14 BULLETIN 1471, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTTEE 
that is to say. if a sample of flaxseed contains 40 per cent of oil at a moisture 
content of 10 per cent, at 11 per cent of moisture the oil content would be 
only 39.6 per cent. 
(2) Flaxseed containing a high moisture content, 10.5 per cent and over, 
is a dangerous storage risk. 
(3) From a processing standpoint flaxseed containing over 8.5 per cent 
of moisture usually must be mixed with dry seed or must be dried artificially 
before grinding and pressing because flaxseed meal that contains moisture in 
excess of 8.5 per cent, when going to the press cloths, will spread and run. and 
this breaks the expensive camels-hair press cloths. 
RELATION BETWEEN DAMAGED FLAXSEED AND OIL CONTENT OF SAMPLE 
Soundness or freedom from damaged kernels is at present a factor 
in determining the quality of flaxseed. Damaged kernels in flax- 
seed are of two kinds — field-damaged seed and seed that has been 
damaged incident to storage. 
Field-damaged seed consists of immature and undeveloped kernels 
and kernels injured during growth by disease, drought or frost, and 
by field exposure after harvest. The kernels damaged by field ex- 
posure may be moldy, scabby, sprouted, or thickly covered with 
dirt or mud. 
Flaxseed stored under unfavorable conditions, that is. with exces- 
sive moisture and high temperature conditions that encourage 
bacterial growth will ferment and become either musty, sour, or 
rancid, depending upon the extent of the fermentation. Under these 
conditions, kernels will also sprout. When air is excluded, intra- 
molecular oxidation takes place with the formation of what is known 
as heat damage. If these processes proceed far enough, rotting 
eventually takes place. Flaxseed may also be injured in storage 
by fire (decomposition by external heat), with an accompanying 
smoky odor. Because of its inherent nature (oil bearing), flaxseed 
readily absorbs and holds odors.. It is. therefore, often in a damaged 
condition because of contamination with mineral oil, putrid animal 
and vegetable matter, or other substances with a pronounced and 
lasting odor. Insect injury to flaxseed is not common, although nests 
of insects frequently develop in foreign material within the bulk 
flaxseed. 
From the crops of 1920 to 1924, inclusive, samples of flaxseed were 
chosen containing field-damaged seed in amounts varying from 
to 100 per cent. Oil determinations were made on these samples 
and the influence of damaged seed upon the oil content of the flax- 
seed samples was noted. The resulting data are given in Table 10. 
They indicate the lack of any close relationship between the oil con- 
tent of flaxseed and the percentage of oil in the damaged samples. 
Samples having 50 and 75 per cent of damaged kernels contained as 
much oil as samples having only 1 and 2 per cent of damaged seed. 
In no crop year was there evidence, in the samples tested, that an 
increased damaged condition resulted in a decrease in the oil content. 
