THE COMPARATIVE. DIGESTIBILITY OF PALM 

 KERNEL CAKE, EXTRACTED PALM KERNEL 

 MEAL AND UNDECORTICATED COTTONSEED 

 CAKE. 



By CHARLES CROWTHER and HERBERT ERNEST WOODMAN. 



{Institute for Research in Animal Nutrition, The University, Leeds.) 



The interest aroused recently in the utilisation as feeding-stuffs of 

 the residual cake or meal remaining from the extraction of oil from palm 

 kernels has directed attention to the scantiness of our information as 

 to the digestibility of these products. The average digestion-coefficients 

 given in the commonly-used tables of Kellner are based in each case 

 upon only three experiments with two different consignments of material, 

 and showing in certain particulars a very wide range of variation in the 

 individual results. With one exception, where an ox was used, these 

 experiments were carried out with sheep and all date from the 

 'seventies of last century (i, 2). 



This information has since been supplemented by the results of 

 trials made with sheep by Weiniger(3) in 1908, these trials including 

 two "makes" each of the cake and extracted meal respectively. 



In view of the improvements in the methods of obtaining the palm 

 kernel oil and the consequent changes in the general character of the 

 cake and meal it is doubtful whether the results of the older experiments 

 can be regarded as fairly applicable to the products manufactured at 

 the present day. Moreover in view of the fact that the production of 

 palm kernel oil, cake and meal is largely a new industry in this country, 

 it seemed to us desirable that information should be obtained directly 

 as to the digestibility of the British-made products. The experiments 

 summarised below were accordingly planned and carried out in the 

 earlier half of 1916 at The Manor Farm, Garforth (Experimental Farm 

 of the University of Leeds and the Yorkshire Council for Agricultural 

 Education). 



