NITROGEN IN SEA-WEEDS 289 



cake-meal is not so well suited for cattle-feeding as the others 

 mentioned, because of the cholin and beta'in which it contains; 

 often in sufficient quantities to render its use dangerous to young 

 animals. The danger in feeding increases in proportion to the 

 total quantity of the two bases and also the relative quantity 

 of cholin to beta'in, the former base being more poisonous than 

 the latter. In a sample of the mixed bases prepared by Maxwell 

 from cottonseed cake-meal, the cholin amounted to 17.5 and the 

 betain to 82.5 per cent, of the whole. 45 



The nitrogen contained in these bases is also included in the 

 total nitrogen found in the meal. The actual proteid value of 

 the numbers obtained for nitrogen is, therefore, less than that 

 obtained for the whole of the nitrogen by the quantity present as 

 nitrogenous bases. 



In the United States, cottonseed cake-meal is used in large 

 quantities as a direct fertilizer, but not so extensively for mixing 

 as some of the other sources of nitrogen. Its delicate yellow 

 color serves to distinguish it at once from the other bodies used 

 for similar purposes. No special mention need be made of other 

 oil-cake residues. They are quite similar in their composition 

 and uses, as well as in their manner of treatment and analysis to 

 the cottonseed product. 



250. Nitrogen in Sea-Weeds. The waste available nitrogen finds 

 its way sooner or later to the sea, and is recovered therefrom in 

 many forms. Sea-weeds of all kinds are rich in organic nitrogen. 

 Many years ago Forchhammer pointed out the agricultural value 

 of certain fucoids. 46 Many other chemists have contributed im- 

 portant data in regard to the composition of these bodies. 



Jenkins has shown from the analyses of several varieties of 

 sea-weeds that in the green state they are quite equal in fertiliz- 

 ing value to stall manure, and are sold at the rate of five cents 

 per bushel. 47 These data are fully corroborated by Goessmann. 48 



Wheeler and Hartwell give the fullest and most systematic 



45 Maxwell, American Chemical Journal, 1891, 13 : 469. 



46 Journal fur praktische Chemie, 1845, [ J ]> 36 : 385. 



47 Annual Report of the Connecticut Experiment Station, 1890 : 72. 



48 Annual Report of the Massachusetts Experiment Station, 1887 : 223. 

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