Chemists fm' the Years 1889 and 1890. 
163 
by those makers who are willing to go to the necessary trouble and 
expense. 
The existence of so many inferior cakes in the market is the 
fauit of those farmers who look more to their actual money outlay 
than to seeing that they get their money's worth. So long as they 
are content to buy, as linseed-cake, cake which contains all the im- 
purities which may naturally be in the seed, or which have been 
added to it, so long will tha supply meet the demand. Were they 
one and all to insist on having pure cakes only, there would soon be 
no market for the many bad cakes sold. The term "oil-cake" is a 
misleading one, and may now almost be taken as synonymous with 
impure linseed cake. Such '■ oil-cakes " are media for getting rid of 
the dirt and weed seeds which are removed fi'om linseed and other 
seeds, and, although they are sold at prices much below that of pure 
linseed cake, and are described as being "good value for the money," 
they are often dear at any price. Numerous cases of injury to stock 
have arisen through feeding on oil-cakes which have contained seeds 
of a deleterious nature. 
That farmers ai-e very careless in the manner in which they 
purchase their feeding-stufis and manures is an indisputable fact. 
The common practice of taking, in return for their farm produce, 
cake and manures from dealers M'ithout any guai'antee whatever, is 
a fertile source of the farmer being defrauded. The figures of an 
analysis are in themselves alone no sufficient guarantee ; for a lin- 
seed-cake may be impure and yet show a very good analysis. 
The necessity of having a guarantee such as is put out in the 
Society's form of conti'act is clearly shown by the following instance 
which occurred recently. A Member of the Society had purchased 
a quantity of linseed-cake on the strength of an analysis which 
indicated that the cake contained nearly 1 5 per cent, of oil. The cake 
was duly delivered in two lots, but when the cattle were tried on 
the second lot it was noticed that they did not like it, or do as well 
as before. Samples were therefore taken from each delivery and 
sent for analysis. 
The sample representing the first delivery was found to contain 
11-60, and that of the second delivery 12-27 per cent, of oil, instead 
of the 15 per cent, stated in the analysis on which the purchase was 
made. Moreover, the second delivery of cake was in a mouldy and 
unsound condition, and the cake had evidently been made fi'om 
damaged seed not tit for feeding. 
American linseed-cakes, the purity of which lias been favourably 
spoken of in previous reports, were, at least during 1889, not nearly 
as good as before. Since then, however, an improvement has been 
shown, but the cakes are generally excessively hard and low in oil. 
In refereiice to the value of oil in linseed-cake as a feeding con- 
stituent, an experiment carried out by Mr. F. I. Cooke, of Flitcham, 
King's Lynn, on behalf of the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture, is 
recorded in Part II. of Vol. XXV. (1889) of the Journal, and is 
well worthy of attention. 
A fresh adulterant for linseed and other cakes has to be added 
M 2 
