ALBERT

Description: An electrical resistivity survey of a lacustrine infilled basin in drift (Abbot Moss, N. England) clearly revealed the morphometry and internal structure of the basin. The technique also delimited extensions to the basin, which are buried beneath colluvium outside the present area of peat accumulation. Resistivity drilling has definite advantages over hand boring particularly for deposits formed between deglaciation and the onset of limnic sedimentation, or for sequences containing inpenetrable sand horizons. Geophysical techniques can provide an overall framework and gross stratigraphy of limnic deposits within which more detailed conventional Quaternary studies can be assessed.

Description: SummaryData are presented from 104 sheep from three separate sources (batches) in which variation in the degree of maternal body protein loss was induced by nutritional means. The change in body protein content during pregnancy was calculated as the difference between body protein content in early pregnancy, predicted from the relationship with body weight in control sheep killed in early pregnancy, and actual content on slaughter at parturition. Serum albumin and globulin concentrations and body weight were measured at intervals during pregnancy and examined for relationships with body protein change.Highly significant linear relationships were found between the change (%) in albumin concentration during pregnancy or albumin concentration in late pregnancy and the calculated change (%) in maternal body protein content (P 〈 0·001 in both cases) though fitting separate intercepts for each batoh of sheep led to improvements in fit.Equations for prediction of loss (%) of body protein from change in body weight or maternal body weight during pregnancy though significant, were also improved by fitting separate intercepts for batches. The relative value of the relationships for predicting body protein loss is discussed.Serum globulin concentration was not affected by protein status of the animal.

Description: SummaryOver a 3-year period 900 m3/ha of copper-rich pig slurry were spread during the growing season on a 0·6 ha permanent grassland sward and the grass continually grazed off each season with the same sheep. A total of 47 kg Cu/ha were applied to the area and this increased the EDTA-extractable copper in the topsoil. Herbage copper concentrations clearly showed that sheep grazing the area were continually exposed to high concentrations, and that most of the copper was present as surface contamination. Large quantities of copper were excreted in the sheep faeces indicating that copper passed through the animal.Monthly blood samples from the sheep showed that the enzyme glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) concentrations were slightly higher than those in sheep grazing an area which received no copper over the same period. By the end of the second season (October 1971) over 2000 i.u. GOT/1 were recorded in some sheep grazing the slurry treated area indicating severe liver breakdown at that time. However, during the winter when the sheep were inwintered, serum GOT concentrations decreased considerably. In the final grazing season a 0·2 ha area received monthly applications of copper sulphate instead of slurry. All sheep were slaughtered in November 1972 for post-mortem examination. There was little difference in the copper concentrations in the liver and kidneys of the sheep grazing the control and the slurry areas, although the sheep which grazed the copper sulphate area in the final season had higher concentrations.As no sheep died from chronic copper poisoning during the course of the investigation there would appear to be little or no danger to the health of sheep from grazing land which is receiving pig slurry at rates which supply less than 16 kg Cu/ha/year.

Description: SUMMARYSeven hundred and fifty purebred Angoni, Barotse and Boran cattle and their crosses sired by Friesian and Hereford bulls were compared for live-weight and carcass characters in Zambia. The cattle were born between September and December in three consecutive years and were reared on unimproved veld. In the first year all females and a random half of the males received supplementary feed in winter and the males were slaughtered at 2·5 years of age. The remaining males received the same total amount of winter supplementary feed prior to slaughter at 3·0 years of age. The males born in the second year were pen fed for a period prior to slaughter at 3·0 years of age. Males born in the third year were slaughtered at 3·5 years of age and received no supplementary feed.Genotype differences were important at all live weights and there were year of birth x genotype interactions at the 0·5, 1·0 and 1·5 year weights and a genotype × feed treatment interaction at the 2×0 year weight. Boran purebreds were heavier than the Angoni and Barotse purebreds; at 3·0 years the differences were +42·3 kg ( + 12·9%) and + 25·2 kg (+ 7·7 %) respectively. Cross-breds had heavier live weights than their corresponding purebreds with Boran crosses consistently heavier than the Angoni and Barotse crosses. The Friesian and Hereford sired Boran cross-breds were + 51·0 kg (+13·5 %) and + 43·0 kg (+ 11·6 %) heavier respectively than the purebred Borans at 3·0 years of age.There were large differences between the genotypes for all carcass characters with Borans having heavier carcasses than the Angonis and Barotses by + 20·3 kg (+ 10·6 %) and + 19·1 kg ( + 10·0%) respectively. The average carcass weight advantages of Friesian and Hereford crosses with the Angoni, Barotse and Boran breeds over the corresponding purebreds were + 40·3 kg ( + 19·0%), + 33·6 kg ( + 16·2%) and + 31·0 kg ( + 14·0%) respectively. There were few important carcass differences between the corresponding Friesian and Hereford crosses.The mortality rate during the experiment was 8·2% with only small differences between genotypes.The interactions found in the experiment indicated that breed comparisons should be conducted over a number of years and at various management levels. For growth and carcass production under the conditions of the experiment the use of exotic crossbreds is clearly advantageous.