be made roughly quantitative by varying the dosage until an amount, just
necessary to cure the bird in a given time is found and then expressing
the vitamine content of the food in terms of this dosage, in such an
experiment the value is obviously based on the curative powers of the
vitamine source. Another way of applying the test is to determine just how
much of the unknown must be added to a diet of polished rice to prevent
the onset of polyneuritic symptoms. Such a determination will give the
content in terms of preventive dosage. Both methods have been extensively
applied and the following tables compiled from the Report of the British
Medical Research Committee illustrate both the method and some of its
results:

_Minimum daily ration that must be added to a diet of polished rice to
prevent and to cure polyneuritis in a pigeon of 300 to 400 grams in
weight. The weights are given in terms of the natural foodstuff._

____________________________________________________________
AMOUNT NECESSARY | FOODSTUFFS | AMOUNT NECESSARY
FOR DAILY PREVENTION | TESTED | FOR CURE
______________________|__________________|__________________
| |
_grams_ | | _grams_
1.5 | Wheat germ (raw) | 2.5
2.5 | Pressed yeast | 3.0-6.0[1]
3.0 | Egg yolk | 60.0[2]
20.0 | Beef muscle | 140.0[2]
3.0 | Dried lentils | 20.0[2]
______________________|__________________|__________________

[Footnote 1: Autolysed.]