INTEREST in the availability to animals of various inorganic elements has grown in recent years. A number of procedures have been developed for studying both minerals and chemical compounds as sources of these elements. A large number of criteria for utilization have been used in these studies. When the interest was primarily in practical application, growth, feed efficiency and general condition of the animal have been the criteria used. When more exact availability data were desired, criteria such as bone analyses, content of the element in blood and tissue, concentrations of enzymes involved, and balance studies have been used. The development of a rapid, inexpensive, biological method which would be applicable to a number of species for determining the availability of elements is desirable. Since the greatest amount of work has been done on the availability of phosphorus from various materials this element was used in the developmental phases of …
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Edwards et al. (1959) studied this question.