The Alleged New Vitamin in Milk for Poultry

We were interested in the recent report by Norris, Heuser and Wilgus1 on the occurrence of a peculiar type of paralysis in poultry involving the legs and feet, the cause of which has been attributed by them to the lack of some hitherto unrecognized factor occurring in milk, vitamin in nature. In 1925 we had begun a series of experiments on the effect of varying calcium-phosphorus ratios on the growth and skeleton development of the chick. Three series of experiments were started using Barred Rock chicks, each group receiving the Wisconsin Baby Chick ration as such or somewhat modified in respect to its calcium-phosphorus content, but each series receiving no or different sources of vitamin D. One series was kept out-of-doors in sunlight; another series started at the same time was kept in the attic of our laboratory but given 10 minutes’ daily irradiation with the emanations from a quartz . . .