bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Studies in the metabolism of the ruminant by indirect calorimetry. V. The course of metabolism after food in the goat
Authors: Magee H. E. , Orr J. B.
Published: March 2009

The post absorptive state commences in the ruminant between 42 and 48 hours after the last food. If food is ingested before this time it becomes mixed with that already in the rumen and its decomposition by fermentation is thereby accelerated. The metabolism at 15 hours after the last food is about 23 per cent, above that in the post absorptive state. For about 36 hours after th commencement of the post absorptive state the R.Q. remains below that of fat oxidation and fermentation gases still continue to be excreted. Keasons are suggested by way of explanation for these phenomena in the causation of which absorption of gas from the rumen does not appear to play any appreciable part.
On the measurement of hydrion concentration in some dairy products by means of Biilmann's quinhydrone electrode
Authors: Lester Vera
Published: March 2009

In the above I have shown the result of a series of measurements of the hydrion concentration in milk, cream, buttermilk and whey, partly employing Biilmann's Quinhydrone Electrode, partly Höber-Hasselbalch's Hydrogen Electrode.

The results of the tests agree.

Measurements have also been made in fresh and heated milk.

By these measurements I found no difference in the reaction or buffer action of the fresh and heated milk.

The Höber-Hasselblach method is rather slow. This is unfortunate as the reaction of the dairy products (especially whey) is apt to change when kept standing, even for a short time. By this method one also runs the risk of too high pH values owing to loss of carbon dioxide and it is therefore far from being an ideal one.

Biilmann's Quinhydrone Electrode is quick working, easy and simple and you avoid the above-mentioned sources of error. It is therefore to be preferred for measurements in the fluids in question. It is especially well adapted for titrations, as it makes possible a large number of measurements in a short time.
Note on the composition of a fluid obtained from the udders of virgin heifers
Authors: Woodman Herbert Ernest , Hammond John
Published: March 2009

The secretion of milk by the mammary glands normally follows a period of pregnancy, but numerous cases have been cited in the literature of secretion which takes place in animals that have never borne young. Non-pregnant bitches frequently secrete milk several weeks after oestrus (1), and a secretion, apparently similar to milk, takes place after pseudo-pregnancy in rabbits (2). No quantitative analyses have been made of these secretions to show whether they possess the characteristics of true milk or colostrum.
Comparative studies of meat III. Rates of fattening in relation to the percentage of muscular and fatty tissue in a carcass
Authors: Callow E. H.
Published: March 2009

1. It has been shown in a previous paper (Callow, 1948) that, with ‘standard’ carcasses of cattle, sheep and pigs containing more than 18 % of fatty tissue, FT/C, there is a close correlation between FT/C and MT/C, the percentage of muscular tissue. This is shown by the linear regression equation

MT/C = 76·1 — 0·684FT/C ± 1·0 (r= — 0·9782).

The reasons for this close correlation and the effects of varying rates of fattening on the constants of the generalized equation

MT/C = a — bFT/C

have been deduced by a mathematical and biological analysis of the data.
The distribution of dry matter and nitrogen in the potato tuber. Variety, King Edward
Authors: Glynne Mary D. , Jackson Violet G.
Published: March 2009

1. The percentage of dry matter in the potato tuber is lowest in the skin and increases to the inner cortical layer, the zone containing the greater part of the vascular system, and decreases towards the centre of the tuber.

2. In each zone the proportion of dry matter is higher towards the umbilical than the terminal end of the tuber.

3. The percentage of nitrogen in the fresh material tends to decrease from the skin to the inner cortical layer and to increase in the medullary zone. Thus it increases from zone to zone in the opposite direction to the dry matter.

4. Nitrogen tends to increase with dry matter from the terminal to the umbilical end.

5. Microscopical examination shows the starch grains densest in the region of the vascular system, and decreasing towards the centre and surface of the tuber.

6. A high degree of correlation is found between the specific gravity and percentage dry matter of whole tubers.

7. For purposes of sampling the method of taking two radially opposed sectors, or two diagonally opposed eighths, was far more accurate than the coring method.
Comparative determinations of the digestibility and metabolisable energy of green oats and tares, oat and tare hay and oat and tare silage
Authors: Woodman Herbert Ernest
Published: March 2009

In a recent communication, the results of an investigation into the digestibility of oat and tare silage were recorded. The desirability, however, of extending the scope of this initial work was recognised, in view of attempts which are being made to re-establish on a large scale the practice of ensilage in this country.
An investigation upon certain metrical attributes of wheat plants
Authors: Engledow F. L. , Shelton J. P.
Published: March 2009

In dealing with the Inheritance of Glume-Length [Engledow(1)] there were encountered certain problems relating to metrical characters. As it appeared that these problems must attach to all genetic work upon a metrical basis, they were made the subject of a separate investigation. A simple account of some of the difficulties experienced in connection with Glume-Length Inheritance will serve to formulate the problems.
The amount and composition of rain falling at Rothamsted: (Based on Analyses Made by the Late Norman H. J. Miller.)
Authors: Russell E. J. , Richards E. H.
Published: March 2009

The ammoniacal nitrogen in the Rothamsted rainwater amounts on an average to 0·405 part per million, corresponding to 2·64 lb. per acre per annum. The yearly fluctuations in lbs. per acre follow the rainfall fairly closely. The monthly fluctuations also move in the same direction as the rain, but the general level is highest during May, June, July and August, and lowest during January, February, March and April (Tables 1, 2, 3, and Figs. 1 and 2).

The nitric nitrogen is on an average one-half the ammoniacal, viz., 1·33 Ib. per acre per annum. The amounts fluctuated year by year and month by month in the same way as the ammoniacal nitrogen and the rainfall until 1910, since when there has been no simple relationship (Tables 1, 2, 3, and Figs. 1 and 2).

Reasons are adduced for supposing that the ammonia arises from several sources. The sea, the soil, and city pollution may all contribute. Neither the sea nor city pollution seems able to account for all the phenomena: the soil is indicated as an important source by the fact that the ammonia content is high during periods of high biochemical activity in the soil, and low during periods of low biochemical activity.
On the use of artificial insemination for zootechnical purposes in Russia
Authors: Ivanoff E. I.
Published: March 2009

One of the greatest problems of Russia's present economic policy is the restoration and development of farming, and in particular, cattlefarming. The war and revolution have, together with other things, destroyed enormous numbers of cattle, horses, pigs, etc., and thoroughly undermined the meat industry, as well as the sources of supply of working animals. A decrease of 50% below the former numbers of horses is the common state of things. The preservation of cattle-farms and studs is seldom met with, and the number of stock-producing animals is at least ten times less than formerly. The terrible drought threatens to bring into this sphere of national wealth even greater destruction. At the same time there can be no doubt that without the restoration and maintenance on a definite level of stud and cattle-farming, Russia cannot return to full economic activity. The present-day state of things demands that every effort be made, every possibility found and utilised, for increasing the number of domestic animals and for improving the methods of breeding and the breeds themselves.
A bacterial disease of turnip (Brassica napus)
Authors: Jones S. G.
Published: March 2009

Of recent years a disease of root-crops known to farmers in North Wales is one in which the heart or core of the root is converted into a soft putrid mass but which leaves the rind and mature foliage intact. The disease is prone to appear on land treated with lime as a preventive against the roots being attacked by Plasmodiophora brassicae or when the land has received a heavy dressing of nitrogenous fertilizers. It is common knowledge that nitrogenous manures have a tendency to force the crop and so produce watery, sappy roots which easily fall prey to disease. Recently it was brought to the writer's notice by one of the County Organizers for Agriculture in Wales that some of the farmers in his area were strongly disinclined to lime the land for root-crops because this treatment was favourable to the appearance of “soft-rot.” There is probably some modicum of truth in this contention, for as will be seen below, the writer in the investigation of the present disease found that the organism isolated refused to grow on any media which were not neutral or alkaline. The writer observed and investigated this disease on a crop of white turnips grown on the farm of the University College of North Wales and the land here had received a dressing of nitrate of soda. A casual glance at the crop did not show anything unusual, in fact judging from the amount of green foliage the crop looked very healthy. Closer examination however showed that the very young leaves at the centre of the crown had been destroyed thus forming a tiny wound into which one could push a probe without obstruction to the depth of some three or four inches. The fully expanded leaves very effectively concealed the wound and the disease seemed evidently confined to the internal tissues leaving the foliage and rind quite firm even up to time of harvesting the crop. Indeed the extent of damage was only fully revealed at the time of lifting when the harvester's knife lopped off the foliage only to discover that the roots were bad.
The composition and nutritive value, when fed to pigs, of whale-meat meal, white-fish meal, feedingmeat meal, extracted decorticated ground-nut meal, bean meal and dried yeast
Authors: Woodman H. E. , Evans R. E.
Published: March 2009

The writers are at present engaged in carrying out investigations into the relative supplemental values of the proteins in certain feeding stuffs that are commonly used to correct the protein deficiencies, in respect both of amount and quality, of the cereal grains and their by-products. As a preliminary to this work, it was necessary to obtain information about the digestibility of these protein supplements and their content of digestible protein and ‘total digestible nutrients’.
A method for determining the degree of humification of soil organic matter
Authors: Robinson G. W. , Jones J. O.
Published: March 2009

(1) Hydrogen peroxide oxidises or renders soluble a portion of the organic matter of soils. It appears to be without action on fibrous organic substances such as cellulose and lignins. Humified material seems to be oxidised completely or brought into a water soluble state.

(2) Treatment with hydrogen peroxide is proposed as the basis of a method for estimating the approximate degree of humification of soil organic matter.

(3) Among the soils examined, the highest degree of humification is found in peats and uncultivated soils. It is possible that the degree of humification is correlated with the prevalence of anaerobic conditions.
A preliminary study of the relationship between manuring and susceptibility to disease in potatoes
Authors: Miles Herbert W. , Thomas Brynmor
Published: March 2009

It has long been recognised that in plants the susceptibility to disease is influenced to a considerable extent by the manuring practice followed. Ill-balanced fertiliser mixtures decrease the capacity for disease resistance; this has been frequently observed after the application of excessive amounts of nitrogenous manures, and has been demonstrated at Rothamsted and Woburn, where wheat and barley suffered most severely from rust and mildew in those plots which received excessive quantities of nitrogen; also at Cheshunt, where tomatoes heavily dressed with nitrogenous manures were readily attacked by disease-producing organisms. The effect of applying phosphoric acid has not, apparently, been clearly demonstrated, but it is generally assumed that, by favouring the development of a vigorous root system, its action is beneficial. Experiments at Cheshunt have shown that the use of manures from which potash has been omitted, produced a condition similar to that following the application of excessive amounts of nitrogenous fertiliser, and that the addition of potash tends to increase appreciably the ability of the plant to resist disease.
Studies in the physical properties of soils: I. Mechanical properties concerned in cultivation
Authors: Haines William B.
Published: March 2009

The mechanical properties of soils which are concerned in ploughing are considered under the three heads:

(1) Soil cohesion.

(2) Soil plasticity.

(3) Surface friction between soil and metal.

In each case methods of measurements are discussed and experimental curves are given for representative soils over the whole moisture range with which the practical agriculturist is concerned.

In the case of cohesion Atterberg's method of measurement is followed. A certain difference in character between his results and the author's is discussed.

A new technique is described for measuring one of the plastic constants, which is specially adapted to clays, and throws fresh light on their physical characteristics.

The measurements on soil friction open up a fresh subject, and promise to provide a sensitive means of investigating soil-water relationships from a new angle.
An investigation into the changes which occur during the ensilage of oats and tares
Authors: Amos Arthur , Woodman Herbert Ernest
Published: March 2009

Experiments have been described which had primarily as their object the investigation of the effect of varying moisture content in the green oat and tare crop on the type of silage produced from such forage. The magnitude of the changes affecting the constituents of the green crop under the different conditions of ensilage have also been detailed.

The main conclusions are summarized below:
The availability of mineral plant food
Authors: Comber N. M.
Published: March 2009

The assumption that plants feed in the soil just as they feed in water culture solution is unjustified and contrary to the facts. In modification of the usual hypothesis two possibilities are discussed.

1. The absorption of colloids by the plant.

2. The union of the root hair with soil and other mineral particles (so that the plant and the soil form one system) and the dissolution of the particle by the organic matter of the root hair so attached.
Notes on the extraction of milk sugar from whey
Authors: Woodman Herbert Ernest
Published: March 2009

In view of the efforts which are being made to secure increased production of cheese throughout the country, it is of importance that greater consideration should be given to the problem of the profitable utilisation of the whey, which results as a by product of the cheese industry.
Investigations of the hair of different breeds of cattle
Authors: Čamek Josef
Published: March 2009

Many authors, for example, Settegast, Pusch, Kašpárek, Kraemer and Rostafinski, have attempted to draw conclusions concerning age, quality and breed of cattle from the type of hair produced. Exact investigations of the length and other features of the hair are, however, rare in the literature. Bilek has recently made some investigations of this kind under the direction of Professor Kašpárek, and has estimated the relation between the medulla and the fibrous layer, and has shown that the cross section of the hair is sometimes circular and at other times elliptical in shape.
The relations existing between the soil and its water content: A Résumé of the Subject
Authors: Keen Bernard A.
Published: March 2009

In any systematic account of the work done on the moisture in soil and its behaviour under varying conditions, it is necessary to keep constantly in mind that the underlying hypotheses have been profoundly modified in recent years. When physical methods were first applied to the examination of soils, the results were interpreted on the obvious hypothesis that the soil could be regarded as composed of mineral particles of varying shapes and sizes, over the surfaces of which the water was distributed in a thin film. The movements of the film water and its average thickness at any time, under the varying meteorological and soil influences, could be predicted more or Jess completely from known physical principles such as surface tension, etc. Similarly, the concentration of the plant nutrients in the soil moisture was considered mainly as a matter of solubility in, and diffusion within, this moisture. The foundation of the subject of soil physics was laid upon these lines in the early 19th century by Davy and Schübler.
Seed studies: Red clover with special reference to the country of origin of the seed
Authors: Stapledon R. G.
Published: March 2009

(1) Current literature has been cited to support the view that the country of origin of Red Clover has a very important bearing on the suitability of the seed for crop production in any particular locality; it is therefore a matter that should be considered of just as much and perhaps more importance, than germination and purity. There seems to be little doubt but that, generally speaking, locally grown seed or at least seed harvested in countries no warmer or but little warmer than the district where the seed is to be sown, is likely to produce plants which will “stand” the longest and in many instances produce the heaviest hay crops in the first year after sowing.
Pasture type in relation to live-weight gain, carcass composition, iodine nutrition and some rumen characteristics of sheep I. Live-weight growth of the sheep
Authors: Rae A. L. , Brougham R. W. , Glenday A. C. , Butler G. W.
Published: March 2009

1. Two trials are described in which the live weights of sheep grazing four different pastures were compared. The four pastures comprised perennial rye-grass (P), perennial rye-grass plus white clover (P + C), short-rotation rye-grass (S), short-rotation rye-grass plus white clover (S + C).

2. Large and highly significant differences existed between the mean live weight of the sheep on the various pastures in each trial. Thus the P sheep had a mean live weight of 107 and 102 lb. in trials I and II, respectively, at the end of each investigation, the P + C sheep 123 and 122 lb., the S sheep 125 and 126 lb., and the S + C sheep 140 and 137 lb.

3. The differences in live-weight growth on the four pastures contain two major effects; an effect due to the difference between P and S and an effect which can be attributed to the presence of white clover in the pasture treatment.
Pasture type in relation to live-weight gain, carcass composition, iodine nutrition and some rumen characteristics of sheep III. Effects of treatment with iodine
Authors: Flux D. S. , Butler G. W. , Glenday A. C.
Published: March 2009

1. The mean thyroid weights of ewes grazed on the different pastures (perennial rye-grass (P), perennial rye-grass plus white clover (P + C), short-rotation rye-grass (S), short-rotation rye-grass plus white clover (S + C)) did not differ significantly, but those injected with iodinated poppy-seed oil had lighter (P < 0·01) thyroids than the non-injected ewes grazed on the same pastures.

2. Neither the live weights of the ewes nor their lambing performances were affected significantly by treatment with iodine.

3. Lambs from ewes grazed on pastures containing white clover had thyroid glands significantly heavier than those of ewes grazed on rye-grass pastures. The largest thyroids were from the lambs of ewes not treated with iodine and grazed on S.

4. The iodine contents of the thyroids of the lambs at slaughter, measured as percentage dry weight, did not differ significantly. It seems likely that the differences in thyroid weights were caused by factors operating early in the lives of the lambs.

5. The lambs of ewes injected with iodine grew faster after weaning than those of non-injected ewes on the same pastures. The interpretation that this difference was in fact caused by the iodine treatment of the ewes was not wholly acceptable, because the differences in growth rate were not greatest in those groups of lambs showing greatest differences in thyroid weight.
Water metabolism of cattle in East Africa I. The problem and the experimental procedure
Authors: Payne W. J. A. , Hutchison H. G.
Published: March 2009

1. The direct and indirect effects of low rainfall on the problems of cattle husbandry in East Africa are discussed, and an example of what these problems mean in practice is described.

2. A co-operative experiment is described that was planned to assess the water requirements of Bos indicus type cattle in a semi-arid region of Tanganyika, and to determine the effect of water deprivation on cattle productivity.

3. Ten sets of identical twin zebu (Bos indicus) or part-zebu cattle were used in this experiment. The basic layout consisted of two treatments, an ‘experimental’ and a ‘control’, one twin from each set being placed on one or other of the treatments. Twins in the ‘experimental’ group were used to determine the effect of watering at 24-, 48- and 72-hr. intervals and of forced walking of 3, 6 and 10 miles per day in addition to normal grazing exercise. The experiment lasted 2 years from 16 April 1960 to 11 May 1962.

4. Climate at the experimental site, the experimental layout, the experimental animals and grazings, management of animals and grazings and experimental observations are described in detail.

5. Data on seasonal changes in the nutrient content of forage on the grazings is given, and the effect of these changes on the nutrition of the experimental cattle is discussed briefly.
The protein content of wheat grown with irrigation
Authors: Jones J. S. , Colver C. W. , Fishburn H. P.
Published: March 2009

With the development of irrigation projects in intermountain areas of the Rocky Mountain States has come an enormous increase in the amount of wheat produced annually with irrigation. The crop commands the attention and consideration of millers and grain men generally in intermountain sections and will continue to do so because there is in cultivation at present a small fraction only of the acreage that can be successfully farmed with irrigation. The general run of irrigated wheat regardless of the class to which the varieties may belong is plump and relatively heavy. It is unfortunately at the same time soft and starchy and because of its relatively low protein content is almost invariably sold on markets that do not stress strength in wheat flour.
The flocculation of soils
Authors: Comber Norman M.
Published: March 2009

“Silt”, like most insoluble substances, when suspended in water is most easily flocculated by calcium salts when the suspension is neutral. The addition of alkali stabilizes the suspension and renders flocculation more difficult. Soil “clay,” however, behaves in an opposite manner and is precipitated from alkaline suspensions more readily than from neutral suspensions. In this behaviour clay resembles silicic acid and some other members of the so-called “emulsoid” colloids, and it is suggested that the clay particles are protected by such colloids and thus behave as an “emulsoid” and not as a “suspensoid.”

If this is true then the action of lime, which being alkaline nevertheless flocculates clay, is seen to be in accordance with the facts of colloid chemistry.

The view is advanced and some experimental support of it is described, that clay, as an “emulsoid,” protects the larger particles which by themselves are “suspensoid.” The soil aggregates are conceived as having large nuclei surrounded by particles which become smaller from the centre of the aggregate outwards, the clay ultimately imposing its “emulsoid” nature on the whole aggregate, and on the whole soil in normal cases. Fine silt soils are not flocculated by calcium hydroxide on account of the inefficiency of the relatively small amount of “emulsoid” clay to protect the large “suspensoid” surface exposed by the fine silt.
On the changes through which the nodule organism (Ps. radicicola) passes under cultural conditions
Authors: Bewley W. F. , Hutchinson H. B.
Published: March 2009

It is shown in the preceding pages that under certain cultural conditions the nodule organism from the roots of red clover, broad bean, lucerne and lupin exhibits a tendency towards granular disintegration of the cell with the formation of small non-motile coccoid bodies, about 0-4μ diameter.

In the cultures ordinarily in use these coccoid bodies are not formed extensively, but cultivation on soil extract media rapidly leads to their production, until finally they constitute the predominant type in the culture.
On the chemical nature and digestibility of roughage carbohydrates
Authors: Bondi A. H. , Meyer H.
Published: March 2009

1. Egyptian clover, sweet lupin,Lathyrus ochrus, Eragrostis tefandVicia narbonnensishave been analysed as to their hexosan, pentosan and lignin content. The major part of the pentosan is soluble in 2 % HCl and therefore belongs to the hemicellulose fraction, whereas most of the hexosan is insoluble in 2 % HCl and forms part of the cellulose fraction.

2. The digestibility of hexosan, pentosan and lignin has been determined by experiments with sheep. The digestibility of soluble pentosan and of insoluble hexosan (2 % HCl) was found to be very constant. It ranged from 64·0 to 66·2 % for pentosan and from 74·1 to 76·5 % for hexosan. ·Lignin was in all cases digested comparatively well, the digestibility coefficients being markedly variable, depending on the plant material. They ranged between 35·1 and 64·0.

3. Faeces lignin yields lower methoxyl values than plant lignin. Therefore lignin appears to have been changed during passage through the animal body.

4. The partition of hexosan, pentosan and lignin on crude fibre and N-free extract prepared from different plant materials is markedly variable.

5. The major portion and best digestible fraction of plant lignin is soluble in alkali and is, therefore, contained in the N-free extract.
Carcass investigations with rabbits. Some observations on the weights of rabbits at time of killing
Authors: Dudley F. J. , Wilson W. King
Published: March 2009

1. The data summarized in this paper relate to the live weight at killing, the carcass weight, the skin weight and the loss in dressing of 813 males and 289 females of various breeds and varieties of rabbit.

2. The age at killing varied with the moulting process. The extent to which variation in age contributes to the variation in weight and accounts partly for some of the differences observed is not dealt with.

3. Significant differences were noted between the live weights of the various breed groups, in both sexes.
The digestibility of straw pulp
Authors: Ferguson W. S.
Published: March 2009

The treatment of cereal straws with dilute NaOH solutions has been developed in this country as a means of increasing the supply of digestible carbohydraten food for cattle. Watson (1941) has dealt with the principles of the treatment and has given a brief outline of the process, and it is not proposed to discuss the process or developmental work here. It is sufficient to say that the recommended standard process consists of soaking chopped cereal straw in 10 times its weight of 1·2–1·5 % NaOH solution for periods up to 22 hr., removing the soaked material from the liquor and washing free of NaOH.
The value of a uniformity trial in field experimentation with rubber
Authors: Murray E. K. S.
Published: March 2009

1. Sanders’ method of utilising previous crop records to correct experimental results by means of a linear regression is briefly described.

2. The method is applied to yield figures from rubber trees in Sumatra, and the precision of a dummy experiment is thereby increased nearly fourfold when the “preliminary” and “experimental” years are consecutive. When the “experimental” year is three years later than the “preliminary” year, the error variance of the adjusted yields is reduced to about a half.

3. It is concluded that not only has the method of correction been of value in the particular instance investigated, but that a uniformity trial utilised in this way should be of practical value in any major field experiments with rubber.
The durability of mole drains
Authors: Nicholson H. H.
Published: March 2009

Mole draining or its equivalent has been practised on clay land for many years; indeed, according to Richardson and Fussell, writing in the Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture, 1922, a patent for a mole plough was taken out in England in 1797. Fowler's mole plough appeared about 1850, and since then this type of implement, drawn by steam engines, has played an important and valuable part in the farming of the heavy arable areas of the eastern counties. Dr R. McG. Carslaw and Mr A. W. Menzies-Kitchin have recently (1933) collected much useful information on mole draining practice in East Anglia. The data were obtained from some 80 farms, and are summarised in Report No. 21 of the Farm Economics Branch of the Cambridge University Department of Agriculture. Dealing with the mechanical side of the subject, the Report states “ …it was rather surprising to find that tractors had been used for draining only on 3 out of 75 farms, and that on two of these, steam engines had also been employed. On one farm…a team of 10 horses, and on two others, oil engines…On the remaining farms, representing 95% of the total, power was supplied by steam engines.” In respect of the durability of mole drains the Report states “The data showed considerable variation in the length of life of mole drains, but the average life appeared to lie round about 13 years, with an average range of from 8 to 19 years… Silting, stated generally to be caused by the presence of loose sand and/or gravel in the clay subsoil, was the most common cause of failure.”
Decomposition of Keratin by Soil Micro-Organisms (With One Text-figure.)
Authors: Jensen H. L.
Published: March 2009

Keratin, prepared from horn meal, was added to moist field and garden soil and allowed to decompose in the laboratory. The keratin was found to undergo a decomposition resulting in a slow, but steady accumulation of ammonia and nitrate. 35–40 per cent, of its nitrogen was transformed into nitrate after 120 days. The addition of keratin produced little or no increase in the number of bacterial colonies on agar platings, but markedly increased the number of actinomycete colonies, especially in garden soil. Two strains of actinomycetes were isolated and found capable of thriving on keratin in pure culture, decomposing the keratin with the formation of ammonia. One of the strains could be recognised asActinomyces citreusKrainsky, as described by Waksman. The other strain could not be named, but corresponded closely to the description of Waksman'sActinomyces145.
“Single Value” Soil Properties: A Study of the Significance of Certain Soil Constants. V. On the Changes Produced in a Soil by Oven Drying (With One Text-figure.)
Authors: Coutts J. R. H.
Published: March 2009

1. It is shown that results for the loss in weight of a soil on oven heating can be obtained to a very satisfactory degree of accuracy when a Hearson electrically controlled oven is used.

2. Results obtained by heating soils to temperatures ranging from 5° to 250° give smooth curves connecting loss in weight with rise in temperature; from which it is concluded that there is no sudden alteration in the structure of a soil when it is heated to 100°, and that the airdry moisture of a soil, as determined with sufficient accuracy by the usual methods, is a convenient empirical factor, but not a representation of any fundamental soil property.

3. An examination is made of the factors contributing to the observed total loss in weight when the soil is heated, and an explanation offered of the contributions made by the different types of soil water and by the soil colloids. It is found that the conclusions drawn from this discussion confirm views developed earlier with regard to the behaviour of the water in the soil, and the absence of any sharp dividing line between the different classes into which the soil water is usually divided.
The control of variation in gain in animal nutrition experiments
Authors: Dunlop George
Published: March 2009

The cause of variation in the live-weight increase of animals on experiment has been further investigated. It had been shown previously that varying food intakes and initial weights-inherent drawbacks of the group-feeding method-accounted for much of this variation. When these two factors are rigidly controlled small differences in live-weight gains are still obtained. Evidence is presented to show that the basal metabolism and the digestive capacity of animals are for all purposes the same, and cannot account for any great part of the residual variation.
The control of ovulation in the mare with reference to insemination with stored sperm
Authors: Davison W. F.
Published: March 2009

1. In pony mares during oestrus in which a follicle was considered to be sufficiently ripe (thin walled) the intravenous injection of 500 i.u. pregnancy urine extract induced ovulation in nineteen out of twenty-three mares between 24 and 48 hr., in three cases within 24 hr., and in one case between the fourth and fifth days.

2. Dialysed egg yolk as a medium for storage of horse sperm for 24 hr. was shown to give satisfactory results when ovulation is controlled by the above method, so that it occurs within 24 hr. after insemination. Nine single inseminations during one oestrus resulted in five pregnancies.

3. The number of spermatozoa required for successful inseminations is discussed.

4. Means of detecting a sufficiently ripe follicle before injection with pregnancy urine extract are described.

5. It is shown that the duration of oestrus is shortened as the result of pregnancy urine injections.

6. Data is given concerning the time which elapses between ovulation and the cessation of oestrus.
The riboflavin requirement of the White Wyandotte chick. II. Pure crystalline riboflavin as the vitamin supplement
Authors: Bolton W.
Published: March 2009

1. An experiment on the riboflavin requirement of the White Wyandotte chick is described.

2. The minimal requirement for optimal food consumption was found to be 3·0 μg. riboflavin/g. food; for optimal growth 3·0 to 3·5 μg./g. food and for the prevention of curled-toe paralysis 3·6 μg./g. food.

3. At levels of riboflavin intake ranging from 1·7 to 6·2 μg./g. food the uric acid content of the blood plasma remained unchanged at approximately 6 mg./100 ml.
On the Influence of Soil Temperature on the Germination Interval of Crops
Authors: Irwin J. O.
Published: March 2009

The data collected under the Agricultural Meteorological Scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture have provided information for a number of years in a number of places on the dates of sowing and appearance above ground of wheat, winter oats, spring oats, spring barley, turnips and swedes.
The significance of the extremities of the ox (Bos taurus) in thermoregulation
Authors: Whittow G. C.
Published: March 2009

1. Measurements of the temperatures of the extremities, rectal temperatures, respiratory rates and heart rates have been made in calves during exposure at environmental temperatures within the range – 5·0° –45·0° C.

2. Large variations in the skin temperatures of the extremities were recorded between environmental temperatures of –5·0° and 25·0° C. At environmental temperatures above 25·0° C. the extremity temperatures and the skin temperatures of the trunk were similar.

3. Feeding and localized infra-red irradiation of part of the trunk of the animals resulted in marked increases in the skin temperatures of the unheated extremities.

4. Evidence was obtained that the variations in the skin temperatures of the extremities were brought about by changes of blood flow to these parts.

5. Respiratory rates varied also with the environmental temperature at which the animals were exposed. When the animals were exposed to localized infra-red irradiation of the trunk the increase in respiratory rate was significantly greater when the extremities were initially warm than when they were cool.

6. In addition to spontaneous fluctuations in the skin temperatures of the ears at environmental temperatures of 10·0°–25·0° C, periodic increases in the skin temperatures of the ears were observed in all the calves at an environmental temperature of – 5·0° C. The increase in the skin temperatures of the ears persisted throughout the 7 hr. exposure to an environmental temperature of – 5·0° C.

7. It was concluded that, in a temperate climate, variations in the skin temperatures of the extremities of the ox have a thermoregulatory function.
The nutritive value of dried spent hops
Authors: Davies W. L. , Sullivan R. S.
Published: March 2009

Dried spent hops possess a high absorptive capacity, and attention is drawn to its use as a “filler” to absorb such by-products as molasses and treacle.

The material possesses a high crude protein value and its ether extract is very high for a fibrous food, while the amount of crude fibre is the same as in good meadow hay. There is a high percentage of mineral matter present.

The digestibility of the material has been determined by feeding with hay chaff and linseed cake meal to three sheep. The spent hops were not readily eaten and could only be included in a ration in an amount equal to one-seventh of the dry weight of the total ration.

Its digestibility is low, a fifth of the crude protein and the nitrogenfree extractives, one-half of the ether extract, one-twentieth of the crude fibre and one-fifth of the total organic matter only being digestible. The production starch equivalent was 24.5.
The influence of soil heterogeneity on the growth and yield of successive crops
Authors: Eden T. , Maskell E. J.
Published: March 2009

1. The interaction of physical conditions of the soil and the establishment of plant together with its subsequent growth and yield have been studied for wheat and swedes on a variable piece of land, maintained as a uniformity trial.

2. Ploughing draught was taken as a criterion of the physical condition of the soil and various simple measurements on the crop were made from time to time during growth.

3. The establishment of wheat showed substantial negative correlations with ploughing draught but the correlations between ploughing draught and the performance of the plant diminished as growth progressed. This was shown to be the result of the overwhelming importance of the spacing factor operating beneficially on plots where the plant was abnormally poor. The effect of this factor is traced step by step.

4. Swedes differing from wheat in almost every detail of cultivation and growth, cycle showed no correlation between soil conditions and germination or between the various growth stages and physical soil conditions. The highest significant correlation was between the number of roots per plot after singling and ploughing draught and an explanation of this is given.

5. There was a significant but only moderate correlation between the yields of the two crops.
A soil moisture meter. Depending on the “capillary pull” of the soil. With illustrations of its use in fallow land, grass orchard, and irrigated orchards
Authors: Rogers W. S.
Published: March 2009

1. A soil moisture meter which gives direct and continuous measurement of the soil moisture content is described. The instrument consists of a special porous pot filled with water, connected by a tube to a mercury manometer. The pot is buried in the soil, whose capillary pull causes the mercury to rise. The height to which the mercury rises depends on the amount of moisture in the soil, and also on the size of soil particles and the degree of compactness of the soil. (The last two factors remain constant for an instrument in one position.)

2. To read actual moisture percentage each instrument has to be calibrated for the soil in which it is placed. Once this is done, all sampling and weighing is eliminated.
The nutritive value of ammoniated sugar-beet pulp
Authors: Ferguson W. S. , Neave O.
Published: March 2009

Two samples of ammoniated sugar-beet pulp and one untreated sample have been examined. One sample was ammoniated at room temperature and an increase of 1·94 % in nitrogen content obtained. The other sample ammoniated at 10 atm. and 80° C. showed an increase of 3·47 % in nitrogen content. The total nitrogen contents were 3·30 and 4·83 % respectively.
Carotene in Palestinian crops
Authors: Bondi A. , Meyer H.
Published: March 2009

The carotene content of Palestinian fodder plants, vegetables and wild plants was determined. The examined fodder plants were: Egyptian clover, Fahli clover, lucerne, horse beans, field peas, vetch, oats, barley, cow peas, maize, pencillaria, Sudan grass and leaves of beetroots. The examined vegetables were: leaves of radish, mangold, sweet potato, spinach, cauliflower, parsley, lettuce, kohlrabi, onion and cabbage. The wild plants examined were: nettle, mallow and portulaca.
The effect of nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizers on three grass species
Authors: Wolton K. Margaret , Brockman J. S. , Brough D. W. T. , Shaw P. G.
Published: March 2009

The effects of annual applications of up to 300 lb/acre of N, 100 lb/acre of P2O5 and 200 lb/acre of K2O on cut swards of S. 24 ryegrass, S. 37 cocksfoot and S. 215 meadow fescue were measured in an experiment lasting 3 years.

There were some differences between species in their dry-matter and nutrient yield response to nitrogen and potash applications, but not to phosphate. These differences were inconsistent and over the 3-year period were negligible.

A large response to nitrogen was only fully maintained when phosphate and potash were also applied. There was no response above 50 lb/acre of P2O5 in any year. In the second year, 100 lb/acre of K2O was sufficient, but more than this was necessary in the other years. Symptoms of phosphate and potash deficiency were seen where high rates of nitrogen were applied without phosphate and potash respectively.
Nutritive value of pasture: IV. The influence of the intensity of grazing on the yield, composition and nutritive value of pasture herbage (Part II)
Authors: Woodman H. E. , Norman D. B. , Bee J. W.
Published: March 2009

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.
Pyrethrin I and II: Their insecticidal value and estimation in Pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinebariaefolium). I
Authors: Tattersfield F. , Hobson R. P. , Gimingham C. T.
Published: March 2009

1. (a) Pyrethrin I and II have been isolated by the method of Staudinger and Ruzicka from the insecticidal plant Pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium). Both are shown to be highly toxic to the insectAphis rumicis.

(b) Pyrethrin I was found to be the most toxic substance so far tested by us and, as it was about ten times as toxic to these insects as pyrethrin II, it is concluded that it is mainly responsible for the contact insecticidal value of pyrethrum.

2. Two micro-analytical methods of determining the pyrethrin content are described, (a) By means of the acids after hydrolysis, (b) By means of the semicarbazone. They are given on pp. 278, 282.

3. The analytical results obtained for a series of pyrethrum samples agreed with their observed insecticidal properties toAphis rumicis.

4. Comparisons of the pyrethrin contents, as estimated, with the results of direct toxicity experiments both on the pyrethrum samples and the pure pyrethrins, confirm the validity of the analytical methods.

5. There was a significant and positive correlation, in the samples tested, between the amounts of pyrethrin I and II.

6. Insufficient data are available to show a significant correlation between the size of flower-heads and the content of poison, or to draw conclusions as to the effect of external conditions such as soil, weather or age of bed.
The leaching out of autumnal dressings of nitrogenous fertilisers
Authors: Nicholson H. H. , Pantin Barbara
Published: March 2009

The investigation bears out the conclusion of the Rothamsted experiments that leaching out may occur any time throughout the winter up to March, or rarely April.

The loss of nitrates is directly limited by the amount of drainage and so is indirectly determined by the rainfall, and by temperature—as it affects the rate of evaporation.

All three nitrogenous fertilisers are shown to lose well over 50 per cent, of a normal dressing by leaching out during the winter, but the loss is greatest in the case of sulphate of ammonia, least in the case of rape dust, calcium cyanamide being intermediate.

The writers wish to express their indebtedness to Miss N. Sugg who carried out the experimental work in the first winter.
The influence of the number of nodule bacteria applied to the seed upon nodule formation in legumes
Authors: Thornton H. G.
Published: March 2009

In a field trial with lucerne grown from seed treated with varying doses of culture it was found that the numbers of nodules were increased as the dose was raised from 2,500 to 20,000 organisms per seed (56 to 7 Ib. of seed per culture). Storing the seed for periods up to 28 days between inoculation and sowing, caused some loss in the nodule numbers. This loss was greatest between 1 and 7 days' storage.

The difference in dose of culture and in period of storage did not significantly affect the crop subsequently obtained from the inoculated plots, whose yield was, however, much above the uninoculated.

In a pot experiment made with runner beans, it was found that increase in the dose of culture above 1,280,000,000 organisms per pot containing six seeds was still capable of increasing nodule numbers but not to an extent proportional to the increase in dose.

The experiment does not exclude the possibility that the restriction in effect of very heavy doses may be due to the soil population becoming saturated with the bacteria. On the other hand, observations on lucerne plants grown aseptically on agar and inoculated with a pure culture, showed that even when excessive numbers of the bacteria immediately surrounded the root hairs, only 4 per cent, of these were infected.