Abstract
It is frequently stated that starved birds and mammals live longer than such birds and mammals on a vitamin-free diet.
To test the truth of such statements the following experiments were performed.
No. 1. Six pigeons 7 weeks old were obtained from a common hardy barn-yard flock, and were normal in every respect as far as could be learned. Three were placed in Cage 1 and given distilled water only; the other 3 were placed in Cage 2 and given distilled water and commercial polished rice ad lib.
One of the birds in Cage 1 died the 8th day, another died the 9th day; the third bird died the 10th day. Post mortem examination showed only marked absence of adipose tissue, death evidently being due to starvation.
One bird in Cage 2 (polished rice and distilled water) developed signs of Polyneuritis gallinarum on the 14th day. This condition advanced in severity until the 18th day, when the bird died. Another bird in Cage 2 developed polyneuritis on the 15th day and died on the 19th day.
The third bird in Cage 2 developed Polyneuritis gallinarum on the 15th day. The severity of the condition steadily advanced until the 18th day, when the bird was “force-fed” brewer's yeast and recovered.
No. 2. Ten albino rats one month old were put on a generous tablescrap diet until they were 120 days old. Six of these 10 rats were then put in false bottom cages on distilled water. One rat (female) died the 9th day. A second rat (female) died the 9th day. Another rat (male) died the 9th day. The fourth rat (female) died the 10th day. The fifth and sixth rats (both males) died the night of the 10th day.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.