i 9 ii.j 



Concentrated Feeding-stuffs. 



297 



"Linseed Cake," the vendor is bound under the Fertilisers 

 and Feeding Stuffs Act to supply cake made from linseed 

 alone and without admixture of other seed or substance. 

 The term " Oil Cake " is very misleading, and may apply to 

 cakes made from a variety of materials. 



The chief kinds of linseed cake are English or home- 

 made cakes, American, and Russian or Baltic. 



Home-made cakes are usually fairly soft, and of late years 

 they have been much freer from impurities than formerly, 

 especially when sold under the designation of " Pure Linseed 

 Cake." In regard to quality they usually contain 9 to 12 

 per cent, of oil, and may be looked upon as intermediate in 

 richness between American and Russian. 



American cakes are usually rather hard and poor in oil, but 

 are correspondingly rich in albuminoids. 



Russian cakes are darker in colour than American cakes. 

 They are usually rich in oil but are sometimes rather impure. 



Rough Tests of Linseed Cake. — A rough idea as to the 

 purity and quality of a linseed cake may be obtained as 

 follows : — 



(1) By inspection with the aid of a pocket magnifying glass 

 and a penknife one can detect the presence of substances 

 other than linseed when these are of fair size. As a rule, 

 however, they are so much broken up as to be difficult of 

 identification. The smooth, shining, dark, generally more 

 or less triangular-shaped seeds of Polygonum can often be 

 seen. The round, dark-brown husks of rape seed are familiar. 

 The seeds of corn cockle are dark brown and very rough on 

 the surface. Corn spurrey is a black seed with an almost 

 smooth surface and surrounded by a delicate disc. Pieces of 

 straw can sometimes be detected, and also sacking from the 

 bags in which the cakes are pressed. 



(2) The presence of too much sand may be suspected if 

 the cake feels gritty when small pieces are crushed between 

 the teeth. The flavour should be pleasing and not pungent 

 or bitter. 



(3) A jelly may be made by mixing one part by weight of 

 Hie cake with six parts of boiling water. The jelly should 

 have a mild taste and should not be bitter or rancid. If the 

 jelly be covered up and warmed gently for some time the 



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