ABSTRACTS.
89
went into pneumonia in its final stages, and death from the latter cause. The disease
proved to be fatal in 50 to 75 per cent of the cases and those which withstood were greatly-
retarded in their development.
Treatment. Two herds (six calves in each), one a Holstein and the other a Jersey,
were available for study. In both the herds the amount of milk fed was rigidly reduced
with the onset of diarrhœa—the Jersey calves getting 3 lb. and Holstein calves 5 lb.
per day.
Shark liver oil was fed to Holstein calves and pantothenic acid, nicotinic acid to
Jersey calves, in addition to Shark liver oil. Shark liver oil of the potency of 15000 I. U.
of vitamin A per gram was fed at the rate of 10 c.c. per week in 5 c.c. gelatin capsules for
2 or 3 weeks depending upon their condition. Jersey calves were fed in addition panto -
thenic acid and nicotinic acid for the first two weeks and for the next two weeks
they were given vitamin B 1 , riboflavin and choline also, since the calves were on reduced
milk intake. The B-group vitamins were given in weighed quantities in capsules over a
week at the rate of vitamin B 1 1 mg., riboflavin 1 mg., pantothenic acid 5 mg., choline
5 mg. and nicotinic acid 10 mg. per day.
Results
(a) Holstein calves. In general there was an immediate response as shown by the
improvement in appetite and general appearance of the calves. Diarrhœa was only
partially controlled. Only about half of the calves recovered sufficiently to show no
effects of the disease.
(b) Jersey calves. The addition of pantothenic acid and nicotinic acid produced an
immediate and dramatic effect upon the diarrhœa of the calves. The faeces returned to
a normal consistency within 12 to 24 hours. Mortality in the calves was reduced to
zero. Holstein calves which did not recover were subsequently treated with pantothenic
acid and nicotinic acid.
(c) General. The vitamin A content of the blood plasma of these calves was fund
on analysis to be low in the beginning of the experiment. It rose sharply as a result of the
vitamin A feeding and continued throughout the period the calves were under observation
The rise in vitamin A of blood plasma was accompanied by a rise in the ascorbic acid in
those calves which were deficient in vitamin C at the beginning of the experiment.
Calves subsequently dropped in these herds were treated either with colostrum
(which is known to be rich in vitamin A) or shark liver oil and a week or two week's
supply of B-complex given shortly after birth. No symptoms of scours developed
[V. V. S. M.].
Perosis due to a vitamin deficiency. A. G. HOGAN, L. R. RICHARDSON,
H. PATRICK and H. L. KEMPSTER (1941). Jour. Nutr. 21, 327-40
T HIS paper records the results of experiments designed to show that the perosis pre-
venting factor is a labile organic substance which acts either independently, or in
conjunction with manganese. Although certain food stuffs like wheat middlings, rice
bran and oats are known to reduce the incidence of perosis, the exact nature of the pro-
tective principle is not yet established. In this investigation, beef liver has been em-
ployed as the parent source of this factor. The incidence of perosis in day old chicks of
White Leghorn, New Hampshire Red, and White Rock breeds, reared on various ex-
perimental diets has been studied during a six weeks period. The severity of the defor-
mity was measured by taking into account the degree of hock enlargement, twisted tibia,
and metatarsus, and slipped tendon of each leg of each chick. Synthetic rations, supply-
ing adequate amount of the various vitamins were supplemented with two fractions of
liver preparation—an aqueous extract devoid of the anti-perotic component, and an
alcoholic extract containing this factor. The poor growth and high mortality of the
chicks of the aqueous extract groups were remedied by vitamin B 6 (300-500 ug.), but
this treatment did not prevent the incidence of perosis, although the manganese content
of the diet was high (200 parts per million). The deformity developed in two week and
spread to the entire flock by the fourth week. The severity was pronounced in all cases,
the actual degree varying with the breed. Addition of iron, zinc and aluminum salts to
the ration had no beneficial effect. A reduction of the manganese content of the diet to