DAIRYING 95 



do not approve of feeding with cotton-cake, 

 because they say it has a bad effect on the 

 calves ; but if used in moderation, and not 

 given within two or three months of calving, 

 it is one of the most valuable foods the dairy 

 farmer possesses, being rich in oil and albu- 

 minous matter. Winter rations are made 

 up of roots, hay, straw and chaff, besides 

 concentrated food, such as cake and meal. 

 The cakes chiefly used in England are linseed- 

 cake, decorticated and undecorticated cotton- 

 cake. 



Linseed-cake is a very good and safe food 

 for cattle, especially for calves, but it is more 

 expensive than cotton-cake, and, unless great 

 care is exercised, it gives an oily, unpleasant 

 taste to the butter. Decorticated cotton- 

 cake is a most valuable food, but being highly 

 concentrated must not be used in too large 

 quantities. Undecorticated cotton-cake should 

 only be given in summer, when the cows 

 are on grass. Rake-cake, palmnut-cake and 

 cokernut-cake are useful food, and much 



