Adulteration of Oilcakes. 
58D 
tliat was perhaps the most delicate question that could be put to him ; 
and if he abstained from touching that matter, it was from no want of 
respect for the gentleman who put the question, but from some little 
respect for his own position. 
' Meeting of WeeJcJy Council, Wednesday, April 15. Mr. Eatmond 
Barker in the Chair. 
The Adulteration of Oilcakes. 
Professor Voelcker said : The subject on which it is my privilege 
to-day to address the members of the Society is one of especial im- 
portance at the present time, when not only oil-cakes, but all kinds 
of feeding mixtures are more and more employed by the British 
farmer for the fattening of his cattle. This great increase in the 
demand for feeding materials has led to adulteration with matter 
sometimes downright injurious to health, at other times with those 
that possess no feeding properties, or with substances which, at the 
best, are of a doubtful character. The great demand for all kinds of 
oilcake, more especially the great demand for linseed-cake, has led to 
an amount of adulteration of which the practical farmer is hardly 
aware. Anyone who takes a survey of the stalls in our large markets, 
and looks at the various kinds of cakes, cannot fail to be struck with 
the very great variations which their appearance presents, whereas 
in the seed no such difference is manifested. 
I have here before me samples of linseed which comes from 
various parts of the world ; but they do not differ much in 
colour. When, then, we find one cake nearly as white as a poppy- 
cake, another very dark, and another, like the American barrel- cake, 
possessing the nice colour of linseed itself, we have here good 
prima facie evidence that the light cake is probably mixed with 
white-poppy cake, the dark coloured with rapecake, and that the 
third is in all probability the pure linseed-cake. The very ap- 
pearance of the cakes, then, as they are sold in our markets, affords 
sufiBcient evidence that something or other is done with the linseed 
besides pressing it for oil, which must have some influence on the 
quality of the cake. Now, if oil-crushers would merely confine 
themselves to such admixtures, perhaps the injirry which is done by 
inferior descriptions of cake would not be so great as it is in reality. 
The farmer would simply pay for an inferior cake like rapecake the 
proper price for cake of the best description. But in many instances 
in which the farmer buys cakes he buys in reality mixtures which are 
more or less injurious. 
I shall first direct your attention to those admixtures which are in 
themselves injurious, and secondly to those which become injurious 
during the time of keeping the cake. There are also matters added to 
oilcakes which deteriorate the quality of the meat produced, by impart- 
ing to it a bad flavour, so as to lower its market value. Let me first point 
out what are the characters of genuine or pure linseed-cake. A good 
