78 ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON STOCK FEEDS AND FEEDING 



Flax Products. These materials are very common in certain 

 sections of the West. They are derived from the flax plant 

 which is grown for its valuable fiber. 



The yearly production of flaxseed in the United States aver- 

 ages about 25,000,000 to 26,000,000 bushels. A bushel of flax- 

 seed (56 Ibs.) contains about 19 pounds of oil and 36 pounds 

 of other material. 1 For the year 1908, 696,135,362 pounds of 

 linseed cake was manufactured. 2 . 



1. Linseed Meal. There are two classes of linseed meal found 

 on the American market, namely, old process and new process 

 meal. The old process meal is obtained by pressing out the oil 

 from the cold or warmed crushed flax seeds. The new pro- 

 cess consists of extracting the oil from the warmed crushed 

 flax seeds by the use of naphtha. This new process is employed 

 because it permits of a greater extraction of oil. The naphtha 

 is driven off by steam before the product is placed upon the 

 market. 



2. Flax Feed. This by-product is composed of the screenings 

 from the flax seed, which contains inferior flax seeds, weed 

 seeds, as well as part of the shell and fiber of the flax. It is 

 usually ground and used to some extent in mixed feeds. 



3. Flax Bran is a variable product which is used by manufac- 

 turers of commercial feeds as a filler and to furnish bulk and 

 roughage to their feeds. It is generally made up of stems, 

 pods and small flax seeds in varying proportions. The value 

 of this product depends upon the amount of flaxseed present. 



4. Cold Pressed Linseed Cake. This is the residue obtained 

 by pressing most of the oil from flaxseed by compression with- 

 out heating. The process of obtaining this product is similar 

 to that employed in manufacturing cold pressed cotton seed 

 cake. Cold pressed linseed cake contains more fat (oil) and 

 less protein than linseed meal. 



1 Jordan, "The Feeding of Animals," 



2 1908 Yearbook, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 



