ABSTRACT
Retrieval of any kind of eaten material for measurement was practically impossible before the surgical establishment of fistulas became successful. Sampling and analysis of stomach contents of killed animals have given abundant information on the food habits of wild animals. These partially digested materials have been separated into their various components by estimations, hand picking and weighing, point sampling, screening, and flotation procedures. As herbaceous plant materials mature, they generally decrease in palatability and in nutritive value. Palatability of a few species gain as the growing season progresses. Palatability usually is reduced by the presence of awns, spines, excessive hairs, stickiness, coarseness of texture, and unfavorable odor from external glands on the plant. Preference refers to animal reactions and palatability to plant characteristics. Separation of these two concepts aids analysis and understanding of the grazing process, although their combined process is selective defoliation.
