Cereal Grasses Juice

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A most interesting incident occurred in connection with the cows whose blood we have just been studying with regard to loin disease in the coastal counties of Texas. According to Dr. Schmidt, within about a week, nearly all of the cows affected “went off bone meal.” In other words, they suddenly lost their bone craving. This occurred with the rapid growth of the young grass and lasted for about six weeks, when a remarkable incident occurred. Within about four or five days, practically all of the animals again acquired the craving for bones. The usual method for testing for this condition (though often it will be immediately observable by the fact that the cows will eat pieces of wood, cloth or even dirt when bones are not available) is to place two grades of bones before the cattle to be tested and to note the percentage that try to eat them. Usually, two kinds of bone are used: some that are clean and white, free from all objectionable odors, and some putrid bones.

A very marked craving is shown by the fact that they will eat not only the clean bones, but also the putrid bones. Why did the cattle acquire the craving so suddenly? Dr. Theiler, working in South Africa, where there has been a great deal of trouble with this affection, has presented data from which I have made the graph shown in Figure 8. By following the results outlined by Dr. Theiler as shown in the graph, which I have developed from his data to more easily visualize them, it will be seen at once that the intensity of the hunger is not related directly to either sunshine or rain alone, or even the two together. A note of caution is probably justified, in that individuals living in a particular latitude in either the northern or southern hemisphere will be in danger of thinking of seasons in terms of their expression in their geographic and physical location, whereas quite different factors will obtain with regard to the period of growth as related to sunshine, maximum heat and cold periods, seasonal rainfall, etc. The latitude in which Dr. Theiler’s work was done was approximately 40 south. During the period commencing with the beginning of the winter season, which is not a cold season in that latitude, and progressing through May to August (our November to February), there was a continual increase in bone chewing. Note that, at this point, 80 per cent of all the cattle ate rotten bones. From August 5 to October 27, there was a continual diminution of the curve, at which time it had fallen to 40 per cent. Note that during this period Dr. Theiler states: “The weather had been continuously dry, but as it grew warmer, the spring vegetation began to appear, and this is regarded as responsible for the diminution in pica (bone chewing).” At this time, rains began, lasting for a fortnight, with the result that “the young vegetation became almost luxuriant, and by the middle of November, the craving had rapidly fallen to 6 per cent.” We see, then, an association so far with the rapidly growing grass. A number of important factors are recorded after a fortnight of rainless weather: the young grass wilted, and although the craving remained at the low level of 6 per cent for two weeks, in the next three weeks it increased to the high level of 82 per cent, the highest recorded, around which figure it oscillated for the next two months of summer drought. Clearly, something had happened to the grass so that, in its current state, it could not supply to the animals that which they needed so acutely to prevent the abnormal craving. As Dr. Theiler has emphasized, we have the record that the craving increased while the cattle were eating the old dry grass of the preceding year, prior to the beginning of the growth of new grass in August (their midwinter, equivalent to our February), and that again, during the period of dry weather when the grass was wilted in their summer, December and January (our June and July), the craving was acute. In the middle of January, “The drought broke, the pasture recovered, and it was naturally thought that the craving would again disappear. The unexpected happened, however, and notwithstanding the ample supply of good green grass and the absence of wilting, the craving did not fall to the previous 6 per cent, but only to 50 per cent.” He states further that “by the end of March (our September, the end of their summer), the craving again stood at 80 per cent.” It is of particular interest that Dr. Theiler relates these phenomena to the phosphorus content of the growing vegetation.

It is very evident, from many sources of information, that the utilization of minerals in foods is often directly dependent not only on a sufficient quantity of the particular minerals in available form, but also an adequate quantity of certain activators, some of which are the known vitamins. For the cow, these must be available in the grass which she eats. If she can obtain sufficient of both the minerals and the activators for the needs of her own body, she will, without depletion of her skeleton, provide them for either lactation or gestation. Nature has provided that, in case of shortage, the mother’s body will be depleted. This depletion may be offset and, under normal condition, the restoration is completely accomplished during the period of rest after stress. The nature of the activators, whether the known vitamins, including both the water-soluble and fat-soluble, or those regarding which little is known, would seem to be almost dependent on several factors; namely, the character of the plant, the soil on which it grows, the available moisture and temperature and the radiant energy, with regard to both the kind and quantity which nourishes and develops it.

In the extensive studies that I have been conducting for several years on the vitamin content of dairy products as produced in different places at the same time and the same places at different times, studies which now include about 700 samples per month of cream, butter and cheese, we are finding that there is not only a yearly cycle that tends to present in each individual district, but that the time of high vitamins corresponds with the period of rapid growth in young grass and that it is not readily produced by dry feeds and rations such as grain concentrates. I have studied a large number of grasses and cattle feeds in order to relate their chemical content, both mineral and organic, including vitamins, to their ability to produce a high vitamin milk product, and evidence is rapidly accumulating in large quantity indicating that the mineral and vitamin content of the foods constitute controlling factors for those of health with which we are directly concerned. Butter samples coming from districts that are characteristically high or low provide, by comparison, means for studying the controlling factors for vitamin levels.

The butter samples that have been received from a particular district in northwestern Pennsylvania were conspicuous, as I have indicated, by their high vitamin content, and I, accordingly, made trips to the district personally to study the water supply and other contributing factors and to obtain samples of the soil and glasses. I have already discussed only two of the grasses from this area; namely, knoll grass and iron weed. The physical characteristics of this district include a river valley about a mile in width, with sloping country on each side, the river being about 200 feet below the level of the surrounding country. The lowland is about from 6 to 12 feet above the summer level of the river, and the river bed is from 100 to 300 feet wide with a gravel bottom and only an occasional coarse boulder. This is shown in Figure 9 under river bottom land, the soil of which is loam and silt over gravel. The country opposite the river basin has a sandstone base and this is shown at the left in Figure 10. The hillside land is chiefly gravel and loam and this is at the right in this chart. The upland grass growing over the sandstone base of which specimens were taken is called poverty grass. From the river bottom land, I selected two grasses that the grazing cattle were not eating and a group of grasses and a plant that they were eating. On the hillside land samples of red clover were taken. The soil immediately under each type of grass was also taken for analysis, and the minerals available as plant food in the soil are shown in this chart in the broken lines, and the mineral content of the grasses growing upon these soils, in the solid lines. It is of interest that the cattle were wandering over the area apparently in search of the iron weed, which is shown by the graph to have a calcium level many times that of the first three grasses. The calcium was very high in the soil beneath the knoll grass, which had very short roots. It was also high under the iron weed. I am advised that the iron weed got its name from the size and strength of its roots, which penetrated very deeply into the gravel and therefore reached food sources at much greater depth than the surface grasses, which probably accounted for its high calcium level. I obtained additional samples of this plant in the early part of this season for comparison with. the product of last season. The chemical analysis of this younger growth shows the calcium to be even higher than that tested last season. The calcium of the dried leaves of the plants which the cows were eating as obtained last year constituted 1.55 per cent of the total plant dry weight. That obtained this year from younger plants constituted 1.89 per cent, which is very high. The phosphorus in the mature leaves of last year was 0.3 per cent, and in the more rapidly growing younger leaves of this year, 1.8 per cent, or six times as great. We see at once one of the characteristics of the rapidly growing young plant life, which is able to produce not only minerals for the cow, but the activators, including the vitamins, with which she will provide life-giving qualities for her offspring or her adopted wards. It is of interest to note that the phosphorus of this iron weed is 450 times that of the No. A1 grass in the Texas loin disease district. It is said that the roots of the iron weed have been known to penetrate four feet into the gravel, which would enable it to bring up from that depth minerals that would be completely out of reach of ordinary plants. It is also of interest to note that the potassium of this plant is nine times the quantity of that found in the Texas grass. We see at once the need to test the possibility of growing this iron weed plant on the Texas soil in order that it may, by the great penetrating power of its roots, bring up from the subsoil supplies of, each, calcium, phosphorus and potassium, so badly needed for the grazing stock of that district.

Something interesting happened with my father's sheep this year. For some reason, they refused to graze the grass in their meadow. And at the same time, they started eating the clay bricks like crazy and licking wood ash. Perhaps the grass became too depleted from minerals or too saturated with manure after several years of grazing, and it became unpalatable to them. And because of that, they became starved for minerals, just like those cows in Texas. This winter was unusual because there was almost no snow, so perhaps that played a role in the conditions of the pasture.

About importance of iron in the soil:

The quantity of available iron in the soil has an important influence in determining the amount of other metals that a given plant may take up. This is true of several minerals which, by the presence or absence of even a minute quantity to act as a catalyst, will greatly change plant growth. The influence of iron as a catalyst is well illustrated in Figure 18, in which will be seen two beets planted about the middle of May. About a month later, in accordance with my directions, there was placed in the surface of the ground and worked into the surface only a small quantity, about 1 ounce per square foot, of ferric ammonium citrate, one part of the row only being treated and the other part left without treatment. The difference in the growth of the two beets on the two different soils will be seen at once in this figure. When I photographed it, one would get the impression that there had been two different plantings, one later than the other. The gardener pulled some of both kinds to make a fair sample, and the largest beet in each group was selected for photographing and for making chemical analysis. The control, which is the smaller one, weighed 125 gm., beet and top, and the one from the treated soil 454 gm., an increase of 360 per cent. It is exceedingly interesting and significant that this enormous increase occurred without increasing the percentage concentration of calcium, phosphorus and potassium in the dry beet structure. The iron acting as a catalyst made it possible for this beet plant to build more vital structure without any increase in the amount of the other minerals in the soil. The amount of ferric ammonium citrate added was directed to be a tablespoonful for each square foot of surface without putting it close to the plant. This amount is about 1 part to 1,000 parts of the soil. This was done twice; first, at about five weeks after planting and again, ten days later, the same small quantity was added. There was, therefore, only three weeks’ influence to produce the difference that obtained in the two parts of the row.

New Light on The Control of Dental Caries and the Degenerative Diseases | Price-Pottenger

In man’s universal struggle for life, the emphasis has been rapidly passing from the role of the invading organism to the factors which determine the capacity of the host to maintain defense against

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And since we know that comets can be rich in iron, what effect would they have on life on earth? Are they, at the same time, both destroyers and catalysts for life?