Annual Report of the Consulting Chemist for 1878. 351 
The following Analysis represents the Composition of a Sample of 
so-called Black Sea Rape-cake. 
Moisture 2 '59 
'Organic matter 76 "46 
Phosphates of lime and iron 3 '55 
t Alkaline salts and magnesia 3 '30 
Jnsoluble siliccoiis matter (sand) 7 "10 
100-00 
* Containing nitrogen 4 • G3 
Equal to ammonia 5 '02 
t Containing phosplioric and '61 
Equal to tribasic phosphate of lime .. .. 1'33 
I need hardly saj that such a cake is unfit for feeding pur- 
poses ; and unless the weed-seeds, of which this cake mainly 
consists, have been purposely killed, it would not be desirable to 
use the cake for manuring purposes. 
A cake which is almost exclusively used for adulterating 
linseed-cake, and seldom sold to farmers, is sesame-cake, a 
sample of which was analysed by me, with the following results : 
Composition of a Sample of Sesame-cake {Marseilles make). 
Moisture 10-05 
Oil 8-53 
*Albuminous compounds 38-25 
Mucilaiie, sugar, and digestible fibre 24-23 
Woody''fibre (cellulose)' 5-98 
fMineral matter (ash) 12-96 
100-00 
* Containing nitrogen 6-12 
+ Including sand 3-23 
Sesame-cake, it will be seen, is rich in albuminoids, and 
when less hard pressed than the sample analysed by me, and made 
from cleaner seed, is a good and wholesome feeding-cake. 
In some places the common bracken {Pteris aquillind) is so 
abundant, that it may be cut up and used instead of straw or 
litter. Its fertilizing properties are superior to those of wheat-, 
or barley-, or oat-straw, as will be seen by the following analysis 
which I made some time ago. 
Composition of Bracken. 
Moistiire 6-65 
Oil 4-70 
'Albuminous compounds 12-13 
Mucilage, gum, digestible fibre, &c 46 '84 
Woody fibre (cellulose) 24*43 
Mineral matter (ash) 5-25 
100-00 
* Containing nitrogen 1-94 
