pleted until the présent year. The experiments were performed 
upon prisoners under sentence of death, who agreed to undergo 
the tests. They were placed in locked cells under the closest.sur¬ 
veillance and divided in-to four groups which were fed largely as 
follows : 
Group I. — White (polished) rice + alcoholic extract of rice 
polishings +spécial diet (duration of experiment 97-108 days.) 
Group II. — White (polished) rice-f spécial diet (duration of 
experiment 97-117 days). 
Group III. — Red (unpolished) rice + spécial diet (duration of 
experiment 97-117 days). 
Group IV. — White (polished) rice-rspécial diet (duration of 
experiment 75-101 days). 
The spécial diet consisted of : coffee, bread, sugar, starch, lard, 
bacon, onions and bananas. The experiments were continued as 
long as practicable. The members comprising groups I, II, and 
III were allowed to mingle freely wi<th one another during the 
dav, but the members of each group were compelled to eat sepa- 
rately under observation. A record was kept of -the quantity and 
qualitv of food consumed b y each individual. 
The results were as follows: In group I. one case developed ra- 
ther marked symptoms of beri-beri and one some of the earlv 
symptoms of the disease. These symptoms did not improve un- 
tü the monotony of the diet was varied. In group II. four of thê 
six individuals comprising the experiment developed beri-beri 
and two early symptoms of the disease. In group IV. four 
of the eleven developed beri-beri, one of whom died of the di¬ 
sease and two developed early symptoms of the disease. In 
group III. one of the six developed marked symptoms of 
beri-beri and one developed onlv slight cardiac symptoms. 
The conclusions reached are that beri-beri is not an infectious 
disease but has a true dietetie causation. The disease may be 
produced b y depriving the individual for a considérable period 
of time of certain substances necessary in some way for the nor¬ 
mal physiological processes of the body. 
The substance, or substances, which prevent beri-beri when 
partaken of in the food, are evidently présent in red unpolished 
rice and in rice polishings and also in small amounts in the alco- 
holic extracts of rice polishing, and when these articles are 
added to what would appear to be an otherwise physiologicallv 
