measurements of carbohydrate absorption have been made by a simultaneous determination of glycemia in the portal and the peripheral blood. Post prandial peripheral glycaemia is very high in the pig, a fact which brings into question the role of the liver in this species, but constitutes, above all, an important source of error in the determination of absorption, if only portal glycaemia is measured. Two methods of measurement have been employed, the determination of true glycaemia (glucose

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... mination by means of glucose oxidase, H UGUETT and N IXON 1957 ), and the determination of total reducing substances using ferricyanide. Depending on the nature of the carbohydrate, several types of carbohydrate absorption curves may be distinguished from the first results : glucose and sucrose are absorbed rapidly, while, in comparison, starch is absorbed more slowly, after a preliminary hydrolysis. Intestinal absorption may thus be characterized by its length after the start of a meal containing 400 g of carbohydrate, and the range in variation of glycaemia can be noted. In the case of glucose and sucrose, absorption lasts for about 4 hours, the time necessary to regain fasting glycaemia. Absorption is much longer after a meal based on starch, and takes, in general, more than 6 hours. This time also varies with the type of starch : maize starch is more rapidly digested than manioc starch. Raw potato starch does not appear to result in a very high absorption of carbohydrates, and it would be of interest to know the manner in which it is digested in the pig.