The Digestion of Cellulose by Sheep

ABSTRACT Until recently, information of the extent to which cellulose is digested in the alimentary tract of the ruminant was available only indirectly through studies of the fate of that indefinite and variable complex mixture of cellulose, hemicellulose and encrusting substances which is conventionally referred to as ‘crude fibre’. This, in the past, has been taken as a measure of the less readily digested part of the carbohydrates of plants, in contrast to the ‘N-free extractives’ which represent the more soluble and therefore more readily digestible portion.