Beans and Peas, §*c. 



Mean of two Italian Cakes. 

 Nitrogen . . . . 5-03 



Oil 11-84 



Water . . . . 9-03 



Ash 7-.55 



485 



Mean of two Sicilian Cakes : — 



Nitrogen . . . . 4*72 



Oil 



Water 



Ash 



6-80 

 9-46 

 8-02 



The preceding tables present one specimen of cake (No. 16) 

 with 3 •92 per cent., and another (No. 8) with 5*7'2 per cent, of 

 nitrogen. 



Calculating from these data the quantity of albuminous * ingre- 

 dients, we shall find that No. 16 will contain 24'9 per cent., 

 whilst No. 8 will contain as much as 363 per cent., or in other 

 words, it is possible to meet with specimens of which one has half 

 as much again of the '* flesh-forming principles " as another. It 

 is not certain even that the extreme limits of variation may have 

 been reached in either of these cases ; but I do not imagine that 

 it is usual to meet with them either so poor or rich as the 

 samples in question. 



It may be asked, Is this variation sufficient to account for the 

 different results obtained in feeding with oil-cake ? The question 

 is only to be answered by another : Do we possess trustworthy 

 numerical data of these results? The above variation in the 

 composition of oil-cake is undoubtedly great, and would, I think, 

 go far to explain the matter if it were at all common, which it 

 is not. 



Of the thirty-three specimens examined, twenty- one, or two- 

 thirds, afford quanthies of nitrogen varying only between 4-5 and 

 5-0 per cent. ; whilst of the whole number only two are to be 

 found under 40 per cent., and four sensibly above 50 per cent 

 As I before remarked, it is impossible to say whether the differ- 

 ence in composition sufficiently explains the difference in feeding 



* The expression is used in a general sense, without reference to the particular forms 

 of nitrogenized principles, 



VOL. X. 2 K 



