PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT. 193 



Bad as these cases are, they are surpassed by that of the fol- 

 lowing sample, which contained : — 



VI. 



12-40 



If here the analytical numbers only be looked at, the sample 

 might be described as an oil cake of rather low quality, but 

 there is nothing to excite suspicion as to the sophistication it 

 had undergone. The fact is that this is really the grossest case 

 which ever came under my notice. To call it adulterated is to 

 understate the case. Substitution would be a more correct ex- 

 pression, for it contained only a small proportion of linseed, 

 the bulk of it being made up of a variety of substances. 

 Among these were detected bran, the root of some plant, woody 

 fibre, some kind of nut, and portions of a succulent plant, be- 

 sides others which could not be identified. 



It is unnecessary to multiply analyses of such oil cakes, 

 though it would be easy to do so to almost any extent. A suffi- 

 cient number has been given to show what I am anxious to im- 

 press on the farmer, which is, that the mere analytical numbers, 

 without comment, are not sufficient for his purpose, because 

 mixtures of inferior substances may be made which simulate, in 

 the most perfect manner, the composition of genuine oil cake. 

 It may be said indeed that, provided the farmer gets an equal 

 amount of valuable nutriment, it does not matter to him whether 

 it is in the form of linseed, or of any other substance which may 

 have been substituted for it. In practice, however, he proceeds 

 on an entirely different plan. He does nut pay the same price 

 for rape cake as for linseed cake, though the nutritic value of 

 the former, as indicated by analysis, is as high, sometimes higher, 

 than that of the latter. He is ready at all times to pay nearly 

 twice as much for oil cake, because he has found by experience 

 that its nutritive matter is more available (that is, produces a 

 greater weight of meat) than the same quantity of rape cake ; 

 and it is quite obvious that the same must apply to it when 

 mixed with any other substance. Granting even that a mixture 

 of linseed with a small quantity of rape does as well as linseed 



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