March, 1910.] 



199 



Oils and Fats, 



all at an early stage of their lactation 

 period, and as the milk naturally de- 

 clined in quantity as the trial progress- 

 ed, it was decided to feed soy bean 

 cake during the first and last three 

 weeks and decorticated cotton cake 

 during the middle six weeks. Each cow 

 received daily 40 lb. swedes or 42 lb. 

 mangolds, 14 lb. hay, 71b. oat straw, 4 lb, 

 crushed oats, and 4 lb. soy bean cake 

 or 4 lb. decorticated cotton cake. 



As regards milk production, there was 

 a slight advantage in favour of the soy 

 bean cake, but it was so small that the 

 two cakes were considered to be equal 

 in this respect. Both foods also gave 

 similar results as regards the fac content 

 ot the milk. The cows gained rather 

 more in weight while they were receiv- 

 ing the soy bean cake than they did 

 on the decorticated cotton cake. 



An experiment on similar lines was 

 conducted at the Royal Agricultural 

 College, Cirencester. Six cows were 

 seclected from the College herd, and 

 divided into two lots of three each, 

 care being taken that the age, period 

 of lactation, and quantities of milk per 

 day were as nearly equal as possible. 

 The cows were turned out to grass on 

 April 5th. and the experiment lasted 

 from April 12th to May 9th. The daily 

 rations were 35 lb. pulped mangolds, 

 0-8 lb. chaff, 2 lb. ground oats, 1 lb. 

 bran, and a small allowance of hay. 

 Lot 1 received, in addition, 4 lb. soy 

 bean cake, and lot 2, 4 lb. decorticated 

 cotton cake ; the bean cake contained 

 6 per cent, of oil and 40 per cent, of 

 albuminoids and cost £6 10s per ton, 

 while the cotton cake contained 8 per 

 cent, of oil and 34 per cent, of albumin- 

 oids, and cost £7 10s. per ton. 



The yield of milk appeared to be 

 little affected by the kind of cake used. 

 The percentage of butter-fat in the 

 ease of the bean cake remained almost 

 constant, a slight increase, if anything 

 being noticed; with the decorticated 

 cotton cake the percentage of butter-fat 

 had a tendency to fall. 



The butter produced by the bean cake 

 was of a soft, oily nature and quickly 

 churned, but it yielded well. It was, 

 ho wever, of a decidedly paler colour and 

 somewhat inferior flavour as compared 

 with that from cotton cake. The but- 

 ter produced by the decorticated cotton 

 cake was hard, and took a longer time 

 to churu. The yield, however, was not 

 so good as from the bean cake. No 

 difference in laxative effect or otherwise 

 was observed in the two cakes. 



Another experiment on a small scale 

 was carried out at the Harper Adams 

 Agricultural College, with two rather 



delicate heifers, to test the question of 

 the possibility of this cake having any 

 detedmental effect on animals. Increas- 

 ing quantities up to 7 lb. a day were 

 given to one animal without any ill- 

 effects and the cake was eaten with 

 relish. The other heifer was fed on a 

 patent cake, and then a sudden change 

 made to soy bean cake, and in this case 

 also no difference was observed. 



An experiment carried out in Ger- 

 many, at the Agricultural Institute at 

 Bonn, is reported in the Deutehe Land- 

 wirtschaftliehe Presse (22nd and 26th 

 May, 1900) in which soy bean cake was 

 compared with linseed cake for feeding 

 cows. The experiment was of a very 

 exhaustive character, but only included 

 three cows, which were fed for a fort- 

 night at a time on linseed cake, soy 

 bean cake, and again on linseed cake. 

 The results showed little difference as 

 the result of the feeding, and the con- 

 clusion arrived at was that soy bean 

 cake was a quite satisfactory food for 

 cows. 



Use of Soy Bean Cake for Feeding. — The 

 foregoing experiments and the aualyses 

 which have been made, show that this 

 cake may be regarded as a useful feeding 

 stuff when given to stock in suitable 

 quantities and in combination with 

 other foods. It is, however, rich in 

 albuminoids, aud if not fed judiciously 

 may give rise to digestive troubles. As 

 the analyses given above show, it 

 approaches decorticated cotton cake in 

 composition, and should be fed in the 

 same way as that cake with roots, hay 

 and straw. 



Several cases have been reported to 

 the Board in which stock led on soy 

 beans or cake have become ill and died, 

 and investigation into these cases is 

 now in progress. At present there is 

 no evidence to show that cake from 

 pure soy beans {Glycine hispida), or the 

 beans themselves, if fed to animals in 

 suitable quantities, would cause un- 

 desirable results. It is possible that 

 the accidents reported have been due 

 to an admixture with the soy beans of 

 some other feeding material possessing 

 poisonous properties. 



Soy beans have been cultivated for a 

 number of years in the United States 

 and are regarded as a useful fodder 

 crop. The plant is grown, not only for 

 the beans, but also for hay, while it is, 

 perhaps, more commonly used for green 

 forage. Some information as to their 

 cultivation was given in this Journal, 

 May, 1909, p. 128, and further information 

 on this point will be found in Farmers' 

 Bidletin, No. 372, of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, 



