294 Concentrated Feeding-stuffs. [july, 



Very light sandy soils might be considerably improved by 

 ploughing in several crops of spurrey in succession, for it will 

 grow in profusion on sands where many plants would not 

 succeed at all, and its growth is so rapid that two or three 

 crops may be raised in one season. Ploughing in would of 

 course be effected as soon as the weed showed the first flowers. 

 Depasturing the crops with sheep would also be very 

 beneficial on such soils. 



THE COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF 

 CONCENTRATED FEEDING STUFFS.* (Contd.) 



The Chief Feeding Stuffs, 



Linseed. — The chief sources of the supply of linseed are 

 India, Russia, and America. Russian seed is smaller and 

 also darker in colour than the Indian seed. Genuine well- 

 cleaned linseed weighs not less than 52 lb. per bushel. 



The use of linseed — as distinguished from linseed cake — 

 among farmers is chiefly restricted to the feeding of calves. 

 It is found that linseed meal or crushed linseed added to skim 

 or separated milk is one of the safest and most economical 

 substitutes for the abstracted milk-fat. Linseed approaches 

 more nearly in composition to the solids of milk than any 

 other food, and the oil which it contains, to the extent of 34 

 to 38 per cent., is easily digestible. There is, however, a 

 risk in buying any grain or seed in the form of a meal, as it 

 is difficult to detect impurities when the material is sold in 

 this condition. Farmers purchasing any considerable quan- 

 tity of linseed meal will be well advised to have samples 

 analysed. One of the commonest adulterants of linseed meal 

 is ground linseed cake. The latter does not contain more 

 than one-sixth to one-third of the oil in pure linseed, and 

 the relatively larger amount of fibre in it renders it unsuitable 

 for giving to young calves as a substitute for milk fat. 

 Again, the meal of almost any cereal grain can be mixed 

 with linseed meal in fairly large proportions before the sub- 

 stitution is likely to be detected with the naked eye. The 



* This and the preceding article are now issued as a revised edition of Leaflet 

 No. 74. Though some portions of the earlier edition of the Leaflet have been 

 retained, the bulk of this article has been written by Dr. Charles Crowther, of the 

 University, Leeds. 



