Anmud Report for 1891 of ihe GonsuUmrj Chemid. 837 
A was sold ill December 1890 on the London Corn Exchange at 
U. 15*-. per ton. The sender of the sample said his cows would not 
eat it. I found it to be one of the hardest cakes I had ever ex- 
amined, and considered that the farmer's cows had shown much 
discretion. 
B was a perfectly pure cake, costing then (Februaiy 1891) 
8^. 10s. a ton delivered, a not excessive price as the market stood at 
the time. 
C was an exceptionally rich and also pure cake, costing (April, 
1891) 10/. per ton. No one understanding these analyses, even 
slightly, can fail to see that the inducement of a lower price may be 
very dearly bought ; and to this I would add that the deprivation of 
a linseed-cake of so much oil as was the case with the sample A 
cannot be effected without rendering it excessively hard, indigestible, 
and, it may be, even dangerous to use. 
Cotton-cake^. — Undecorticated cake experienced in October 1891 
a similar rise in price to linseed-cake, going from AJ. l-5s. and 5/. 
per ton to 5/. \fis. and G/. Once again I have to give a warning 
against the use of certain foreign-made cotton-cakes. These are 
mostly of the kind called " Brazilian," or are of Marseilles manu - 
facture. They present a peculiar appearance, unlike that of well- 
made English cake ; they are generally coated with a good deal of 
hair -from the horse-hair bags in which the seed is pressed, and the 
husk is decidedly coarse ; often they are acid in character, and not 
unfrequently bits of metal, iron nails, ic, are found in them. Such 
was the case when a member of the Society recently sent me a 
sample of this class of cake. He complained that four young calves 
had died, and a valuable bull had been taken ill. On examining the 
cake, pieces of sacking were found in it and quite a small collection 
of bits of old iron. Anotlier objection to undecorticated cotton-cakes 
still recurs from time to time — viz. the presence of cotton-wool, which 
has not been properly removed from the seed. I have often drawia 
attention to this, having had during my experience many clearly 
proved cases of its having caused damage by collecting, together 
with the fibre, in the stomachs of animals. I do not say that this is 
Jo?Mic? to occur where such a "woolly "cake is used, but I unhesi- 
tatingly say it is likely to happen, and thus it must be always 
considered dangerous. It is well known, however, that individual 
animals, if fed cautiously at first, may accustom themselves to food 
which, under other circumstances, or if too freely fed to them, would 
prove injurious, or even fatal. Much depends, too, upon the indi- 
vidual constitution and surroundings of the animal. Thus, in India 
it is no uncommon sight to see the whole cotton-seed, with a quantity 
of wool still adhering, fed to bulls and working bullocks. I well 
remember being struck with this when I first saw it, and I could 
not help wondering what might be the fate of our highly-bred bulls 
at home if this were given to them. But one has to consider the 
difference of the surroundings, the fact that in the one country the 
cattle are kept for working, but not in the other ; then, too, 1 he dry 
and hard nature of the usual food of Indian cattle and other 
