Concerning the Gowth of Chickens Raised Without Grit

The studies described herein were made as a part of an investigation now in progress at the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station concerning the mechanism and function of the various organs of digestion of the White Leghorn chicken. The authors have published results1 concerning the function of grit in the gizzard of hens which are consistent with the opinion that the addition of grit is necessary only to hasten the digestion of laying hens during the production of a large number of eggs. The opinion that grit is unnecessary for the normal digestion of fowls was expressed at that time and justified by the fact that there is not an instance in the animal kingdom known to the authors where an external object is essential for normal physiological processes. They have further shown2 that the absence of grit from the diet of hens confined during the first 8 months of their . . .