Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-03-02
Making
Platinum Foxes
By Diet
Nv IHEN University of California research VIC
w announced couple of years ago that the!
w discovered a means by which the craving Of a

w discovered a means by which the grazing of animal
hair may be arrested hair already restored 70 It's
original color through manipulation of diet there was
quite stir and the scientists deuged with inquiries
asking procedure would apply human hair.
But the research workers-Dr Agnes Fay Morgan and
her associates the unversitys Department of Home
Reconnaissance clear that they nothing TO say
yet about the effect of the anray hair diet on humans
Their experiments had been conducted rats whose life
span far shorter than that of humans and whose hair
is strtcturay different.
Although many persons who tried that
they had seemingly stopped the gayng of their hair Dr.
Morgan her co-workers experimenting
on humans until more should be known about the precise
action of the diet factor and its effect animals
And comes further word about the diets strange
influence animal with the by DR..
Morgan of her experiments silver foxes.
These experiments caused little excitement
the nations fur markets for Dr. Morgan has produced
platinum haired foxes whose pets worth far
than the fairly-commo silver fox furs.
Fur buyers about a year ago flocked TO buy few
dozen fox pes Of striking slverwhe colormuch lighter
than ordinary silver fox-whch imported from Nor
way The Norwegian fox-farmers had been just
prsed anybody else when the platinum blends appeared
among their regular silver foxes
These pelts Norwegian Platina retailed
for much $1,000 each. With the Naz invasion Of
Norway these Injuries off
Dr. Morgan reveals that experiments by her covorker
Helen D. Simms and herself indicate that these
may produced the United States by regulating
the diet of ordinary silver foxes.
The diet that produces these remarkable effects
animal hair is known "Vitamin B-2 ftrate factor
Its exact chemical constitution unknown 1t is found in
yeast, wheat germ, rice bran and numerous other sub
and is isolated by filteng other factors
The mysterious frate discovered few years ago
by Drs H. Jukes and F Lepkovsky Of the universtys
Division of Poultry Husbandy in their experiments with
the diet of chickens Morgan sought
the growth the eyes of
deprived of the factor turned gray but when they
given concentrated doses of it, their hair turned
black again
DR. Morgan thought might provide
ing subjects experiment because of their delicate coos
The normal markings on silver fox-dark underhars and
white tips the long guardhairs resemble the coongs
of rats In the early stages of the aHtigray vam1u
deficiency Therefore seemed likely that the foxes might
peculiarly susceptible to color changes due to diet
Dr. Morgan believed that minor changes diet
might be the explanation of the sudden of the
platinum foxes in Norway
She young silver foxes of particularly
breed from the farm of Elmer Atkinson of Aptos
California. The put basal diet of casen,
cottonseed OIL salt mixture wheat germ sucrose bone
ash sugar nicotine acid riboflavn and shark-ver oil
purified diet containing essential food elements The
wheat germ contained of the anti-gray
hair factor since DR. Morgan did not want diets
effect be drastic
In addition to the diet Of the
yeast ftrate the angray factor These developed
normally other three began to lose fur.
and turned gray After only 26 days
the deficient diet foxes died The other two were
Immediately put regular stock ration in addition to
the basic diet though still deprived OF the concentrated
BIZ factor They continued lose hair After a. days
they given the angray factor in concentrated
preparation of rice bran Within weeks a growth of
iuxuriant creamy under-fur developedalmost BLUSH
color New guard hairs grew. similar to normal ones,
but with white on the tips
The other three foxes which had steadily received the
fae factor had the normal coats of the silver fox
Dr. Morgan and her co-worlers realized they had de-
veloped their laboratory type of Norwegian Patina
real platinum blond fox One OF the surviving patnums
had a completely gray coat with white markings and both
had belly very occurrence in the lghtes
silver foxes.
Fox growers manifested great interest in DR. Morgans
work and several they intended try to develop
platinum their farms. DR. Morgan warned how
ever the platinum foxes developed by means of
gray deficiency likely hair of poorer quality
than normal though she believes this difficulty may
remedied by manipulation of their diet in future
experiments.