FOODS AND FEEDING. 93 



pale colour ot the kiln dried article recourse is had to " bleaching," Bleached 



which is effected by exposing the grain to the fumes of sulphur. To o^ts. 



detect this if it has been well done may be a matter of some difficulty, 



but if a small quantity is rubbed rapidly between the palms and quickly 



held near the nose the odour of sulphur may be detected. Chewing a 



few grains \\n\\ leave a sulphurous or bitter aftertaste in the mouth, 



and a careful scrutiny of the suspected sample should also be made, 



as some grains may have escaped the bleaching process and remain 



quite brown from the kiln drying, while others again may be so 



excessively de-colourised as to be almost, if not quite white. 



Mustiness a?td Mouldiness.—V>oi\\i\-\ese conditions are the result in Mustiness 

 different degrees of the grain having been damped by rain during the and 

 harvest or accidentally after storing. When the growth of the mould is mouldi- 

 so great as to be noticeable a simple inspection is sufficient to detect it, "^^^* 

 but the defect can be detected by the musty smell before it becomes 

 visible, and the condition is frequently accompanied by a soft and spongy 

 feel, varying with the Smount of damp present. 



Sprouting Oats are those which have already germinated, and in Sprouting 

 which the sprouts are visible ; their quality is, of course, so much affected oats, 

 as to render them unfit for consumption under ordinary circumstances, 

 and unlikely to be tendered for sale. 



Rat-tainted Oats. — The presence of large numbers of rats in a barn Rat- 

 will sometimes cause the grain to become so tainted that horses will tainted 

 refuse it. The condition may be detected by the presence of nibbled oats oats, 

 and the characteristic odour and droppings of the animals. 



Dirty Oats. — In many foreign samples of oats which are threshed in Dirty oats, 

 the open field a certain quantity of earth and small stones may be found, 

 and in addition such samples may contain small nails with flat heads, 

 which are used for the purpose of tacking canvas to the ship's side to 

 protect the cargo during the voyage. The screening of foreign oats in 

 order to clear them of all such particles is a matter, therefore, which 

 should receive close attention, as their inclusion is likely to produce 

 digestive troubles. 



Measures by which Oats are sold.— \x\. bulk, oats are sold by the Measures 

 quirter of 304 and 320 pounds according to their quality ; these weights by which 

 are known as "trade weights " and are merely approximate, denoting the ^^'^'^ ^'"^ 

 comparatively good or poor quality of the sample. In smaller quantities ^°^^' 

 they are dealt in by the bushel, or, when purchased by weight, at so 

 much per 40 lbs., which is generally accepted as a fair trade weight for 

 a bushel of good oats. A "quartern" = a quarter of a gallon, or quart, 

 4 gallons = a bushel, 4 bushels = a sack, 2 sacks = a quarter. 



