Energy losses associated with oven-drying and the preparation of rat carcasses for analysis

1. The effect of oven-drying on the heat of combustion of rat carcasses was studied and found to produce losses of 10% of the original energy content. Oven-drying also produced a small loss of nitrogen. 2. A method of carcass preparation not involving oven-drying was tested and found to produce suitably homogeneous samples for analysis without any loss of energy.