Esophageal fisfula samples of tropical forage contained 66.4% more crude protein and 7.7% less crude fiber than the average figure for the clipped pasiure forage. The percentage crude protein of herbage leaves was approximately 55% higher and the perceniage crude fiber was approximately 17% lower than fhe whole plant. The importance of selective grazing by sheep was originally pointed out by Stapledon (1927) and by Fagan (1929) who stated further that cattle were selective as to parts of plants eaten. This conclusion was subsequently investigated and confirmed by Johnstone-Wallace (19 3 7) and Johnstone-Wallace and Kennedy (1944). In 63 grazing trials with cattle (Hardison, Reid, Martin, and Woolfolk, 1954) forage selected showed a higher percentage of crude protein and a lower per-1 The authors wish to express their appreciation to Mr. D. Stewart, District Veterinary Officer, Ankole, for his assistance during the surgical preparation of the fistulas; to Mr. K. W. Harker for botanical assessment of grass communities; to the United States Educational Commission under whose sponsorship D.T.T. worked as a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar and to the Commissioner of Veterinary Services and Animal Industry for permission to publish this paper.

Some techniques of sampling, preserving, drying and for determination of nitrogen content of faeces were investigated.It was found that any sample between 100 and 600 g., made up of 10 g. subsamples taken at random, is satisfactory.Untreated faeces and those preserved by the addition of acetic acid, hydrochloric acid or toluene were dried in a large oven at 80° C. and compared with untreated samples dried at 105° C. for 8 hr. Duplicate samples of those dried at 80° C. were exposed to room temperature for 7 hr. and then dried. When dry-matter and crude-protein contents were compared no significant differences were found between the three groups.

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The use of the percentage of crude protein in grass consumed by cattle as a means of estimating the nutritive value of grass was investigated. Regression equations expressing the correlation between crude protein and the digestibility coefficients of crude protein, organic and dry matter were calculated.A close correlation between the percentage of crude protein in faeces and in consumed grass was found, and a regression equation was calculated.