The object of this series of investigations is to secure detailed information concerning the composition, digestibility and nutritive value of pasture grass in its different stages of growth. The results which were obtained in these respects by cutting the herbage of the experimental pasture plot at weekly and at fortnightly intervals have been described in previous communications. During the season of the present experiment, the trials have been carried a stage further by the adoption of a system of cutting at 3-weekly intervals. The main findings of the 1928 investigation are recorded below:(1) Chemical composition of 3-weekly pasture cuts: The adoption of a more lenient system of cutting at 3-weekly intervals led to a slight lowering of the percentage of crude protein in the grass and a slight raising of the percentages of crude fibre and N-free extractives. On the other hand, no corresponding effect was noted in respect of the ether extract, SiO2-free ash, lime and phosphate, the percentages of these constituents being very similar in the weekly and 3-weekly pasture samples obtained in 1928. The falling off of the percentage of crude protein in the 1928 3-weekly-mown herbage, as compared with the weekly and fortnightly-mown herbage of 1925 and 1927 respectively, was not wholly the consequence of the more lenient system of cutting, but was also due in part to the protein-depressing influence of the droughty periods which were experienced in the 1928 season.

The recognition of the protein-concentrated and highly digestible character of young leafy pasturage has led to proposals for conserving such herbage by artificial drying for feeding to farm animals during winter as a substitute for oil cakes. Before contemplating the adoption of such proposals on a commercial scale, however, it was necessary to demonstrate that young pasturage could be dried artificially without losing its highly digestible nature.That this is possible is clear from the results brought forward in this communication. It has been shown that young grass does not suffer any depression in respect of digestibility when it is dried (a) at the temperature of steam, or (b) by direct heat in a kiln.

The heavy yields of sugar beet tops which remain on the land after the removal of the sugar beet crop may be utilised in two ways. They may either be ploughed into the land as manure, or they may be fed to stock. Where large areas of sugar beet are grown, and where in consequence it may not be possible to secure consumption of the whole of the tops before decomposition of the material sets in, a combination of these two methods of utilisation may be resorted to. In other words, the feeding of the tops may be continued so long as they remain wholesome, after which the remainder may be ploughed into the land.In view of the present importance of the sugar beet crop in English agriculture, and the urgent necessity of making the fullest possible use of all the various by-products arising in connection with this crop both in the field and in the factory, it is of importance that data should be available relating to the value of sugar beet tops both as a feeding stuff and as a manure. The purpose of the present communication is to detail the results of investigations which have been carried out with a view to securing such information.