Flieg's distillation method is generalized in Japan and Germany to analyze the organic acids in silage. However, this method is less reliable and time consuming. Therefore, a new method for the analysis of organic acids in silage was designed and the propriety and the usefulness of this method was clarified. The results were as follows. Organic acids were extracted from 50g of silage with 200ml of N/10 sulfuric acid. Then 30ml of extract was distilled after adding 1.5ml of conc. sulfuric acid to get 300ml of distillant (first distillant) with slightly modified Kjeldahl's steam distiller. Just after the first distillation, 1.5ml of 50% chromium tri-oxide solution was added to the extract and distilled again to get further 300ml of distillant. Acetic acid and butyric acid were completely recovered from standard solution to the first distillant and lactic acid was also completely recovered to the second distillant as the form of acetic acid. Total acid content in both distillants was determined by titration with N/50 sodium hydroxide. Molar proportion of acetic acid and butyric acid in the first distillant was determined by partition constant on water-ether system. This method was simpler, more precise and time saving than Flieg's method.

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Two experiments were conducted to study the effects of a high dietary potassium intake in the form of hay on the metabolism of macro-minerals by milking cows and bull calves. The grass hay (mixture of Orchard grass and Italian ryegrass) used was hervested from two experimental pastures, one was heavily fertilized with potassium, and the other was conventionally fertilized with potassium. Milking cows were used in Expt. 1 and bull calves were in Expt. 2. The results are as follows: 1) The correlation between potassium intake and water intake was not significant because of great variations among individual milking cows. But urine volume increased with the increase of potassium intake. 2) There was high correlation between percentages of cation constitutions of the ration and urine. 3) Intake of 750mg of potassium per kg of body weight of milking cow did not show any abno mal symptom. Two bull calves fed at the rate of 1g potassium per kg body weight showed symptoms of irregular pulse and light paralysis of hind part of body. But these symptoms almost disappeared after about 24 hours. 4) The high potassium intake reduced Mg availability remarkably, that is, urinary magnesium decreased whereas fecal magnesium increased, especially in milking cow. 5) Fecal phosphorus was 85.9% and 73.1% of phosphorus intake in milking cow groups fed with high and conventional ration, respectively. 6) The ratio of (K+Na)/(Ca+Mg) in milk was nearly 1 and had a small coefficient of variation in the experimental period. It seems that the relative proportion of these ions in milk are controlled in the process of milk secretion.

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The effects of age, body weight and sex on basal plasma levels of thyrotropin (TSH), thyroxine (T₄) and tri-iodothyronine (T₃) and the daily variations in these hormones were investigated in dairy cattle. The plasma levels of TSH, T₄ and T₃ from Holstein calves, heifers and lactating cows were measured by radioimmunoassays. The basal level of TSH showed significant positive correlations with age and body weight. On the contrary, the basal T₄ level showed significant negative correlations with these parameters. Negative, but not significant correlations were observed between the basal T₃ level and age and body weight, and between the basal level of TSH and those of T₄ and T₃, respectively. A significant positive correlation was observed between the basal level of T₄ and that of T₃. In the calves, no sex differences in the basal levels of TSH, T₄ and T₃ were observed. In addition, each basal levels of these hormones in calves, heifers and lactating cows, except the T₃ in heifers, were not significant differences between May and November, respectively. TSH level in lactating cows did not show a clear daily variation, but T₄ and T₃ levels elevated from 4:30 (August) or 7:30 (February) to 22:30 followed by the decline. However, the amplitudes of variations of these hormoenes were small. The variation of T₃ was parallel to that of T₄. The results suggest as follows; 1) the basal plasma level of TSH in dairy cattle elevates during aging and increases the body weight, 2) the basal plasma T₄ level in dairy cattle decreases during aging and increases the body weight, 3) plasma T₄ and T₃ levels in lactating cows show the daily variations having the small amplitudes.

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Heritabilities for milk, fat yield and age at calving, and genetic correlations between them were estimated on dairy cattle, considering difference in parities and age-calving month adjustment to mature equivalence (M. E.). Lactation records were collected from 1975 to March, 1978 on Holstein cows in Hokkaido. Numbers of records and sires with tested daughters were 16, 957 and 218 for the first lactation, 18, 366 and 234 for the second lactation and 14, 449 and 216 for the third lactation respectively. Assuming herd-years and sires as two main effects, a two way layout with interaction model was adopted to estimate each variance and covariance component by Henderson's Method III. 1) Heritabilities for the three lactations were .27, .20, and .14 for M. E. milk yield, .26, .20, and .21 for M. E. fat yield, and .32, .28, and .40 for age at calving. 2) Effectiveness of age-calving month adjustment was recognized, since heritabilities for M. E. production traits were steadily higher than those for actual ones, but age-calving month correction made an uniformity in environmental variance and an overestimation in genetic variance at early lactations. 3) Except actual milk yield in second lactation (.02), genetic correlations between age at calving and milk or fat yield were negative (-.09--.37). Genetic correlations between milk and fat yield were obtained with positive values (.48-.75), though decreased with advancing parity.

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To investigate the partial digestion in the digestive tract, the experiment were made by the pigs fitted with intestinal cannula at the upper jejunum (cannula 1) and the terminal ileum (cannula 2). The influence of cannula fitted at intestine on digestion was investigated in preliminary experiments, in which pigs fitted with one polyethylene cannula at the upper jejunum or the terminal ileum were used. The rate of passage of diet and partial digestibility were deter mined by index method using chromic oxide as a marker. Following results were obtained. The passage rate of marker though the all digestive tract by the pig fitted cannula 2 was faster than before fitting. The total nitrogen retention by the pig fitted with cannula at the upper jejunum or the terminal ileum was lower than before fitting. The digestibility of the diet in the pigs fitted at the upper jejunum was similar before and after fitting. In the pigs fitted with cannula at the terminal ileum, the digestibility of crude protein tended to be higher (P<0.05) after fitting, but of no significant difference. By fitting the cannula at the small intestine, the passage rate of diet changed, but had no remarkable influence on digestibility. Then it became clear that the partial digestion could be investigated by using the pig fitted with the cannula in the intestine. The experiments to investigate the passage rate of diets and the partial digestibility at the digestive tract using the pigs fitted with cannula in the intestine were performed. Following results were obtained. The passage rate of the 50% passage of marker was 40 minites from mouth to the upper jejunum, 5 hours from upper jejunum to the terminal ileum and 27. 4 hours from the terminal ileum to the anus. The digestibility of the component of diet was highest between the upper jejunum and the terminal ileum, sugzesting that each component is almost digested and absorbed in the small intestine except duodenum and little digestion and absorption were performed in the stomach, the duodenum and the large intestine.

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Kideny and liver samples of 44 Holstein Cattle fed formula feed were obtained from slaughterhouses in three different areas to estimate the natural concentrations of selenium. A selenium feeding experiment was carried out to clarify the effect of selenium on dairy cattle. Two Holstein cows were fed 5ppm of selenium as sodium selenate daily for 4 weeks. The mean concentrations of selenium in kidney and liver on a dry matter basis were 4.25±1.02 and 1.12±0.09ppm (Kumamoto), 2.99±0.75 and 0.89±0.21ppm (Hiroshima) and 5.31±0.80 and 1.43±0.23ppm (Tokushima). These data suggest that the disorders of cattle fed formula feed due to lack of selenium will not occur. It was clear that selenium was significantly accumulated in liver and kidney tissues. In the cow slaughtered after the administration for 4 weeks the amount of selenium accumulated in the liver (17.84ppm) was greater than in the kindney (10.94ppm), but in the cow slaughtered 4 weeks after the termination of the administration the selenium accumulation in the kidney (5.46ppm) was greater than in the liver (2.74ppm). It was suggested that most of the selenium administered was excreted into feces and urine, but some selenium remained in the body since the concentrations of selenium in the liver of the cow slaughtered 4 weeks after the termination of the administration was greater than 44 Holstein cattle fed formula feed. However, milk and muscle had low selenium contents.

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It is known that in mastitic milk the concentration of immunoglobulin components in- creases and also the composition of immunoglobulin classes and sub classes is different from that of normal milk. Then it is expected that immunoglobulins play important immunological roles in the udder infected. Milk whey and immunoglobulin fractions from mastitic milk showed agglutinating activities against Staphylococcus sp. isolated from mastitic milk and Staphylococcus aureus AHU 1490. Such activities were also found in normal milk, colostrum and serum. Agglutinating activities were measured by the methods of slide agglutination test and micro-titer test. Formalin treated and heated (100°C for 40min. or 121°C for 20min.) bacteria were also used for agglutination test and all of them showed clear agglutination by bovine whey, immunoglobulin fractions and serum. IgM showed larger agglutinating activities against Staphylococcus spp. than IgG1 and IgG2. The minimum concentrations of immunoglobulin showing agglutinating activities were almost the same value in whey from mastitic milk and from normal milk of the same cow.

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Six Corriedale wethers were divided into two groups of three sheep each. One group was given a low magnesium diet and the other was high containing 0.15 and 0.98% magnesium, respectively. Sheep were fed for three weeks as a control period, then followed by a thiamine injection period of two weeks. During the thiamine injection period, all sheep were injected intramuscularly everyday at a level of 1.5mg/kg of body weight with thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide hydrochloride. Magnesium excretion via urine and feces was increased and retention of magnesium decreased by thiamine injection in sheep given a low magnesium diet, though these effects of thiamine were not found in animals fed the high magnesium ration. Thiamine injection also induced increases in fecal excretion of iron and manganese, and these trends were more obvious in sheep given the low magnesium diet than in animals given the high magnesium diet. The high magnesium diet resulted in an elevation of fecal zinc excretion and induced negative zinc balances.

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Intraluminal pressures were simultaneously monitored in the ipsilateral oviduct, uterus and cervix of pre-ovulatory rabbits using a new type of polyurethane balloon catheter which was sealed with a nylon plug. Daily recordings were made in 19 rabbits for 15 to 32 days. Contractions of the oviduct were characterized by higher frequency (6.0± 1.0/min) than those of the uterus (1.0±0.2/min) and cervix (1.9±0.5/min). Outbursts of activity were repeatedly observed, but they did not always occur synchronously in these three different portions of the reproductive tract. There were daily variations in the activity in each organ. The highest amplitude in contraction pressure was found in the oviductal lumen, where it averaged 38mmHg (range 5-160mmHg), and occasionally reached 200mmHg. In the uterus, the mean amplitude was 20mmHg (range 3-70mmHg). The cervix usually showed small variations in luminal pressure, averaging 9 mmHg (range 3-26mmHg), Cyclical changes in contraction amplitude occurred frequently in these organs at interval of 4-7 days. Such a tendency was more distinct in the uterus and cervix than in the oviduct. It is suggested that motility in the reproductive tract of unmated rabbits is correlated with the ovarian cycle.

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