306 Quarterly Reports of the Chemical Committee. 
any adulteration by us, is not only an extremely cheap article at the price, 
but an honestly made cake of a reasonably high standard of excellence and 
purity, we consider we have fully complied with the requirements of those 
who deal with us. In this sense our cakes are quite what they profess 
to be. . . ." 
The vendors of cake No. 2 replied to him as follows : — 
" Dear Sir, — Your favour of the 9th inst. to hand. 
" You ordered on the 9th of October two tons T B pure liusecd-cakes, and 
we booked and sent you two tons T B pure at 9?. per ton. 
" We certainly did not in this case or any other sell these cakes subject to 
Dr. Yoelcker's analysis cr approval. 
" We can guarantee them to he made purely from linseed as imported, 
vitlioiit the slightest admixture whatsoever by crushers. 
" You well know with ourselves there are various qualities of linseed, and 
which vary in price as much as 10s. or 15s. ])er quarter; this would make a 
diflerence in the value of the cakes of about 21. 10s. to SI. 15s. per ton. 
" Now, it will not pay crushers to make cakes from finest quality of seed 
ohtamaUe and sell it at 9Z. per ton. Is it likely? But nevertheless these 
cakes were made from very good quality linseed, and also without any 
adulteration on the part of the crushers, as we said before. . . ." 
Pure linseed-cake ought to be made from properly-screened 
linseed, and not from dirty linseed. As far as the consumer of 
cake is concerned, it matters little to him whether dirt and small 
weed-seeds are imported with linseed and made into inferior 
linseed-cake, or whether the imported linseed is adulterated 
by the crushers. Linseed, genuine as imported, may actually 
produce a cake which is less valuable than cake made from 
well-screened linseed and adulterated with 25 per cent, and 
more of bran or rice-meal. It is not fair of oil-cake merchants 
to undersell makers of pure linseed-cake made from well- 
screened linseed, by describing as pure linseed-cakes, oil-cakes 
which are made from badlv-screened or impure linseed, even 
though the lowness of price should suggest to a purchaser the 
improbability of purity, nor would the purchaser be legally 
obliged to accept cakes so sold. 
3. A sample of bone-dust, offered for sale as pure bone-dust, 
on analysis showed the following composition : — 
Moisture 9-75 
'Organic matter 44 "GO 
Phosphate of lime 37 " 31 
Carbonate of lime 7 • 84 
Sand -50 
100-00 
'Containing nitrogen 2 '41 
Equal to ammonia 2 • 92 
This bone-dust was largely adulterated with vegetable ivory 
shavings, a material which has no fertilising value. 
