62 THE STOCKFEEDER'S COMPANION 



"astringent" action. This is particularly valuable 

 when cattle or sheep are receiving immature roots in 

 the autumn, or young grass in the spring, as this cake 

 counteracts the tendency to scour. Four to 6 Ibs. per 

 day is generally sufficient for a two-year-old bullock, 

 and J lb., as part of the ration, for a " teg " or " hogg." 



When purchasing undecorticated cotton cakes, one 

 should avoid to a large extent those which are very 

 hard and show excessive coarseness of the husk. It 

 is also a good plan to "nut" the cakes a few days 

 before they are fed, as they absorb moisture and 

 become very much softer. Nails, if present, are often 

 detected in this manner before the cattle get an 

 opportunity of swallowing them. 



Kapok Cakes. These cakes are obtained after the 

 seeds have been ground, pressed, and made into cakes 

 in the usual way. 



The cake contains about 26 per cent, albuminoids, 

 6 per cent, fat, 20 per cent, carbohydrates, with 28 

 per cent, fibre. The high percentage of fibre is due 

 to the seeds having very thick, hard hulls. The fat 

 is nearly all digestible, three-quarters of the albuminoids, 

 only half the carbohydrates, and one-fifth of the fibre. 



Sunflower Cake. This cake is not much used in 

 this country, although on the European continent it 

 is fed to dairy cattle. It has a fairly good composition, 

 excepting it is high in fibre, as will be seen below : 

 albuminoids, 19 per cent.; oil, J\ per cent; carbo- 

 hydrates, 30 per cent. ; fibre, 30 per cent. 



It is considered to counteract to a large extent the 

 tallowy flavour of the fat of bullocks and sheep. 



Hemp Cake. Residue from hemp seeds after oil 

 extraction. The extraction of oil is often made at a 

 high temperature, which sometimes causes the cakes 





