OIL-CAKES 57 



ration, or for dairy cows, seeing it improves the firm- 

 ness and keeping qualities of the butter, although the 

 butter may be slightly pale in colour. 



It should be fed very carefully, if at all, to young 

 cattle or pigs, as it may form into balls in the stomach 

 and cause harm. 



The manure resulting from the feeding of this cake 

 is very valuable (see p. 124). 



When purchasing decorticated cotton cakes, one 

 should generally avoid cakes with only 5 to 6 per cent, 

 oil (usual 8 to 10 per cent), as well as those which contain 

 large amounts of fibre, say 16 to 20 per cent, (usual, 8 

 per cent.). 



Ground-nut or Earth-nut Cakes are rather coarse 

 in texture and greyish brown in colour, coming about 

 halfway between the colour of Egyptian cotton cake 

 and that of linseed cake. The cake has a pleasant 

 taste, and stock like it. 



The whole nut (pod and seeds) may be ground 

 up and made into cakes, when one gets "undecorti- 

 cated ground-nut cake," but the cake used in this 

 country is usually made from the seeds or nuts after 

 the pod has been removed, and is called " decorticated 

 ground-nut cake." 



The " decorticated " cake is very rich in albuminoids, 

 as the following analysis shows : Albuminoids, 46 per 

 cent. ; oil, 10 per cent. ; carbohydrates, 23 per cent. ; 

 fibre, 5 per cent. The composition is very similar 

 to that of decorticated cotton cake, but slightly more 

 digestible, and may be used in the same way and in 

 the same proportions. 



Soya Bean Cake. This cake is greyish coloured, with 

 a taste very much like pea meal, and is exceptionally 

 rich in albuminoids (43 per cent). At the same time 



