VITAMINES. 
It is now, one may say, an established fact that pregnant and nurs- 
ing mothers must be supplied with suitable and abundant vitamines if 
the fetus in utero or. the sucking offspring is to thrive, and it has 
been shown that children brought up on cow’s milk develop rickets 
more commonly ‘during the winter months, that is, when the cow’s diet 
is ‘more artificial and may contain less of the anti-rachitie factor.” 
Thus it is that cow’s milk may have a value, both for children and 
calves, that will vary with the nature of the food the animal is given. 
_In this connexion it is well to note that in all probability “extracted 
-mneals,” which are subjected to steam for an hour under a pressure of 
20 Ibs. per square inch for the remoyal of the solvent, have a nutritive 
value less than feeding cake, which is never, or very rarely, exposed 
to a temperature of 100 deg. C. at normal pressure. Extracted meals 
have probably a low protective value. 
The anti-scorbutic vitamine is destroyed by heat, especially if the 
heating is prolonged. A higher temperature for a shorter period is 
not so harmful. The prolonged stewing or steaming of meals and 
foods for calves and pigs is therefore contra-indicated. ifs 
Deficiency of vitamines in the food of adults is more likely to pro- 
duce demonstrable effects during periods of hard physical work or expo- 
sure to trying climatic and similar conditions that make an unusual 
drain upon the stamina of the individual. It is not, therefore, alto- 
gether beyond the realm of possibility that war pica and the debility 
of old and overworked horses may be in part due to a deficiency or 
unsuitable supply of vitamines, and not, especially in the former case, . 
chiefly caused by hard work, lack of general nutriment, and especially 
of bulk. In this connexion Satre’s experiments in France* are of — 
interest. It is known that dry cereals have little or no anti-scorbutic 
properties, whereas germinated cereals and legumes have.- Satre 
steeped his horses’ oat ration in water for sixty-two hours at 20 deg. O. 
before feeding, and obtained, he said, excellent results thereby. Though 
‘Satre (having in mind Bergame bread, “ pain naturel de Fruges,”. such 
as is used by man) attributed the beneficial results to the physical 
and chemical changes that occurred, it is not altogether impossible that 
the increase in the vitamine content that naturally followed such ger- 
mination’ may have been, in part at least, responsible for its increased 
feeding value. Be that as it may, Satre’s experiment is suggestive of 
- the need for further inquiry. 
The work of Dr. and Mrs. Mellanby on the cause of rickets is now 
so well known that no further mention of it need be made here. It 
has indicated quite clearly that the diet of pregnant and nursing 
bitches needs careful attention, and what applies to the dog and the. 
child is probably of equal importance for farm stock. ‘ 
It may give satisfaction to the agriculturist to know that margarine 
when composed chiefly of vegetable fats cannot, in a food sense, be a 
substitute for butter. As an unctuous lubricant for bread of a more 
or less unpalatable nature, and possessing a certain heat value, it is 
No doubt worth consideration, but there its utility ends. (Similarly, 
Synthetic milk can never replace the genuine article. Be 
* Rev. Path. Comp. 1919, XIX., 17-19. (See this Review, 1919, TIT., 270.) - 
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