Nutrition Calorimeter
Popular Museum at PSU
Modem day concepts of ■
laboratory bring to mind
shiny, sophisticated
equipment of the atomic age,
located in the most modem
of buildings. But one of the
most famous laboratories,
now a museum at The
Pennsylvania State
University, is in a seldom
noticed brick structure at the
rear of Armsby Building on
the College of Agriculture
campus.
This laboratory, housing
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the renowned Armsby
respiration calorimeter, was
a forerunner of today’a
modern laboratories and
helped lay the foundation for
present-day experiments
and feeding practices in
animal nutrition.
From about 1902 to the mid
1950'5, the calorimeter at
Penn State contributed
valuable research findings in
animal and human nutrition.
Now it has been restored and
preserved as a museum and
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memorial to the Penn State
pioneers in animal nutrition
research, including the man
who conceived it, Henry
Prentiss Armsby, who
became director of the
Agricultural Experiment
fetation at Penn State in 1887.
The year 1975 marks the
Centennial for the
agricultural experiment
stations at land-grant
universities such as Penn
State.
It was Dr. Armsby’s belief
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that the total breakdown of
energy (calories) as utilized
by the animal would be a
much better measure of the
real value of the feed than
the simple measure of
digestibility that was
common used at the turn of
the century.
With the calorimeter, Dr.
Armsby conducted his
historic work, much of which
led to the basic principles
involved in energy
metabolism of farm
animals. He demonstrated
that a large portion of the
calorics eaten, sometimes
more than half, was lost
from the animal’s body as
heat. By accounting for this
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low, a> wnl' as the energy
lost In excreta and gases, he
determined the "net or
useful energy of a ration
which could be used by the
animal to produce meat,
milk, etc.
Dr. Armsby wanted to
measure the complete intake
and outgo of the ex
perimental animals, in all
forms, and account for the
final disposition and
distribution of all food eaten.
To permit such
measurements, Armsby’s
calorimeter was built large
enough to hold livestock,
particularly large farm
animals such as cattle.'
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The experiment!, were
carried out in cooperation
with the Bureau of Animal
Induatry of the U.§.
Department of Agriculture.
While Dr. Armsby lived and
during the years after his
death, visitors came from
other countries to sec the
laboratory and unique ap
paratus. Many of the visitors
were at first unaware of the
existence and location of the
Pennsylvania State College,
except as the location of the
Armsby Calorimeter.
The cost of the apparatus
and the small brick building
to house it was about 120,000
in 1896. The ceiling of the
structure is 15 feet high and
the windows are hung with
double sashes to reduce the
influence of outside tem
peratures on the
calorimeter.
The respiration chamber
itself measures 10 feet 4
inches long, 8 feet high, and 6
feet wide, with three double
walls - one of metal and two
of wood, with air spaces
within and between these
walls. Within the chamber,
the animal stall was con
structed so a steer or cow
had room to lie down on a
soft rubber* mat. Sealed
windows enabled the
operator to see inside.
The operator of the
respiration calorimeter was
stationed at a table near the
chamber windows. Within
his reach were ther
mometers, water valves,
switches to control heat,
gauges, and a panel of in
dicator lights. The ex
perimental work was timed
by a master clock. Every
four minutes a light flashed
indicating it was time to take
a series of readings. Every
half hour a bell would ring to
indicate a new series of
observations should begin.
Dr. E. B. Forbes, head of
the Institute of Animal
Nutrition, carried on the
work and experiments in the
years following Dr. Arm
sby’s death in 1921. Dr.
Raymond Swift and
associates continued the
research efforts in his
capacity as head of the
Department of Animal
Nutrition, succeeding Dr.
Forbes.
Dr. Swift said recently of
Annsby’s work, “He sup
plied a broader and more
substantial basis for in
telligent feeding practices
and the foundation for a
sound agricultural policy. He
demonstrated the means for
measuring animal feed on
the basis of its energy
supply.”
About 1939, the last steer
was run through tests in the
chamber. Following World
War H, the respiration ap
paratus was used with sheep.
Humans were studied in the
H’s as a joint venture
between the Department of
Animal Nutrition and the
College of Home Economics,
now the College of Human
Development.
Male students were used in
the human studies to
determine the effects of the
level of protein in the diet.
The men were fed diets
containing the same number
of calories but variable
protein levels. The scientists
found that the level of
protein in the diet did not
influence the overall
utilization of the calories.
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