666 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



food passes from the third to the fourth stomach (abomasum), and 

 especially from the latter into the small intestines, the percentage of 

 cellulose falls very low, which is connected chiefly with the admixture 

 of the intestinal juice but also probabl,v with the solution of cellulose. 

 From the middle of the small intestines the percentage of cellulose 

 again increases, this increase continuing to the excretion of the feces, 

 except in the blind intestine, where the increase is prevented by the 

 more energetic decomposition of the cellulose, which exceeds the 

 absorption of all the dissolved parts of the food. 



With tender or green food the results were somewhat diilerent. 

 Thus, in the case of one sheep fed green oats the percentage of cellu- 

 lose in the paunch remained unchanged, and, what is especially impor- 

 tant, even on passing into the third stomach the percentage of cellulose 

 was not lowered but increased slightly. The amount of the other com- 

 ponents of the fodder, except the starch, also remained practically 

 unchanged. In connection with this circumstance the following is 

 noted: When ha}" (clover and timothy) was fed, judging from the 

 feces 72 hours were required for the passage of the fodder through 

 the alimentar}" canal, and it is assumed that the fodder remained in the 

 paunch for 48 to 54 hours, while the remaining 24 hours, or possibly 

 only 18 hours, were required for the passage of the small intestines 

 and the blind intestine. On the other hand, when grass was fed, the 

 fodder remained in the alimentary canal not longer than 36 hours, of 

 which only 12 to 18 hours were required in the paunch. As to the 

 changes of the cellulose content in the parts of the alimentary canal 

 beyond the third stomach, no difference is observed when feeding with 

 hay and with grass. 



In herbivora, other than ruminants, the changes of the cellulose 

 content are different. Experiments were made with rabbits, of which 

 3 were fed with haj^, 1 with green grass, 2 with peas, and 3 with hay. 

 The latter were young rabbits. The experiments showed concordantly 

 that here the main part of the cellulose is decomposed in the blind 

 intestine. 



In the foregoing experiments onh" the comparative amounts of cel- 

 lulose in the various parts of the alimentary canal were considered. 

 The absolute amounts of cellulose digested were studied in an experi- 

 ment with a horse and a sheep. The experiment with the sheep lasted 

 6 days, 965 gm. of meadow hay per day being consumed. The horse 

 received an average of 18 lbs, of hay per day. The digestibility was 

 as follows: 



