OIL-CAKES 61 



cotton seeds, hence the name. The hulls are black, 

 difficult to digest, and can be readily seen in the cake 

 with the naked eye, hence the cake has a coarser 

 appearance altogether than the undecorticated cotton 

 cake. The black hulls have an astringent action, which 

 may be an advantage when these cakes are fed along 

 with immature roots, etc., which tend to scour animals. 



The cakes also vary in appearance, according to the 

 amount of cotton lint that is left on the seed after 

 ginning, and a few years ago feeders generally were 

 afraid to give cakes containing a large amount of this 

 cotton lint to their stock. Experience has now shown 

 that these fears need not be entertained so long as 

 the cakes are fed with ordinary caution. 



The " Egyptian cotton cake " contains very little 

 cotton lint, and is yellowish in colour, with the dark 

 brown husks interspersed throughout the cake. It 

 contains 5 to 6 per cent, oil, 22 per cent, albuminoids, 

 34 per cent, carbohydrates, while the percentage of 

 fibre is as high as 20 per cent. It is a most useful 

 concentrate for fattening cattle, especially in the earlier 

 stages, and may be given up to 6 Ibs. per head per day. 

 For milking cows, it gives a pale but firm butter. 

 Sheep being fattened on roots do well with it up to 

 i Ib. per head per day, but it should be fed carefully 

 and only in very small quantities to young stock, as 

 it is rather difficult to digest, seeing that only three- 

 quarters of the albuminoids, half of the carbohydrates, 

 and one-eighth of the fibre are digestible. 



The Bombay cotton cake differs from the Egyptian 

 in its distinctly woolly appearance, caused by the 

 cotton lint adhering to the seed after ginning. It is 

 not quite so rich in albuminoids (19 per cent.) or oil 

 (4 to 5 per cent.), and has in addition a very 



