280 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



the society's journals, so that correspondence in regard 

 to the work of the departments is greatly facilitated and 

 simplified. 



It is surprising, but at the same time instructive, to an 

 American, to learn the many cautionary measures taken by 

 the English in managing their farming operations : in the 

 preparations of the soil ; the selection of pure fertilizers ; 

 the providing of manure enriched by good feeding ; the 

 choice of seed that is pure, fresh, and free from foreign 

 germs ; the choosing of the best-made implements for prep- 

 aration and cultivation ; and in harvesting at the time 

 when the crop is thoroughly matured for their purpose. I 

 refer to these points not that our own farmers may not be 

 equally cautious, but as an introduction to a statement of 

 the opportunitiesoffered by the Royal Society for making 

 these cautionary measures effective. 



Guide to Opportunities Afforded by the Society. 

 Feeding Cakes. 



[How purchases should be made to protect the purchaser against impurities.] 



1. Linseed cake should be purchased as " pure," and the 

 insertion of this word on the invoice (or bill) should be 

 insisted upon. The use of such words as "best," "gen- 

 uine," etc., should be objected to by the purchaser. 



2. Rape cake for feeding purposes should be guaranteed 

 " pure," and purchased by sample. 



3. Decorticated cotton cake (stripped of seed cover) 

 should be guaranteed " pure," and purchased by sample. 



4. TJndecorticated cotton cake should be guaranteed 

 " pure," and purchased by sample. 



N. B. All feeding cakes should be purchased in good 

 condition, and the guarantee of the vendor (seller) should 

 be immediately checked by a fair sample (taken out of the 

 middle of one of the cakes) being at once sent for examina- 

 tion to a competent analytical chemist. The remainder of 

 the cake from which the sample sent for examination had 

 been taken should be sealed up in the presence of a witness, 

 and retained by the purchaser for reference in case of dis- 

 pute. 



