PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT. 195 



If these rules be adopted, the purchaser will be able to secure 

 a genuine article ; but if they are disregarded, he is pretty sure 

 to be taken in. My experience leads me to say that, at the pre- 

 sent time, a very large proportion of the oil cakes offered for sale 

 in this country are adulterated, and that this applies more par- 

 ticularly, though not exclusively, to home-made cakes. The 

 manufacturer alleges that he is compelled to have recourse to 

 the practice in consequence of the demand for cheap cake on the 

 part of the farmer, and that unless he used some cheaper substance 

 he could not compete with those who do. So far he is right ; for 

 if the farmer will take adulterated cake without question, merely 

 because it is cheap, the fair trader must obviously go to the wall. 

 He must either do as his neighbours do, or find some way out 

 of the difficulty by throwing the burden of protecting himself 

 upon the buyer. This is done by selling several qualities of 

 cake, one only of which is guaranteed as made entirely from 

 linseed ; the others are sold without guarantee, and the farmer 

 is left to take them at his own risk. If he does so, he disregards 

 the obvious meaning of their being unguaranteed, and takes 

 what, though apparently cheaper, must unquestionably be a 

 dearer bargain than the more expensive article. 



PREMIUMS 



