1. Six groups of four litter-mate female Large White pigs of about 17 kg live weight were allocated according to a 2×2 factorial design in each of two experiments in which rations containing 0 or 750 ppm copper were offered with either 0 and 500 ppm zinc, or 0 and 750 ppm iron. 2. Severity of toxicosis was assessed by determining aspartate transaminase activity in serum, observing the incidence of jaundice and determining the hemoglobin concentration in whole blood and Cu concentration in serum and liver. 3. Addition of 750 ppm Cu to the diet caused toxicity in nine out of twelve animals; it was most severe after about 4 weeks when two-to five-fold increases in serum Cu and aspartate transaminase levels were found and seven pigs were jaundiced. Serum Cu and aspartate transaminase concentrations and degrees of jaundice were apparently interrelated and returned to normal levels after 6 weeks, suggesting adaptation to the high Cu intake. Growth depression and a microcytic hypochromic anaemia persisted. 4. Addition of 500 ppm Zn or 750 ppm Fe in the presence of 750 ppm Cu eliminated jaundice and produced serum Cu and aspartate transaminase concentrations similar to control values after 4 weeks. Only supplementary Fe afforded protection against anaemia. 5. Variability in the response of the pig to Cu supplements could be partly due to variations in the intake of Fe and Zn. The addition of Fe and Zn supplements to pig diets supplemented with Cu would probably reduce the small risk of causing Cu poisoning.

1. Six groups of three (Expt 1) or four (Expt 2) female litter-mate Large White pigs were allocated after weaning to three or four treatments in a randomized block design. 2. In Expt 1, 600ppm copper were added to diets based on maize meal and containing either soya-bean meal, dried skim milk or white-fish meal to provide 16% total crude protein. Severity of Cu toxicosis was assessed by estimating aspartate transaminase (AST) activity in serum, Cu levels in serum and liver, haemoglobin concentration and the incidence of jaundice. 3. Toxicosis was severe only in pigs receiving white-fish meal, but liver Cu and haemoglobin levels were similar in all groups. 4. In Expt 2, 0, 250 or 425 ppm Cu or 425 ppm Cu+150 ppm zinc+150 ppm iron were added to the maize-white-fish meal diet from which the normal Zn and Fe supplements were omitted, creating optimal conditions for development of Cu toxicosis. 5. In the absence of Zn and Fe supplements, 425 ppm Cu caused the development of a severe toxicosis. Simultaneous addition of Zn and Fe supplements eliminated all signs of toxicosis. 6. Under the same conditions 250 ppm Cu caused a mild toxicosis and also exaggerated the slight signs of parakeratosis or Zn deficiency noted in control animals. 7. High calcium levels of 1.7% in a basal diet containing 30 ppm Zn probably induced a marginal Zn deficiency which favoured the development of Cu toxicosis. Differences in calcium level were probably responsible for the apparent effects of the different protein supplements in Expt 1. 8. Occasional occurrences of toxicity in pigs given 250 ppm Cu as a growth stimulant may be partly due to the use of diets low in Zn and Fe and high in calcium. Correcting these factors would extend the safety of Cu supplementation of the commercial diets.

1. Diets containing cottonseed hulls and flaked infrared-toasted soya beans, cottonseed hulls and soya-bean meal or cottonseed hulls alone were fed to three fistulated steers. 2. The diet containing toasted soya-bean flakes was associated with the highest concentrations of total nitrogen, protein N, and ammonia N in the rumen liquor; the diet of cottonseed hulls was associated with the lowest concentrations; and soya-bean meal was associated with intermediate concentrations. 3. Concentrations of residual N were highest in rumen liquor during the first 3 h after feeding when soya-bean meal was given and highest with the other diets between 10 and 12 h after feeding; concentrations of non-protein N were highest with the toasted soya-bean flakes at all times except approximately 2 h after feeding when they were highest with soya-bean meal. 4. The rumen liquor was more acid with soya-bean flakes than with the other diets. 5. The total concentration of volatile fatty acids (m-moles/100 ml) was highest with the diet containing toasted soya-bean flakes, followed by that with soya-bean meal and cottonseed hulls and lowest with the cottonseed-hull diet. The molar percentage of acetic acid was highest with soya-bean meal, whereas its concentration (m-moles/100 ml) was highest with soya-bean flakes. Propionic acid concentrations were highest with the toasted soya-bean flakes. 6. These results indicate that the metabolism in the reticulo- rumen of infrared-toasted whole soya beans given as flakes differs from that of soya-bean meal.

1. Thirty Ayrshire bull calves were used in an experiment to study the effects of diets containing different proportions of concentrates to hay on rumen development at 12 weeks of age. In addition, six milk-fed calves were slaughtered at 3 weeks of age for comparison. 2. Restriction of the maximum daily allowance of concentrates to the lower levels was accompanied by an increase in the voluntary intake of hay, but the performance of calves from 3 to 12 weeks of age was significantly better in calves given the high-concentrate diets. 3. The weight of contents of the reticulo-rumen increased from 0.7 kg at 3 weeks of age in the milk-fed calf to 7.7 kg and 10.9 kg at 12 weeks in calves given the high-concentrate and high-roughage diets respectively. Between 68 and 79% of the total contents of the alimentary tract was contained in the reticulo-rumen of the ruminant calf. The weight of contents of the omasum was significantly greater in calves given 1.36 kg concentrates/day than in those given either 0.45 or 2.27 kg concentrates/day. Equations were developed from the results by which the weight of contents of the various parts of the alimentary tract, and hence empty body weight in the live animal, can be determined from a knowledge of the live weight and daily consumption of concentrates and hay, 4. Volume displacement of the reticulo-rumen tended to increase with increase in the proportion of hay in the diet. The volume displacement of the omasum increased in response to concentrate intake up to a maximum of 1.36 kg/day and thereafter declined, but the nature of the diet had no significant effect on the volume displacement of the abomasum. 5. Calves given the high-concentrate diets had a significantly greater weight of reticulo-rumen tissue at 12 weeks than those given the high-roughage diets. 6. Whereas the thickness of the muscular wall of the rumen did not differ significantly between treatments, there was an increase in the length and density of papillas, particularly in the anterior dorsal and ventral sacs of the rumen, as the intake of concentrates was increased. The results show the marked relationship between the performance of the animal and an advanced stage of development of the rumen papillas.

1. Twenty-four Ayrshire bull calves were reared on either high-concentrate or high-roughage diets to study the effect of diet on the subsequent ability of the calf to digest either concentrates or hay when given alone. The rearing diets were known to produce different types of rumen development. 2. Although there were significant differences between the apparent digestibility coefficients of the high-concentrate and high-roughage rearing diets and between concentrates and hay when given alone, the subsequent ability of the calf to digest either concentrates or hay was unaffected by the type of diet given during the rearing period to 13 weeks of age. 3. The amount of nitrogen retained was significantly greater in calves reared on the high-concentrate diet than in those given the high-roughage diet, but similar amounts of N were retained/100 g gain in body-weight in both groups. After the change in diet, the amount of N retained was significantly greater in calves given concentrates after a rearing diet high in concentrates than in those given concentrates after a rearing diet high in roughage, although in both groups 32% of the N intake was retained. Four of the six calves given hay after a rearing diet high in concentrates were in negative N balance, but only one calf lost weight. Only 19% of the N intake was retained in calves given hay after being reared on a high-roughage diet. 4. The concentration of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the rumen contents rose to reach peak levels at about 3 h after food was offered; the concentration then declined. VFA concentrations tended to be higher in calves given the rearing diet high in concentrates than in those given the one high in roughage, and differences reached significance when the diet was changed to one of all concentrates or all hay, with no obvious carry-over effect of the rearing diet. The proportion of propionic, butyric and higher acids tended to be greater in calves given high levels of concentrates than in those given high levels of hay and also tended to rise, irrespective of diet, as the concentration of total VFA rose. 5. A change of diet at 14 weeks from one high in concentrates to one consisting entirely of hay resulted in a significant decline in the viable counts of streptococci, lactobacilli and coliform organisms in the rumen liquor at 16 weeks. The numbers of bacteria were unaffected by the other dietary changes. 6. The concentration of total VFA in plasma of peripheral blood tended to be higher in calves given the high-roughage or all-hay diets. A fall in the concentration of plasma VFA occurred when calves were changed from a high-roughage diet to an all-concentrate diet and a rise in concentration was observed when an all-hay diet replaced one containing a high proportion of concentrates. 7. During the initial rearing period the mean blood plasma glucose concentration was 92.8 mg/100 ml in calves given the high-concentrate diet, a value significantly higher than the mean value of 64.5 mg/100 ml found in calves given the high-roughage diet. The concentra- tion of plasma glucose rose to 89.8 mg/100 ml in calves changed from the high-roughage diet to concentrates and declined to 81.7 mg/100 ml in calves that were given hay in place of the high-concentrate diet. 8. The weight of contents of the reticulo-nunen and omasum and the volume displacement of these organs were significantly greater in calves given hay as the sole diet during the last 3 weeks of life than in those given concentrates during this period. The weight of tissue forming the reticulo-rumen was significantly greater in calves given the all- concentrate diet during the last 3 weeks of life than in those given only hay during this period. It was apparent that the rumen papillas developed rapidly in those calves given concentrates as the sole diet for a period of 3 weeks after a rearing diet high in roughage, whereas there was a marked retrogression of papillas when concentrates were withdrawn from the diet. 9. It is concluded that the ruminant calf adapts readily to marked dietary changes, with the result that differences in the size and structure of the ruminant stomach, which have been shown to occur when different types of diet are given, have no permanent effect on the ability of the calf to digest diets of concentrates or hay.

1. The effect of reducing the hay and of increasing the proportions of concentrate and flaked maize in the diet of cows on the secretion of milk fat and its component fatty acids and on the proportions of volatile fatty acids in the rumen liquor has been studied. 2. The low-hay diet caused a fall in the milk fat content to about half of the values in the initial control period and the secretion of all the major fatty acids in the milk was reduced. The general pattern of change in the proportions of rumen VFA during the change to the low-hay diet was a decrease in acetic acid, an increase in propionic and n-valeric acids, relatively little change in n-butyric acid and also an increase in the concentration of lactic acid. Approximately 60% of the variation in milk fat content during the change of diet was associated with the increase in propionic acid. 3. In cows established on the low-hay diet there were marked variations in the relative proportions of acetic and propionic acids, but there was no related change in milk fat content. On return of the animals to the high-hay diet, recovery of the initial proportions of acetic, propionic and valeric acids occurred within about 4 days but the recovery in milk fat content was not complete until 2–3 weeks had elapsed. 4. Although the intraruminal infusion of acetic acid in cows on the low-hay diet caused increases and decreases respectively in the molar proportions of acetic and propionic acids in the rumen, an increase in milk fat content was observed amounting to only one-quarter of the loss associated with the transfer to the low-hay diet; therem was no characteristic pattern of increase in the yields of the individual fatty acids of milk fat. No consistent effects of intraruminal infusions of butyric acid, in cows on the low-hay diet, on the yield of milk fat or of the individual fatty acids were observed.

1. Two experiments were conducted to examine the effect of grinding and pelleting roughages on the voluntary intake of food, digestibility, time of retention of food in the digestive tract, amounts of digesta in the recitulo-rumen and eating and ruminating behaviour of adult, non-lactating, non-pregnant cows. The first experiment was with artificially dried grass and the second with oat straw; also, with a diet of ground, pelleted oat straw the effect was studied of giving a daily intraruminal infusion of 150 g urea. The size of the particles of the ground roughages are given. 2. The mean voluntary intakes of long and ground dried grass were similar, the voluntary intake of ground, pelleted oat straw was 26% greater than that of long straw and the daily infusion of urea increased the voluntary intake of ground, pelleted oat straw by 53%. 3. The digestibility of the ground roughages was lower than that of the long roughages, the lower digestibility of the ground roughages was due mainly to the poor digestibility of crude fibre in the reticulo-rumen. The rate of disappearance of cotton thread placed in the ventral sac of the rumen was slower with ground than with long roughages. 4. The mean times of retention of ground roughages were shorter than those of long roughages when equal and restricted amounts of each food were given; with food offered ad lib. there was little difference between the mean times of retention of long and ground roughages in the alimentary tract. 5. On average, the mean amounts of digesta dry matter in the reticulo-rumen immediately after a meal were about the same with long and ground dried grass, with long and ground oat straw the amounts of dry matter were similar, but when the intraruminal infusion of urea was given the amount of dry matter increased by 49%. 6. The rate of eating (min/kg food) ground, pelleted roughages was much faster than that with long roughages; when the cows received ground roughage rumination did not occur but during short periods triple reticular contractions were seen. 7. The relationship between the voluntary intake of food, the amount of digesta in the reticulo-rumen and the rate of disappearance of digesta from the alimentary tract is discussed.

1. Lipids of the heart muscle, skeletal muscle and liver were investigated in healthy calves and in calves suffering from enzootic muscular dystrophy with special regard to the fatty acid composition of the phospholipids and triglycerides. 2. Healthy young calves and older calves differed in the fatty acid composition of these tissues. The tissue phospholipids of healthy young calves contained less linoleic acid and more monounsaturated fatty acids than those of older calves. Of the saturated fatty acids, palmitic acid content tended to be higher in young calves and stearic acid content tended to be higher in older calves. 3. The stearic acid content of tissue triglycerides was lower in young calves than in older calves. 4. Fatty aldehydes were present in the phospholipid fraction of the heart muscle and of the skeletal muscle. Stearaldehyde content was higher in older calves than in young calves. 5. In calves with muscular dystrophy definite changes in the fatty acid composition of the phospholipids were found. In young calves the content of linoleic acid was higher and that of monounsaturated fatty acids lower in tissues of diseased animals than in the corresponding tissues of healthy controls. Both in young and older calves arachidonic acid content was higher in the degenerated areas of the skeletal muscle than in the healthy controls. 6. Possible relationships between the tocopherol and arachidonic acid contents of the tissues are discussed. 7. In the triglyceride fraction the differences between diseased and healthy tissues were less significant than in the phospholipid fraction in young calves. In older calves no significant differences were found. 8. An increase in lipid content was found in the degenerated areas of the skeletal muscle and a decrease in livers from diseased animals. An increase in free cholesterol was found in the degenerated areas of the skeletal muscle. The triglyceride content of livers from diseased animals was decreased. The relative proportion of phospholipids was less in skeletal muscle and higher in liver of diseased animals than in the corresponding tissues of healthy controls.

1. Measurements were made of the proteases, amylase and lipase of the pancreas and of the corresponding intestinal, caecal and colonic contents of germ-free and conventional rats. 2. Little difference was found between the concentration of the enzymes in the germ-free and conventional rats. 3. The results indicate that intestinal bacteria had only a minor part in determining the fate of the pancreatic enzymes in the contents of the intestine, caecum and colon. 4. The enzyme concentrations decreased caudally. The proteases were the most stable, and the amylase was the least stable; the stability of lipase was intermediate between that of the proteases and amylase. 5. Evidence of bacterial activity in the caecal contents of conventional rats was seen in the greater percentage of protein nitrogen and in the lower percentage of the non-protein nitrogen

1. An experiment was carried out to study more precisely by nitrogen balance techniques the intake of digestible crude protein required for maintenance in the mature non-pregnant ewe. 2. Four isocaloric diets supplying adequate energy, approximately 90 kcal/kg W0.73 metabolizable energy daily, and differing in crude protein content were each given to eight individually penned ewes. The diets provided 2.4, 4.9, 7.7 and 9.5 g digestible N per ewe per day. 3. The average weight of the ewes was 57.4 kg. They were rationed according to metabolic body-weight (W0.73) at a rate of approximately 800 g dry matter per 50 kg ewe per day for a 4-week period before N balance studies were carried out over an 8-day collection period. 4. The mean apparent digestibilities of dry matter were 67.3±0.8, 68.1±0.7, 70.9±1.0 and 68.8±0.8 respectively. The apparent digestibilities of N, increasing with increasing N intake, were 30.6±2.1, 46.3±2.1, 58.2±0.6 and 61.5±1.3 respectively. 5. The intake of apparently digested N required for maintenance was calculated in three ways, from the regressions of apparently digested N on N retention or on urinary N and from the underlying relationship between N retention and urinary N. The estimates so obtained were respectively 0.185±0.037, 0.148±0.020 and 0.150±0.020 g N per kg W0.78 per day, corresponding to 1.16, 0.93 and 0.94 g apparently digestible crude protein per kg W0.73 per day. 6. Metabolic faecal N, determined by the extrapolation method, was 0.629±0.047 g/100 g dry matter consumed. 7. The results are discussed in relation to practical feeding standards and other research findings.

1. A test was carried out simultaneously in Shinfield, Reading, England, and Columbus, Ohio, USA, using typical British and American rations for growing pigs. The rations were compounded in their country of origin; half of each consignment was used at the home station and the other half shipped to the overseas station. 2. Both restricted feeding and ad lib. feeding methods were used at each station. 3. A similar pattern of results was obtained at Shinfield and Columbus. Pigs receiving the American ration, which was higher in energy content, grew faster and required less feed per kg live-weight gain than pigs receiving the British ration. The higher energy content of the ration was probably responsible also for the poorer carcass quality of the pigs receiving the American ration, particularly the high fat content. The comparison between restricted feeding and ad lib. feeding was not affected by the type of ration. Restricted feeding resulted in slower growth rate, slightly better efficiency of feed conversion and considerably better carcass quality.

1. Thirty wether sheep comprising five of each of the following breeds, Scottish Blackface, Welsh Mountain, Cheviot, Suffolk Down, Kent and Hampshire Down, were subjected to a standard series of experiments in which energy metabolism was measured during fasting and at the maintenance level of nutrition, and in which maximal voluntary intake of food was measured and the metabolic responses to the stress of wind (10 miles/h) and rain (1 cm/h) were determined. 2. The weight of an individual sheep at the maintenance level of feeding was 8.4% greater and when given feed ad lib. 22% greater than its weight when fasted. These increases largely reflected changes in the weight of gut contents. 3. When fasting metabolism was expressed per kg weight raised to the power 0.73, the small Welsh Mountain sheep had the lowest metabolism of 54.1 kcal/kg W0.73 and the Cheviot sheep the highest of 64.4 kcal/kg W0.73. Overall breed differences were statistically significant (0.05 > P > 0.01). Evidence collected in the experiments, however, suggests that fasting metabolism was more closely related to body-weight raised to the power 0.85. When this basis for breed comparison was used, differences in fasting metabolism between breed groups disappeared. 4. No differences between breed groups in the proportion of the energy they ingested which was lost in faeces, in urine or as methane, were found when they were given food at a maintenance level. The Welsh Mountain sheep, however, had the smallest heat production at the maintenance level when expressed as kcal/kg W0.73. 5. No differences between breed groups in the apparent digestibility of the energy of feed given ad lib. were found. The voluntary intake increased with weight of sheep. When the amount of feed energy consumed and the energy apparently digested were related to the determined maintenance requirement for apparently digested energy of each sheep, no differences between breed groups were found. The efficiency of feed utilization by these breed groups of sheep when given feed ad lib. was the same. 6. It was found that the Hampshire sheep were the most resistant to the effect of wind on their heat production, and the Welsh Mountain sheep the least. The Scottish Blackface was most resistant to the effect of rain on heat production. 7. It is concluded that metabolic differences between different breeds of sheep differing widely in size are quite small, but that breeds differ markedly in their resistance to environmental stresses caused by wind and rain, and that these largely reflect the characteristic fleece types of the breeds concerned.

1. An experiment was conducted in which sodium and calcium salts of acetic, propionic and butyric acids were given to groups of eight lambs as additions to basal diets of hay and concentrate. Two control groups were included, one group which received only the basal ration and one high-level control group which received sufficient additional concentrate to achieve growth rates greater than those of the groups receiving volatile fatty acid (VFA) salts. 2. With rumen-fistulated sheep, the effect on the rumen VFA composition and the pH of the rumen liquor, of diets supplemented with VFA salts given twice daily, was also investigated and compared with the effect of the basal diet alone. 3. The lambs receiving the VFA salts grew faster and achieved significantly greater empty body and carcass weights than those receiving only the basal rations; the high-level control group had significantly greater empty body and carcass weights than groups receiving salts of VFA. 4. There were no differences approaching significance in the efficiency of the three VFA in promoting gains in live weight, empty body weight and carcass weight. There appeared to be equal efficiency of utilization of the gross energy of the VFA and of the calculatedmetabolizable energy of the concentrates. 5. The effect of twice-daily feeding on the rumen VFA composition was that the concentration of the supple- mentary acid was greatest shortly after feeding, and about 5–6 h after feeding the effect was difficult to detect. There were no differences in the pH of the rumen liquor between animals given diets containing VFA salts and those given the basal ration.

1. In two experiments with growing and fattening lambs sodium and calcium salts of volatile fatty acids (VFA) were added to a basal diet of hay and concentrate. In Expt I the lambs were approaching maturity, and the utilization of salts of acetic, propionic and butyric acids was studied. In Expt 2 the animals were younger; the experimental groups received acetate or propionate, and half of them were implanted with hexoestrol. The chemical composition of the carcass was assessed with the loin as a representative joint. The influence of the VFA salts on the digestibility of the basal ration was also investigated. 2. In both experiments the lambs receiving supplements of VFA salts grew faster, and their empty body weights and carcass weights were significantly greater than in lambs receiving the basal diet. 3. The energy derived from acetate and propionate was utilized more efficiently to promote carcass gains than the calculated metabolizable energy above maintenance of the basal ration. There were no differences in the utilization of energy from the different VFA, except in Expt I in which butyrate was utilized somewhat less efficiently than acetate and propionate. 4. Hexoes-trol implantation resulted in faster growth, and highly significantly greater empty body weights and carcass weights. There was no evidence of an interaction between the VFA and hexoestrol treatments. 5. There were no differences between the VFA treatments in the composition of the carcass gains as judged by the composition of the loins, except in Expt I in which lambs receiving acetate tended to be the fattest. The coefficient of variation in loin fat percentages was large in both experiments, but, in Expt I in which both ewe and wether lambs were used, the coefficient of variation among the wether lambs was four times that of the ewe lambs. 6. Additions of VFA salts to the diet resulted in a significant increase in the excretion of ash.

1. Fifty-six albino rats were distributed between four dietary groups in fourteen randomized blocks of four animals. Each block consisted of siblings and each member of the block received a different dietary treatment. 2. The diets permitted normal growth and the only variations were: group I contained 67% sucrose, group 2 an equivalent amount of uncooked maize starch and groups 3 and 467 % of finely ground Thin Wine and Morning Coffee biscuits respectively. 3. After 31 days on the diet, the animals were killed and assessed for dental caries. The rats of group I had significantly more caries than the other groups. The rats of group 2 had significantly less caries than the other groups. The biscuit diets produced significantly less caries than the sucrose diet, but significantly more caries than the starch diet.

1. Loss of NH3 N from faeces and urine between voiding and collection and also losses in expired air, eructed gas and from the skin of wether sheep 2–3 years old given a ration of 400, 700, 1000 or 1300 g dried grass/day have been measured. 2. Losses of NH3 from faeces were negligible, and the loss from urine depended on the temperature and pH at which it was collected. Collection at neutral pH resulted in losses of up to 9.7% of the urinary N as NH3 gas if an acid trap were not incorporated in the collection apparatus. The average loss of N on collection of urine at pH values below 2.0 was 1.33% when the ambient temperature was between 25 and 28°, and 0.97% when it was between 15 and 18°. 3. Very little NH3 was lost in expired air or eructed gas, but when total NH3 loss other than that from urine was determined, an average loss of 3.14±0.55 mg N/kg body-weight per day was found. This loss was independent of food intake and larger than the loss of N in suint which was estimated to range from 0.59 to 2.55 mg N/kg body-weight per day with the rations given. It was concluded that the larger losses found in some experiments were due to splashing of urine on to the fleece during collection and subsequent loss of this urine N as NH3. It was shown that the losses of NH3 N due to errors in urine collection and failure to consider dermal losses ranged between 1.2 and 2.6% of the total determined losses in faeces and urine for sheep fed on a variety of diets and that the losses varied inversely with intake of N.

1. For 26 weeks, adult male rats were fed on diets containing about 80 % of carbohydrate, given as dextrose, fructose, liquid glucose, or sucrose; their performance was compared with that of rats receiving a standard laboratory cubed diet (41 B) containing 60 % of carbohydrate, mainly as starch. 2. More of diet 41 B was eaten than of any of the diets containing sugars, but only with dextrose was the mean body-weight gain significantly lower than with diet 41 B. 3. No significant differences in body length or girth were produced by the different diets. 4. Compared with those of rats given diet 41B, plasma cholesterol levels were significantly in- creased by fructose and sucrose and to a lesser extent by dextrose, but not by liquid glucose. 5. Compared with those given diet 41 B, the rats given fructose had heavier hearts, kidneys and livers, those given sucrose had heavier hearts and livers, and those given dextrose had heavier hearts. Those given fructose had the heaviest kidneys and livers, and heavier hearts than those given liquid glucose. The organ weights of those given liquid glucose and those given diet 41 B were not significantly different. 6. Compared with the values on diet 41B, carcass and liver fat were both significantly increased by sucrose and fructose but not by dex- trose or liquid glucose. With fructose, liver fat was almost double that with dextrose or liquid glucose. 7. Dry-matter contents of whole carcass and liver followed substantially the same pattern as did the fat contents. 8. Liver protein content was significantly lower on the 80 % carbohydrate diets. The reductions were greatest with fructose and sucrose.

1. Nine experiments, each with one of six sheep with cannulated rumens given a constant diet of dried grass, were made in which oleic, linoleic or linolenic acid was infused into the rumen and energy and lipid metabolism were measured. One experiment was made in which palmitic acid was given. 2. Judged by changes in the composition of isolated fatty acids, the unsaturated fatty acids were hydrogenated in the rumen. An increase in the excretion of lipid in the faeces occurred when the unsaturated acids were given. The heat of combustion of the faeces increased by 12.6±3.0 kcal/100 kcal fatty acid, of which 94% was accounted for by the additional lipid. 3. Methane production fell when the unsaturated fatty acids were infused, the decreases being 13.8±1.6 kcal CH4;/I00 kcal oleic acid, 14.2±1.5 kcal CH4/100 kcal linoIeic acid and 16.4±1.3 kcal CH4/100 kcal Iinolenic acid. The introduction of a double bond into an n-alkyl acid was calculated to reduce methane production by 0.24±0.09 moles/mole double bond. 4. Because the depression of methane production on infusing the fatty acids exceeded the increase in the heat of combustion of the faeces, the metabolizable energy of the fatty acids was 104.1±5.3% of their heat of combustion. 5. The efficiencies with which the fatty acids were used to promote energy retention were 74.6±5.7% for oleic acid, 79.2±2.0 % for linoleic acid and 82.5±3.0% for linolenic acid. These efficiencies agreed with those noted in experiments by others with rats, horses and pigs given glycerides, but were higher than those noted by others when glycerides were added to the diets of ruminants.

1. The intake and excretion of energy, total nitrogen, fat and carbohydrate by twenty baby boys aged about a fortnight were measured over 3 days. 2. Ten of the babies received breast milk which had been expressed from their mothers, the remaining ten received one of two preparations based on dried cow's milk, with either lactose or sucrose added. 3. The intake of energy, protein and carbohydrate was greater in the ten babies receiving the cow's milk preparations. 4. The urinary excretion and retention of N was greater in the babies fed on the cow's milk preparations. 5. The absolute excretion of N in the faeces was simiIar whatever the diet, but the excretion of fat was less and the excretion of carbohydrate greater for babies having breast milk. 6. The calorie:N ratio in the urine was 5.8 kcal/g urinary N in those receiving breast milk and 4.8 kcal/g N in those fed on the cow's milk preparations. The value for the adult is 7.9. 7. Calorie conversion factors have been calculated which are more appropriate for milk diets for babies than the factors of Atwater which were designed for mixed diets for adults.