Pulmonary tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases, cirrhosis and primary cancer of the liver are very common among the African people whose diet consists largely of mealie-meal porridge and sour milk. This diet fed to normal rats (40-50 g.) ad lib. caused no acute avitaminosis, but after 14 mos. there was nodular cirrhosis of the liver, enlarged heart, inflammatory lesions of the lung, abundant fat, thickened skull, loose teeth, enlarged pituitary, atrophied thyroids and adrenals, and other disorders.