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1 lie Coaiiiry tiLiiiuinan' s jla^azine 



when he found their keeping during winter 

 on trough food ahnost, if not wholly unprofit- 

 able, and he had discontinued the breed and 

 substituted some Down ewes which he had 

 secured at Lewes Fair, and had fed them on 

 pastures with some chaff and oats during the 

 day, and at night, weather permitting, on 

 swedes. He preferred white turnips before 

 lambing, but as the soil in this district was 

 not altogether suitable for many roots, and 

 the older and more practical farmers doubted 

 whether roots could be grown at the same 

 cost as artificial feeding-stuffs, the value of the 

 manure on the land being in many years neu- 

 tralized by the treading, he fancied that feed- 



ing sheep on very thin new laid-down pastures 

 was an improvement — although a slow one — 

 to the herbage. He had such a liking for 

 Southdowns that he was unable to compare 

 other breeds with them as regards profit, 

 though he feared they were not great rent- 

 payers when kept on artificial food, as there 

 was not much grovvdi in them. Perhaps, 

 however, the price they at present com- 

 manded in the market compensated for 

 this. The growth of rape for autumn 

 feeding to save the pasture would be 

 very useful ; but in some seasons it would 

 be unfit in most of their fields to sow wheat 

 afterwards. 



OIL-CAKE MANUFACTURE. 



IN a recent issue we gave some details in 

 reference to this subject, and the atten- 

 tion which it deserves is closely connected 

 with the farmers' interests. We have now to 

 add to those details others which have been 

 obtained in further scrutiny of the crushing 

 trade, pursued in order to place before our 

 readers authentic information on which they 

 may base profitable proceedings. The 

 crushing of oil seeds is carried on at the 

 present day ostensibly for the production of 

 the oleaginous principles for paint, lubricat- 

 ing, and other purposes, but in consequence 

 of the demand for the resulting product, oil- 

 cake, having increased year by year as an 

 artificial feeding-stuff for cattle, the trade is 

 really that of oil-cake manufacture, thus 

 reversing the previous order of things, the 

 expressed oil having become the secondary 

 product. 



Not only is this change apparent, but, in 

 consequence of the extended demand for 

 cake, and the desire of feeders being on the 

 side of low prices, the way has been paved 

 for that kind of competitive fraud and robbery 

 known as adulteration. The question is not, 

 " What is your best cake supplied at?" But, 

 producing a sample, " I want (so many) tons 



of cake up to samples, for which I shall pay 

 (so many) pounds per ton." Such is the 

 language of the broker, dealer, or middle- 

 man. He produces an inferior cake, full of 

 all kinds of rubbish, as sand, sticks, stones, 

 husks of other seeds, or common seeds of 

 all kinds, with bran and articles too numerous 

 to mention, and the regret is there are too 

 many crushers ever ready to work to sample, 

 let the price be what it may. Recently one 

 of these middle-men entered a mill, and shew- 

 ing }iis sample requested lootons to be made 

 as soon as possible, as he had a market for 

 it. His price was ;^6, and, after paying all 

 expenses, he would clear more by double 

 than the crusher would be able to do. It is 

 due to the existence of these middle-men that 

 prices are so high and cakes so inferior, be- 

 cause their principle is making a profit for 

 themselves, which comes out of the farmers' 

 pockets. For the sake of £,x per ton, 

 we have known farmers turn away from 

 a good, pure, and guaranteed cake in the 

 hands of the maker, and purchase another 

 from a dealer certainly not worth so much 

 by £\ or £^ \ and so long as farmers will 

 thus conduct their purchases, so long must 

 we tolerate unfair proceedings, which help, 



