The growth response of rats to purified diets.

In attempts to design a complete purified diet some observations were made on the rates of weight increase in rats receiving simple basal diets with various supplements. A recent review by Dunn, Murphy & Rockland (1947) on the optimal growth rate of the rat increased our interest in the studies of Zucker, Hall, Young & Zucker (1941 a-c) on the relation of weight to age in the rat and, although the numbers of rats in our groups were small, it appeared to be worth recording their growth performances for the information of others who may be concerned with various problems involved.