PROCEEDINGS 
OF THE 
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Volume 4 JANUARY 15, 1918 Number 1 
THE BASAL KATABOLISM OF CATTLE AND OTHER SPECIES 
By Henry Prentiss Armsby, J. August Fries and Winfred Waite 
B RAMAN 
Institute of Animal Nutrition, The Pennsylvania State College 
Communicated by R. Pearl, December 13, 1917 
The basal katabolism of herbivora and especially of ruminants, unlike that 
of man or carnivora, cannot well be measured in the fasting state on account 
of the relatively large amount of feed always present in the alimentary canal 
of the former species. It may, however, be determined indirectly in the 
manner described by the authors 3,2,3 by measuring the total metabolism 
upon two different amounts of the same ration and from these data computing 
the level to which the metabolism would be reduced were all feed withdrawn. 
For example, a steer receiving two different amounts of the same mixed ration , 
gave the following results: 
DRY MATTER EATEN 
DAILY 
DAILY HEAT 
PRODUCTION 
Period 2 
kgms. 
9.146 
4.463 
calories 
16,511 
10,905 
Period 1 
Difference 
4.683 
5,606 
Heat increment per kilogram of dry matter 
1,197 
Evidently, out of the total metabolism of 10905 Calories in Period 1, 1197 
X 4.463 = 5342 Calories may be regarded as the heat production caused by 
the 4.463 kgm. of dry matter eaten while the remainder, 5563 Calories is the 
basal katabolism. 
Our investigations upon the metabolism of cattle, which have been published 
elsewhere 3 afford data for computing in the manner just illustrated the basal 
katabolism of ten unfattened steers in twenty-seven experiments. In view of 
the very striking effect of standing in increasing the metabolism of cattle the 
1 
