NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
DENTITION IN INDIAN CATTLE
By H. K. LALL, B.SC., M.R.C.V.S., Assistant Animal Husbandry Commissioner with the Government
of India, New Delhi
(Received for publication on 8 October 1947)
I NDIAN farmers, veterninarians and others when ageing cattle, have not employed the western stan-
dards but have modified them in accordance with experience. There exist no easily available
recorded data concerning what these modifications should be, and it was, therefore, decided with the
help of government farm staff to make observations anew and to record them forthwith. What
follows is the result of that work.
The permanent dentition of the ox consists of the following teeth 0033 / 4033 . The temporary or
milk dentition is 0030 / 4030.
Observation has been made of the teeth of individuals in various age groups in most of the import-
ant breeds of the country, viz. Hariana (from Bengal, Hissar, Quaderabad and the United Provinces
districts), Sindhi, Sahiwal (from the Punjab and Delhi), Hallikars, Ongoles, Kanngyam, Amritmahal
(from Bombay and Mysore). Gir, Dangi, Kherrigahr and Ponwar. The number of animals examined,
in various ages has varied in each case according to the facilities or the number of the animals avail-
able at the time of the examination, but on account of the similarity in the samples, statistically,
it is considered that the number of animals examined are enough and can be taken to represent the
population of that breed as a whole. Teeth were examined at one month (in some cases), three
months, six months, one year, one and a half years, two years (in some cases), two and a half
years, three years, four years, four and a half years (in some cases), five years and six years. The
dentition observed at each of these age periods probably represents the dentition at the age
specified plus or minus one month because of possible inaccuracy in the dates of birth or because of
the fact that in some farms the animals are aged according to the quarter of the year in which they
are born.
The following Table I illustrates the order of eruption of the teeth of individuals of the Hariana
breed.
TABLE I
Eruption of the various teeth in Hariana Cattle
Time of eruption
At 1 month . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 3 months . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 6
„ . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 9
„ . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 1 year . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 1½ years . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 2 „ . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 2½ „ . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 3 „ . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 4
„ . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 5 „ . . . . . . . . . . . .
„ 6
„ . . . . . . . . . . . .
Incisors
1
†
†
†
†
† †
*
*
*
*
*
*
2
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
*
*
*
*
3
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
*
*
*
4
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
*
*
Molars
1
†
†
†
†
†
†
*
*
*
*
*
*
2
†
†
†
†
†
†
*
*
*
*
*
*
3
†
†
†
†
†
†
†
*
*
*
*
*
4
†
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
5
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
6
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Permanent dentition.
† Temporary dentition.
37
I
MARCH
1948]
H. K.
LALL
39
The horns give no indication of the age in adult buffaloes as individual rings cannot be definitely
distinguished.
It is ovserved that the teeth in our cattle erupt at a later stage than those of English ones. In
common English cattle brought up under ranch conditions, according to Miller and Robertson [1937]
the first pair of incisors is up at one year and nine months to two years, the second at two and a half
years, the third at three years and the fourth at three and a half years, to four years. In the case
of molars the fourth permanent molar arises at six months, the fifth at one year and three months
to one and a half years, the sixth at two years, the first and second at two and a half years, and
the mouth is complete at three and a half years, to four years. Robertson and Miller's figures for
ranch cattle and Ellenberger and Baum's figures indicating the ages of eruption of permanent teeth
for breeds maturing late, correspond to some extent with those obtained in the case of our cattle,
and are given in the Table II.
TABLE II
Permanent dentition
Teeth
First Incisor
.
.
.
.
Second
„ . . .
Third
„
.
.
.
Fourth
„ . . . .
First molar „ . . . .
Second
„ . . . .
Third
„
.
.
.
.
Fourth
„ . . . .
Fifth
„
.
.
.
.
Sixth
„
.
.
.
.
Indian
cattle
Month
24—30
36
48
54—60
24
24
36
6
18
24
Foreign cattle (vide Miller
an Robertson)
Highly
bred
stock
Commonly
bred
stock
Months
21
27
33
39
24
24
33
6
12—15
21
21—24
30
36
42—48
30
30
36
6
15—18
24
Ranch
cattle
24
30—36
42
54—60
24
24
33
6
12—15
21
Breeds maturing late (vide Ellen-
berger and Baum)
Early
Medium
Months
17
22
32
36
24
24
28
5
15
24
21
27
36
45
26
26
31
5
16
26
Late
25
32
40
52
28
28
34
6
18
28
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks are due to the various provincial Directors and Livestock Officers for sending data from
the provincial farms, and to Lt. Col. J. Clabby for supplying information on buffaloes collected by
Capt. Hayward, and to Mr Mathur for collecting data from the Indian Agriculture Research Institute
herd, New Delhi.
REFERENCE
Miller, W. C., Robertson, E. D. S. (1937). Practical Animal Husbandry.
42
The Digestible Nutrients of certain Cereal Grains [VOL. XVIII, PART I,
The total nitrogen was estimated by the Kjeldahl method while the ether extract, fibre and ash
were determined by the A.O.A.C. procedure. Bose's method [1944] was used for uric acid and
ammoniacal nitrogen was obtained by following Van Slykes aeration method using a mixture of
methylene blue and methylred [deWasselow] as indicator [Cole 1933].
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The composition of the grains used is given in Table I and the digestibility figures in Table II.
Of the five cereals studied only two viz., barley and. bajra (bulrush millet) have been studied by pre-
vious workers Fraps [1928] and Halnan [1928] and the results are compared in Table III. Table IV
contains an abstract of the results and the values for digestible protein and starch equivalent. The
starch equivalent was calculated in the usual manner using the normal figures.
Individual variation.
With cheena there is little variation in the digestible coefficients among individual birds, except
for crude fibre which is not of much importance in poultry. In the case of ragi the digestibility
figures for protein vary fairly widely while those for crude fibre are erratic as in other cases. Barley
showed a comparatively wide variation in the digestibility coefficients of crude fat and nitrogen free
extract. This may be due to the fact that barley is not very palatable to poultry and the food
intake and faecal output are both irregular. The individual figures for bajra and jowar tally except
in respect of crude fibre. The crude fibre of jowar does not seem to be digested at all.
TABLE I
Percentage composition of experimental feeds
Feed
Cheena
.
.
.
.
.
Ragi
.
.
.
.
.
.
Barley
.
.
.
.
.
Bajra
.
.
.
.
.
.
Jowar
.
.
.
.
.
.
Moisture
per cent
11.68
12.26
12.12
12.50
13.53
Crude
protein
per cent
10.09
9.83
11.24
8.33
6.19
Crude
fat
per cent
1.20
1.47
1.19
4.10
2.01
N.F.E.
per cent
65.28
70.21
66.20
72.02
74.82
Crude
fibre
per cent
8.17
3.32
5.52
1.08
1.65
Ash
per cent
3.58
2.91
3.73
1.97
1.80
TABLE II
Digestibility coefficients of the feeds
Feed
Cheena
.
.
.
{
Bird No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Average
Organic
matter
per cent
81.60
80.89
79.89
80.64
80.72
79.68
79.22
80.38
Crude
protein
per cent
84.28
85.61
84.37
86.52
87.04
78.93
77.47
83.32
Crude
fat
per cent
76.98
71.20
76.63
81.32
80.46
78.34
74.08
77.00
Crude
fibre
per cent
11.31
5.18
10.47
9.67
5.49
6.04
4.35
7.50
N.F.E.
per cent
90.29
87.96
88.33
89.17
89.58
89.33
89.21
89.12
MARCH 1948]
R. MUKHERJEE AND D.
PARTHASARATHY
43
TABLE II—contd.
Feed
Ragi
.
.
.
.
{
Barely
.
.
.
.
{
Bajra
.
.
.
{
Jowar
.
.
.
.
.
{
Bird No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Average
1
2
3
4
5
Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Average
Organic
matter
per cent
86.58
86.72
82.43
83.41
83.09
81.95
84.03
76.52
79.06
76.86
75.97
85.19
78.72
85.02
87.48
87.02
89.06
88.51
86.04
71.98
88.28
88.12
87.12
88.31
85.98
88.78
88.00
87.80
Crude
protein
per cent
90.08
88.57
70.20
82.60
68.69
66.55
77.77
72.38
71.27
80.79
72.62
82.06
75.82
93.40
83.90
81.68
87.10
89.45
87.04
87.10
99.74
99.68
72.38
89.28
93.74
93.48
88.90
91.03
Crude
fat
per cent
68.03
64.18
70.31
67.20
71.24
68.03
68.16
16.35
11.59
21.41
33.59
43.60
25.31
53.10
61.34
60.43
69.90
77.94
62.30
64.17
71.19
70.30
64.21
74.98
61.44
72.02
66.68
68.69
Crude
fibre
per cent
29.61
36.33
12.73
17.78
13.82
10.16
20.08
13.86
22.20
41.99
13.31
44.53
27.18
..
7.82
6.72
5.51
..
..
3.34
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
N.F.E.
per cent
86.82
83.64
84.83
85.85
86.02
84.30
85.24
78.63
63.80
80.71
77.58
90.33
78.21
87.28
90.65
90.51
91.77
90.51
88.76
90.00
89.93
90.16
91.26
91.31
90.99
91.11
90.72
90.78
44
The Digestible Nutrients of certain Cereal Grains [VOL. XVIII, PART I.
TABLE III
Comparison of present observations with those available in literature
—
Barley { Fraps
.
.
.
.
Present authors . .
Bajra { Halnan
.
.
.
.
Present authors . .
Organic
matter
per cent
..
78.72
86.0
87.2
Crude
protein
per cent
72.00
75.82
90.4
87.1
Crude
fat
per cent
58.10
25.31
72.7
64.2
Crude
fibre
per cent
10.80
27.18
5.00
3.3
N.F.E.
per cent
82.10
78.21
88.00
90.00
D.P.
per cent
8.64
8.52
11.7
7.3
S.E.
per cent
65.48
63.43
78.4
76.5
TABLE IV
Digestible constituents
—
Cheena
.
.
.
.
.
.
Ragi
.
.
.
.
.
.
Barley
.
.
.
.
.
.
Bajra
.
.
.
.
.
.
Jowar
.
.
.
.
.
Organic
matter
per cent
80.38
84.03
78.72
87.19
87.80
Crude
protein
per cent
83.32
77.77
75.82
87.10
91.03
Crude
fat
per cent
77.00
68.16
25.31
64.17
68.69
Crude
fibre
per cent
7.50
20.08
27.18
3.34
..
N.F.E
per cent
89.12
85.24
78.21
90.00
90.78
D.P.
per cent
8.00
7.27
8.52
7.25
5.36
S.E.
per cent
65.31
66.40
63.43
76.48
75.46
Indian and foreign figures
There is close agreement between the values for barley obtained by us and those reported by
Fraps (Loc. cit) except for crude fat and crude fibre. Since barley is poor in both these constituents
the difference in their digestibility figures had little influence on the values of starch equivalent which
agreed well. In the digestibility of bajra, though there is a slight difference between our figures and
those of Halnan [1926] in respect of protein the rest of the digestibility coefficients are closely compar-
able. For digestible protein our figure is lower than Halnan's which may be due to the difference
in protein content of the samples, while the starch equivalent values agree. The similarity between
foreign and Indian figures of starch equivalent and digestibility coefficient of protein suggest that
the former may safely be used in formulating rations under Indian conditions.
Comparative values of the grains
In comparing the energy values of grains used in the present investigation the digestible coefficient
of nitrogen free extract should be the main consideration since the grains provide minute quantities
of digestible fat and fibre and the digestible protein is responsible for only a small fraction of the
available energy. On this basis the grains may be arranged in the following order according to
their net energy value ; bajra and jowar are superior ; cheena and ragi are of medium quality while
barley is the poorest. Further, bajra and jowar are equally good and the value of cheena does not
differ significantly from that of ragi. It is remarkable that the published figures for starch equivalent
of wheat [Halnan, 1928] compare favourably with that of bajra and jowar ; hence these millets may
very well replace wheat in poultry rations. Of course such rations should be adjusted in other
respects and tested carefully before adoption on a large scale.
MARCH 1948]
R. MUKHERJEE AND D.
PARTHASARATHY
45
The protein values of ragi, jowar and bajra are comparatively low (Table 1). Although individual
samples of the same grain may differ fairly widely in protein content. The available Indian data
show that the above millets have a lower protein content than wheat, barley, maize or oats. Conse-
quently in spite of the high digestibility coefficients of protein, the three millets rank comparatively
low in digestible protein. The digesible protein of jowar, however, does not represent the appropriate
value for this millet since our sample contained less protein than is generally found in Indian samples.
On this basis it can be classed with bajra and ragi in respect of digestible protein and may be considered
inferior to barley or cheena. Barley is richer than the other four grains in digestible protein, while
cheena is of intermediate value. It is recognized that the digestible protein figure alone is insufficient
to enable one to judge the value of a feed or ration as a source of available protein.
SUMMARY
The digestible nutrients as poultry feed of five common cereal grains, cheena, ragi, barley, bajra
and jowar have been determined. The starch equivalent and digestible protein were calculated
from these data. Bajra and jowar were found to be equally superior to the other three grains. Regard-
ing their starch value they are indeed as rich as wheat. Barley was found to be the poorest in net
energy content while ragi and cheena were of intermediate quality.
The digestibility coefficients and starch equivalent figures for bajra and barley agreed well with
those obtained by Western workers.
The grains arranged in decreasing order of digestible protein content stand as under : barley,
cheena, bajra or ragi or jowar, the last three millets being of equal value, and barley the richest of
all.
REFERENCES
Bose S. (1944). Poul. Sci. 23, 130
Cole, S. W. (1933). Practical Physiological Chemistry. Nintb edition W. Heffer & Sons Ltd., Cambridge
Fraps, G. S. (1928). Texas. Agri. Exp. Sta. Bul. 372
Halnan, E. T. (1926). J. Agri Sci., 16, 451
—(1928).
J. Agri. Sci. 18,610
Katayama. T. (1924). Bull. Imp. Agri. Exp.. Sta., Japan 3, 1
Mukherjee, R. and Parthasarathy, D Indian J. Ve Stci, 18,51
48
The Manganese Content of Poultry Feeds
[VOL. XVIII, PART I
TABLE I
Manganese contents (p. p. m.) of food stuffs
Cereals and their by products.
Bajra . . . . . . . . . .
Barley.. . . . . . .
Jowar . . . . . .
Maize (yellow)
Cheena
........
Oats
Paddy
Ragi
Rice (milled)
Rice bran
Wheat
Wheat bran
Pulses
Bengal gram (with outer husk) . . .
Bengal gram (without outer husk). . . .
Cow peas . . . . . . . .
Lentil . . . . . . . .
Peas . . . . .. . . .
Soyabean (black)
Oil-seed cakes
Ground nut cake
Linseed cake . . . . . . . . . .
Mustard cake . . . . . . . . . .
Leafy vegetables, grasses, etc.
Amaranth . . . . . . . . . .
Cabbage . . . . . . . . . .
Carrot leaves . . . . . . . . . .
Cauli flower leaves
......
Knol-Kohl leaves
Cow pea leaves
......
Gluar leaves . . . . . . . . . .
Jowar leaves . . . . . . . . . .
Elephant grass
.
.
.
.
.
Guinea grass . . . . . . . . . .
(Pennisetum typhoideum)
.
.
.
.
(Hordeum vulgare)
(Sorghum vulgare)
(Zea Mays)
.......
....
(Avena sativa)
......
....
(Eleusine coracana)
(Oryza sativa)
......
(Oryza sativa)
......
(Trilicum vulgare)
(Triticum vulgare)
(Cicer arictinum)
......
....
(Vigna catiang)
(Lens esculenta)
......
(Pisum sativum)
......
(Glycine hispida)
.......
(Arachis hypogea)
(Linum usitatissimum) . .
.
.
.
(Brassica juneca) .
.
.
.
.
.
.
(Amaranthus gangeticus)
.
.
.
. . . .
(Brassica oleracea capitata) .
.
.
. .
(Daucus carola)
......
(Brassica oleracea botrytes) .
.
.
. . .
(Brassica oleracea caulorapa) .
.
.
. . ,
(Vigna catiang)
.
.
.
.
.
.
(Cyanopis psoraloides)
.
.
.
.
(Sorghun vulgare) . . . . . .
(Pennisetum purpureum) . . . . . .
....
12.9
18.4
12.2
10.3
13.7
37.5
61.6
99.2
11.5
156.0
33.0
101.1
29.7
21.4
20.3
13.4
16.2
32.1
45.1
57.0
43.0
47.7 (dry)
6.0 „
12.0 „
4.7 „
13.0 „
84.6
61.3 „
37.0 „
13.3 „
23.5 „
MARCH 1948 ]
D. PARTHASARATHY AND R.
MUKHERJEE
49
TABLE I—contd.
Miscellaneous
Limestone
Meat offals
Skimmed milk
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
Meat scrap
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
840
3.6 (fresh)
17.3 (dry)
0.8 (dry)
Trace.
TABLE II
Manganese contents compared with those found out by other workers
Feed
Barley
Oats
Rice (milled)
Wheat
Wheat bran
Bengal gram
......
Soyabean
Peas
Amaranth
.......
Skinner and
Peterson
(1928)
19.0
31.8
12.0
54.5
140.4
..
29.5
..
..
Schaible,
Bandemer
and Darid.
son (1938)
14.0
36.0
13.0
31.0
108.0
..
32.0
..
..
Rudra
(1939)
..
..
dry 13.4
dry 20.7
..
..
..
..
..
Sundara
Rao (1940)
..
..
12.6
36.4
..
28.6
..
18.1
60.2
Present
authors
18.4
37.5
11.5
33.0
101.1
29.7
32.1
15.2
47.7
source. Another interesting point is that in general the leaves are richer in this element than the
corresponding grains of jowar and cowpeas. In Table II our results are compared with those of
other workers. Agreement in several cases seems to be good. It has been generally advocated that
40-50 p.p.m. of manganese is the optimum level in poultry rations. With Indian samples we have
found that the manganese content of a ration, which does not contain sufficient rice bran or wheat
bran, falls below 50 p.p.m. Since no case of manganese deficiency has been reported from any
scientifi- cally managed farms in India, it may be supposed that such difficiency is unlikely to occur
when the ration is otherwise balanced.
SUMMARY
The manganese content of 35 substances used as common poultry feeds in India has been deter-
mined by a colorimetric method.
Of cereal by-products, wheat-bran and rice-bran are excellent sources. Bajra, jowar, cheena
barley and polished rice are poor sources.
The manganese contents of some Indian poultry-feeds have been compared with those already
reported and the agreement is found to be good.
REFERENCES
A.O.A.C. (1940). Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, U. S. A.
Rudra, M. N. (1939). J. Indian Chem. Soc. 16, 131
Sundara Rao, A.L. (1940). J. Ind. Chem-Soc. 17, 351
Willard, H.H. and Great house, L.H. (1917). J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 39, 2366
MARCH 1948 ]
R. MUKHERJEE AND D.
PARTHASARATHY
53
TABLE I
Metabolism data on non-nitrogenous diet
Bird No.
1 . .
2 . .
3 . .
4 . .
5 . .
6 . .
7 . .
Average .
Body weight kg.
1.80
2.57
2.37
2.57
1.86
2.77
2.11
2.29
Food dry matter
in-take per kg.
body weigh
21.8
27.9
27.3
24.6
24.6
20.9
24.0
24.4
Total nitrogen
excreted per kg.
body weight
0.080
0.141
0.107
0.126
0.095
0.079
0.115
0.106
Urinary nitrogen
1.25 × (Uric acid
+ ammonia N)
per kg.
0.065
0.114
0.083
0.099
0.067
0.068
0.096
0.085
Faecal nitrogen
per cent
0.015
0.027
0.024
0.027
0.028
0.011
0.019
0.022
TABLE II
Percentage composition of experimental feeds
Feed
Ragi
Cheena
.
.
.
.
Bajra .
.
.
.
Barley
Jowar
Moisture
per cent
12.3
11.7
12.5
12.3
13.5
Ash
per cent
2.9
3.6
2.0
3.9
1.8
Crude
protein
per cent
9.8
10.1
8.3
11.9
6.2
E. Extract
per cent
1.5
1.2
4.1
1.0
2.0
Crude
fib
per cent
3.3
8.2
1.1
5.1
1.6
N. F. E.
per cent
70.2
65.3
72.0
65.7
74.9
TABLE III
Nitrogen metabolism experiment with ragi (metabolism figures are given on daily basis)
Bird No.
1 . .
2 . .
3 . .
4 . .
5 . .
6 . .
Food N gm.
1.416
1.305
1.307
1.305
1.232
0.7997
Faecal N gm.
0.3783
0.3551
0.3791
0.3997
0.2241
0.2578
Urinary N gm.
0.4310
0.2795
0.3826
0.3193
0.5950
0.3468
N balance
0.6067
0.6704
0.5453
0.5860
0.4129
0.1951
Biological value
per cent
82.24
92.62
81.43
86.48
73.31
69.85
True dig. coeffi.
per cent
78.23
77.71
76.37
74.27
86.76
73.36
54
Biological Values of the Protiens
[VOL. XVIII, PART I,
TABLE IV
Nitrogen metabolism experiment with cheena (metabolism figures are given on daily basis)
Bird No.
1 . .
2 . .
3 . .
4 . .
5 . .
6 . .
7 . .
Food N gm.
1.694
1.678
1.016
1.226
1.688
1.307
1.452
Faecal N gm.
0.202
0.170
0.123
0.144
0.156
0.220
0.282
Urinary N gm.
0.951
0.987
0.513
0.694
0.967
0.816
0.730
N balance
0.541
0.521
0.380
0.388
0.565
0.271
0.440
Biological value
per cent
53.23
50.73
64.59
55.40
54.66
52.31
58.62
True dig. coeffi
per cent
92.90
94.64
92.83
92.90
95.72
87.92
85.39
TABLE V
Nitrogen metabolism experiment with bajra (metabolsim figures are given on daily basis)
Bird No.
1 . .
2 . .
3 . .
4 . .
5 . .
6 . .
Food N gm.
1.070
1.166
1.198
1.137
0.977
0.910
Faecal N gm.
0.1014
0.1283
0.2154
0.2145
0.2252
0.1534
Urinary N gm.
0.3040
0.2927
0.4735
0.2682
0.4153
0.3252
N balance
0.6646
0.7450
0.5091
0.6543
0.3375
0.4314
Biological value
per cent.
93.71
92.45
77.02
93.46
73.31
82.83
True dig. coeffi.
per cent
96.34
77.16
87.88
87.26
82.79
89.02
TABLE VI
Nitrogen metabolism experiment with barley (metabolism figures given on daily bassis)
Bird No.
1 . .
2 . .
3 . .
4 . .
Food N gm.
2.082
1.796
1.338
1.070
Faecal N gm.
0.5241
0.4783
0.2392
0.2680
Urinary N gm.
0.4493
0.3215
0.6342
0.2619
N balance
1.1076
0.9962
0.4646
0.5401
Biological value
85.37
90.65
61.91
89.80
True dig. coeffi.
per cent.
78.73
77.21
86.16
78.98
MARCH 1948 ]
R.
MUKHERJEE
AND
D.
PARTHASARATHY
55
TABLE VII
Nitrogen metabolism experiment with jowar (metabolism figures are given on daily basis)
Bird No.
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
Food N gm.
0.4556
0.6116
0.6207
0.6509
0.8798
Faecal N gm.
0.1121
0.0557
0.0842
0.0549
0.0746
Urinary N gm.
0.3060
0.3996
0.5359
0.4647
0.5740
N balance
0.0375
0.1563
0.0006
0.1313
0.2312
Biological value
63.42
69.82
47.18
57.28
43.94
True dig. Coeffi
per cent
83.34
98.51
74.21
99.22
96.78
The average biological values together with the standard errors and the true digestibility co-
efficients are given in Table VIII. Alongside are also given the biological values as determined by
rat experiments [Aykroyd, 1940]. It appears that bajra, ragi and barley have nearly the same biolo-
gical value. The biological value of bajra was the same for rats and fowls but in the case of the other
three cereals the values for the two species differed markedly. These observations support the view
of Almquist (Loc. cit) that the amino acid requirements of the fowl are different from those of the
rat and that the values obtained with the latter do not hold good for the former.
TABLE VIII
Summary of results obtained
Feed
Ragi . . . . . . . . .
Cheena . . . . . . . . .
Bajra . . . . . . . . .
Barley . . . . . . . . .
Jowar . . . . . . . . .
Biological value per cent
Mean
80.99
55.65
85.46
81.98
56.33
S.E.
3.15
1.60
3.51
5.85
4.33
Tree dig.
coeffi
average
per cent
77.61
90.33
86.74
80.27
94.41
Biological
value for
the rat
Aykroyd
1940
89
..
83
71
83
Protein value
per cent
63.2
50.4
74.0
65.6
52.6
The digestibility coefficients of jowar, cheena and bajra are fairly high and those of barley and
ragi are low. In protein values (which take into consideration both the biological values and the
digestibility coefficients bajra is the richest, barley and ragi coming next. while jowar and cheena
are the poorest. According to Halnan also, bajra (bulrush millet) is a very good food and is akin to
wheat in feeding value. Further work with laying birds and growing chickens is necessary to
obtain more evidence on this point.
SUMMARY
The biological values and digestibility coefficients of the proteins of five cereal grains jowar
cheena, bajra, ragi and barely used commonly as poultry feeds in India have been determined by the
balance method using adult cockerels for experiment. The average biological values are 56, 56, 85,
81 and 82 per cent respectively. In protein value bajra is found to be the best, barley and ragi next
best and jowar and cheena the poorest. Evidence is presented to show that the sum of uric acid
nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen does not remain a constant percentage of the urinary nitrogen with
all diets.
O
56
Biological
Values
of the
Proteins
[VOL. XVIII, PART I,
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