalfa is now planned, and the 
section selected which will be sown. The only dis¬ 
advantage that will be discovered in this plan is 
during Fall of first season. If the Alfalfa is a part 
of the field which is being pastured following har¬ 
vest the Alfalfa should not he pastured close in 
Fall, really should go into Winter quarters with a 
strong six or eight-inch growth. It may not be con¬ 
venient to turn off this pasture early, but it means 
a 100 per cent profit the following July and August. 
The same factors that affect the wintering of Alfalfa 
affect the other clovers, but probably Alfalfa will 
require a little more preparation for the Winter. 
Generally speaking. Alfalfa, or the clover plants, 
should have an opportunity to get ready for Winter. 
When pastured too close or cut they cannot obtain 
enough or any materials from tops to carry them 
through the Winter in strong form. In order that 
translocation from tops to roots may take place 
there must be some growth of tops from which to 
obtain this material for future demand. 
Farmers have complained to us in institute work 
that frequently grasses have come in with their 
Alfalfa the first season and crowded it out, but if 
they can obtain a profitable growth for the first 
season there is no reason why it could not be grown 
in rotation, plowed up after one year’s growth, the 
same as the other clovers. Probably the greatest 
subject before us now is the growing of clovers and 
mixed grasses, of which the many failures or thin 
stands is almost as appalling as the many failures 
In growing Alfalfa. The former subject may be 
taken up later. J- w. nicodemus. 
Van Wert Co., O. 
At the Ohio Experiment Station drilling wheat eight 
inches apart gave better yields than four-inch diills. 
The same was true of oats. 
