Feb. 9,1924 
Function of Grit in the Gizzard of the Fowl 
4i5 
there is a tendency to pass off the excess grit and to keep a residual 
amount, the amount retained varies greatly in different individuals. 
At the end of 365 days the gizzard of one hen contained 5.89 gm. of 
grit—as much as was found in a hen killed for examination on the 
thirty-sixth day of the experiment. A hen that died on the one hun¬ 
dred and fifty-sixth day had 14.03 gm. of grit, or more than that con¬ 
tained in three of the four gizzards of those killed on the fourteenth 
and twenty-first days, respectively. The healthy condition of the birds 
which were kept until the end of the experiment indicates that a fowl 
may go longer than a year without replenishing its grit. 
