The Nutrition of the Mouse. VI. Growth Rates of Two Strains on Stock Rations and on Purified Diets *

When we began a study of the nutritional requirements of highly inbred strains of mice, the immediate problem facing us was the selection of a suitable stock ration. Many such feeds are commercially available, but advertising claims would lead one to regard most of them as equally superb. To gain some information on this matter we studied the growth rates of two strains of mice on various stock rations. Since these studies were carried out over a period of several months and since the procedure of maintaining the colony had not been completely standardized, it was deemed advisable to select as point of reference a synthetic diet whose composition could be exactly duplicated month after month. Since the information obtained might be of interest to others dealing with mice, it was decided to report these results.