202 SCIENTIFIC FEEDING OF ANIMALS 



cake meal," consisting of ground weed seeds (char- 

 lock, polygonum, corn cockle, etc.), is sometimes 

 offered for sale. 



Sunflower-seed cake and the meal made from it 

 are usually prepared from seeds that have been 

 imperfectly skinned and cleaned, and so seed 

 coats and earth are common. Sunflower-seed cake 

 is very useful for cows, and is said to influence the 

 amount of fat in the milk favourably ; it is also of 

 considerable value in fattening bullocks and sheep, 

 and it is said to improve the " tallowy " flavour of 

 fat meat. The bacon of pigs is not affected by it, 

 at least not favourably. 



Sunflower-seed cake possesses an extraordinary 

 hardness, and is difficult to break into suitable 

 pieces. It has the advantage though of keeping for 

 a long time without going mouldy. 



Poppy-seed cake. After the feeding of animals 

 with this by-product they have been observed to be 

 remarkably slow and sleepy, and this has been 

 attributed to a small quantity of opium. Good 

 ripe poppy seeds do not contain any of this poison, 

 or at least only traces, but in the unripe seeds and 

 the capsules small quantities are found. For this 

 reason it is not advisable to feed this otherwise 

 palatable cake to young stock, neither to pregnant 

 or suckling animals. Horses also are better with- 

 out it, and its use should be restricted to fattening 

 stock — bullocks or sheep. This food is also said 



