J. K. MAKHIJANI AND B. N. BANERJEE                 15

in judging the correct stage of maturity at which grasses are to be cut and
dried or stored in silo. With the co-operation and help of the Imperial Dairy
Institute and different Farm officers a number of grasses and fodders have
been obtained and their carotene content determined. They represent the
stage at which they are fed to the cattle. The results * are given in Table I.

                                            TABLE I

                                    Grasses and fodders

No.

Name

Place

Carotene

in mg.

per kg.

Remarks

1

Guinea Grass I

(Panicum maxi-
mum) .

Bangalore

Dairy Farm.

50

Mature green stage cut from the

farm just as they are fed to
the cattle.

2

Sudan Grass [ Holcus
Sorghum sudanensis
(Piper) Hitch] .

Ditto .

58

Ditto

3

Rhodes Grass (Chloris
Gayana.) .

Ditto .

30

Ditto

4

Napier Grass (Penni-
setum purpureum) .

Ditto .

18

Ditto

5

Guinea Grass II
(Panicum maxi-
mum) .

Ditto .

48

Ditto

6

Lucorne (Medicago
saliva) .

Ditto .

168

Ditto

7

Jowar (Andropogon
Sorghum) .

Ditto .

40

Ripe mature stage when they
are cut for the silo or daily
feed.

8

Paspalam (Paspalum
dilalatum) Italian
Blue Grass.

Ditto .

260

This grass is very much liked by
the dairy cattle. The colour
of the butter from this feed is
also deep yellow in tint.

9

Mautitius (Panicum
muticum) .

Ditto .

100

Ditto

10

H. U. B. . .

Ditto .

100

Ditto

* The feeding quality of the fodders depends to a great extent on the stage of
maturity at which the crop is cut. As this information is not available in some cases
one will have to be careful before using the carotene data, as given by authors, for cal-
culating the Vitamin A potency of these samples.—Ed.