Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


agreement was secured between the results with the individual
animals.
 Digestibility of Napier Grass Silage.-The silage used in the
 trials had been cut at a rather mature stage of growth and stored
 in a trench silo. Silage was removed from the end surface of
 the silo each day. It was not protected from the rain, hence
 slight variations occurred daily in the moisture content of the
 silage. These variations tended to compensate. Refused feed
 consisted of coarse pieces of stem. These stems were dried,
 sampled and analyzed for calculating the correct nutrient intake.
 The average composition of the three 5-day composite samples
 of silage, the digestibility of the nutrients by three steers, and
 the digestible nutrient content of the silage are given in Table 1.
 Feed intakes per day, composition of the feeds, weights and
 composition of the feeds refused, weights and composition of
 the feces, and digestibility of the nutrients by 5-day periods,
 are given in Appendix Tables A, B, C, D and F.
 TABLE 1.-THE COMPOSITION, COEFFICIENTS OF DIGESTIBILITY, AND
 DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS OF NAPIER GRASS SILAGE.
 Dry Crude Crude I N-free Crude
 Matter Protein I Fiber [Extract Fat Ash
 percent percent percent ercperc percent percent
Composition................ 32.54 1.17 14.45 14.42 0.68 1.82
 Steer
Coefficients of E-49 23.90 47.33 39.35 56.96
 digestibility.......... E-50 30.76 51.25 39.83 76.75
 E-51 32.55 51.83 41.38 60.38
 Ave. 29.07 50.14 40.19 64.70
 T.D.N.
Digestible nutrients ..... 0.34 7.25 5.80 0.44 14.38


 The composition of the Napier grass silage was: 32.54 per-
cent dry matter, 1.17 percent crude protein, 14.45 percent crude
fiber, 14.42 percent nitrogen-free extract, 0.68 percent crude
fat, and 1.82 percent ash. The digestibility of the crude protein
by E-49, E-50 and E-51 varied from 23.90 to 32.55 percent, crude
fiber from 47.33 to 51.83 percent, nitrogen-free extract from
39.35 to 41.38 percent, and crude fat from 56.96 to 76.75 percent.
The results with E-52, given in Appendix Table F, were lower
for all constituents, the results for crude protein being negative.
The coefficients of digestibility by E-52 are not included, so that
the averages for the three remaining experimental animals are: