132 DOMESTIC Al^IMALS. 



Preparation of Food for the animal's stomach, or a system of cooking, 

 is a very important question. Steaming hay, potatoes and turnips, has 

 been tried very carefully in Scotland, and failed. For cattle, at least, it 

 is useless; how valuable soever it may be for pigs. It is pretty certain, 

 however, that, with certain combinations, all that a feeder can desire is 

 attained by the cooking of Jlax-seed. 



The fat of animals is strictly analogous to vegetable oil ; its elements 

 are much of the same character as sugar, starch and gum, and no doubt 

 is entertained, by physiologists and chemists, that the fatty matter (vege- 

 table oil) in plants, is assimilated into animal fet, with but little change. 

 The elements of those compounds severally are : — 



Sugar. 



Carbon 12 



Hydrogen 11 



Oxygen 11 



The oil contained in many seeds is given by Professor Johnston — 



Oil per cent. Oil per cent. 



Max-seed 11 to 22 sav 17 



Hemp-seed 14 " 25 "* 19 



Rape-seed 40 " 70 " 55 



White mustard 36 to 38 say 37 



Sweet almond 40 " 54 "47 



Bitter do 28 " 46 " 37 



This would naturally indicate that any of these seeds would, so far as 

 they were palatable, be useful ; and when linseed contains as much as 

 seven per cent, of mucilage, ten per cent, of sugar, and fifteen of soluble 

 albumen, it is clearly indicated as being a seed most valuable for feeding 

 and nourishing purposes. 



Various attempts have been made to adapt it to the feeding of cattle. 

 There was some dilKculty in grinding it by ordinary mills, as it clogged 

 up the teeth; and when given to animals either alone, or combined 

 with considerable quantities of corn, meal, or other feeding matter, the 

 effect on the animals was purgative, and but few breeders persevered in 

 the use of the seed alone. The demand for the oil, however, induced 

 the crushing of the seeds to obtain it, and the refuse left was found to 

 be very valuable as feeding material; wliile the portability of oil-cake, 

 its cleanliness, and capability of being long kept, made it a general and 

 desirable food, both for growing and feeding stock. The oil abstracted, 

 the cake contains, according to the same authority : — 



"\\^atcr 10.05 



Mucilage 39.1 



Albumen and gluten 22.14 



Oil 1 1.93 



Husks 9.53 



Saline matter and sand 7.25 



1.00 

 "We do not see exactly liow the cake can contain so large a propor- 

 tion of oil relatively with the seed; but it is probable that the seed had 

 originally contained a large proportion of oil, and that it had been but 

 indifferently crushed. Good English-made cake, however, has been 



