this proved to be impracticable. In all, four such trials were made 

 in addition to those included in the respiration calorimeter experi- 

 ments mentioned in the next paragraph, viz., in December, 1904, 

 July, 1905, November, 1905, and June, 1906. 



During each of the three winters covered by the investiga- 

 tion, four experiments were made on each animal by means of the 

 respiration calorimeter in order to determine the percentage availa- 

 bility of the energy of the feeds consumed. During the first winter, 

 that of 1905, the feeding stuffs used differed from those employed 

 during the ordinary feeding. In the succeeding two winters, the 

 grain feeds used were the same, only the amounts differing. The 

 respiration calorimeter experiments, of course, included determi- 

 nations of the digestibility of the rations and of the nitrogen bal- 

 ances of the animals. 



Digestive Capacity. 



The assertion is often heard that the typical beef animal has a 

 greater digestive capacity than the scrub. What is really meant 

 by this assertion in most cases is that the former has a greater 

 power of assimilation. If we use the word digestive in the strict 

 sense as referring to the percentages of the several nutrients con- 

 sumed which are resorbed from the digestive tract and taken up 

 into the blood, the idea that there are important individual dif- 

 ferences among animals in this respect has not been borne out 

 by experiments in the past and is not supported by these investi- 

 gations. 



Digestibility of Hay. The results of the several digestion ex- 

 periments may be most simply compared on the basis of the per- 

 centage of digestibility of the total dry matter, the total energy 

 and the protein. Table I shows the average percentage digestibility 

 of these ingredients of the hay fed in each of three years covered 

 by the investigation, the figures being in each case the average of 

 two trials. 



(5) 



