The Composition of Holocellulose Prepared from Various Forages and the Corresponding Feces

The lignin, protein, ash, and carbohydrate contents of crude holocellulose samples prepared from ten common forages and from the feces of dairy cows fed these forages were determined.Editor.The composition of holocellulose prepared from corn silage (9), alfalfa silage (9), timothy hay (4), mixed hay (5), oat hay, (5), bluegrass (4), orchard grass (9), cornstalks (4, 5, 6), straw (1,2,4,9,10) and corn cobs (4, 11) has been reported.Holocellulose samples prepared from the above materials contained residual lignin and protein.Comparing the composition of holocellulose from these materials is difficult since different methods of preparation and varying lengths of treatment were used.Wise et al. (13) found that holocellulose from wood was very low in nitrogen when prepared by the acid chlorite method.Most wood, however, contains very small amounts of nitrogen before delignification.Reports of the lignin content of holocellulose prepared from wood are too numerous to review here and are adequately discussed by Wise and Jahn (t2).Coldwell and DeLong (7) found that two or three acid chlorite treatments removed from 74.4 to 84.0% of the protein and from 77.2 to 87.1% of the lignin from extracted leaves of beech, birch, maple, and poplar trees.The authors are not aware of any reports on the composition of holoeellulose prepared from ruminant feces.The object of this investigation was to study the lignin, protein (N × 6.25), ash, and carbohydrate contents of crude holocellulose samples prepared from a variety of common forages and from the feces of dairy cows fed these forages. EXPERIMENTAL I'ROCEI)URETen forages were chosen that varied greatly in the amounts of lignin and the constituents of the proximate analysis.Silage, hay, and straw were included in the forages studied.Five grasses and five legume species were represented.Each of these forages was fed to one dairy cow as the entire ration.After a preliminary feeding period of 15 days, fecal samples were collected four times daily for three consecutive days from each animal.The collections were dried in enamel trays placed in a circulating' air sample dryer operating'