366 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXXI, No. 4 
After some experiments on feeding swine a large amount of wheat, 
Hart, Miller, and McCollum (12) state that toxicity follows even in 
the presence of all the recognized factors for growth. Apparently in 
a like manner, wheat has seemed to others (8) to cause injury to the 
progeny of rats. 
It has long been known that cereals in general, and wheat in par¬ 
ticular, contain inadequate amounts of the elements sodium, chlorine, 
and calcium, when compared with the quantity contained in milk 
(Tables I and II). In feeding animals there is a greater probability 
of feeding insufficient sodium than potassium, which is in predomi¬ 
nant quantity among the minerals in the cereals (27). 
Table I. — Mineral conslituents in cereals and roughage 
Kind of cereal 
Per cent, dry basis 
Ash 
K 
Na 
Ca 
Cl 
Wheat (4)_ 
1.866 
0.59 
0.035 
0.056 
0.095 
Wheat ( 27 ) ...... 
.515 
.0106 
.044 
.088 
Wheat ( 27 ) ...... 
.431 
.051 
.044 
.080 
Corn (4)_ 
1.410 
.396 
.030 
.014 
/ .073 
Oats (4)_ 
3.709 
.460 
. 184 
. 112 
.077 
Wheat flour (4)_____ 
.192 
.058 
. 127 
.022 
.081 
Wheat flour (27)_ 
.146 
.069 
.026 
.076 
Wheat straw U)_____ 
3.65 
.842 
.237 
.217 
.209 
Corn stover (4)__ 
7.007 
1.847 
.065 
.507 
.308 
Alfalfa hay ( 4 ) ______ 
6.89 
.832 
.489 
1.130 
< . 161 
Table II. — Mineral constituents in milk (2), (17) 
Kind of milk 
Per cent, dry basis (calculated) 
Ash 
K 
Na 
Ca 
Cl 
Cow..... 
5.75 
1.22 
0.59 
0.98 
1.13 
Goat........ 
5.45 
.76 
.35 
.99 
.72 
Human„_...... 
1.68 
.56 
U. 60 
. .29 
.39 
Sheep...... 
4.39 
4.23 
.33 
.91 
.68 
Horse....... 
4.34 
' .94 
.11 
.97 
.34 
The mineral analyses of the various parts of the body show that 
potassium predominates in the muscles, brain, liver, saliva, and milk; 
and sodium in blood, serum, lymph, pancreatic fluid, bile, and gastric 
juices. Bone is higher in sodium than in potassium. 
The amount of sodium in the ash of wheat is reported from a 
trace to a fraction more than 7 per cent. In the writers’ analyses the 
sodium is found to exceed 12.5 per cent of the total asn. The 
amount of potassium is comparable with the results reported by 
other investigators (15). The percentage of calcium is about the 
same and the chlorine less in the wheat analyzed and used by the 
writers. 
The percentage range of the minerals in wheat may be summarized 
as follows: Iron and aluminum, 0.27 to 0.40; potassium, 0.34 to 0.49; 
magnesium, 0.075 to 0.14; calcium, 0.38 to 0.63; phosphorus, 0.36 
to 0.47; sulphur, 0.036 to 0.083; and sodium, a trace to 0.23. 
In many feeding trials calcium has been included, and sodium 
chloride has been given ad libitum; or salt mixtures have been pre- 
