Oct. 15, 1925 
Water-Soluble Content of the Velvet Bean 
795 
In these tests raw velvet beans were more efficient than the ex¬ 
tracts. Daily doses of 2 grams of the raw beans gave complete 
protection and enabled birds weighing 220 to 270 grams to maintain 
their weight or make slight gains through periods of 40 to 70 days 
(periods D and E of No. 8, A and B of No. 13, C of No. 1, and B of 
No. 14). 
Velvet beans that had been extracted with alcohol in Soxhlet for 
48 hours did not have any protective action (pigeon No. 17, and 
periods C of No. 14 and D of No. 1). Pigeon No. 17 received 4 
grams of the extracted material per day, and pigeons Nos. 1 and 14 
Fig. 1 .—Weight curves of pigeons: Effect of feeding velvet beans. Letters refer to the periods in Table I 
Broken lines indicate periods in which polished rice alone was fed. X indicates onset of polyneuritis 
received 2 grams each per day. All three birds lost weight rapidly 
and came down with polyneuritis in 14 to 21 days. 
After pigeon No. 1 was unable to stand, it was given 2 grams of 
raw velvet beans, and it appeared to be almost normal the next day. 
This bird was again given 2 grams of raw beans on the second day, 
and then 1 gram per day for 77 days (period E). No symptoms of 
polyneuritis appeared during this period. 
Pigeons Nos. 7 and 11 received raw velvet beans alone, hand fed 
(no rice). They lost weight rapidly and died on the fifth and ninth 
days, respectively.^ The harmful effect of a diet of velvet beans 
alone has previously been noted. 8 
s Salmon, W. D. the effect of feeding velvet beans to pigeons. Science 56: 368. 1922. 
