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.

The semi-micro technique of Bredon has several advantages over the standard method of the Fertilisers R: Feeding Stuffs Regulations. The former gives satisfactory results and, with proper equipment, can give four times as many crude fibre determinations as the latter in the same time.After application of the Dougall corrections for altitude, results by the semi-micro method showed comparatively small errors as compared with those by the official method (determinations at 3750 and 6800 f t . altitude), and are acceptable for routine analyses.

The theory of conducting trials of apparent digestibility is simple but the practical side is expensive and requires well-trained staff. In Uganda there is a very pronounced shortage of skilled technical staff and, because of this, equipment used must be as simple as possible to avoid errors of handling and analysis of herbage and faeces. The series of investigations carried out by the authors was planned to simplify the techniques and equipment used without decreasing accuracy to any significant extent. This paper deals with the simplified apparatus which was finally used.

A method of combining dried faeces in order to reduce analyses of samples was investigated.The effect of the length of digestibility trials and the number of animals required in relation to accuracy have been investigated and discussed.As a result of our investigations the following procedure was adopted.

The daily intake of dry matter by zebu steers between 400 and 600 lb. live weight when fed hay and hay-concentrate mixture was investigated and found to be 2·0–2·2% of body weight.Preliminary results of the nutritional values of Rhodes grass and Star grass hays are discussed and these suggest that the local zebu cattle require less starch equivalent for maintenance than do European cattle in temperate climates.