Studies on the production of volatile fatty acids from grass by rumen liquor in an artificial rumen: III. A note on the volatile fatty acid production from crude fibre and grass cellulose

1. The findings presented in two previous papers on the yields of volatile fatty acids, obtained by the action of rumen liquor in the artificial rumen, from fresh grass, dried grass and the water-soluble and water-insoluble separates of the latter, have been amplified by a consideration of the acids similarly obtained from specimens of chemically prepared crude fibre and cellulose, from four of the dried grass specimens.2. The proportions of different volatile fatty acids from grass crude fibre and grass cellulose resemble those obtained from cellulose powder, propionic acid being produced in greatest relative yield.3. A general review of these latter findings, in relation to those already presented, has been given.