Purity  of  Linseed  Cake. 
249 
The  analyses  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  are,  however, 
not  confined  to  the  settlement  of  questions  of  purity  and 
conformity  with  invoiced  descriptions  ; not  only  are  these 
dealt  with,  but  information  and  advice  as  to  use  and  com- 
parative value,  as  well  as  chemical  composition,  are  given 
— matters  outside  the  domain  of  the  Fertilisers  and  Feeding 
Stuffs  Act. 
It  is  a cause  for  regret  that  the  misleading  term  “ 95  per 
cent.,”  as  applied  to  linseed  cake,  continues  in  some  quarters  to 
be  used.  It  is  not  long  since  that  a powerful  organisation — the 
British  Oil  and  Cake  Mills — annoiinced  their  intention  to  sell  in 
future  all  linseed  cakes  according  to  the  Society’s  guarantee  of 
“ pure  ” and  to  give  up  the  term  “ 95  per  cent.”  They  and 
some  other  firms  have,  however,  not  as  yet  adopted  this  desir- 
able plan  in  its  entirety ; they  contend  that  some  of  their 
pui’chasers  still  demand  this  form  of  guarantee  and  will  not 
be  satisfied  with  the  description  “pure.”  This  may  be  so  in 
some  cases,  but  it  has  to  be  remembered  that  the  objectionable 
term  was  one  introduced  by  the  manufacturers  and  not  by  the 
purchasers ; and  while  the  latter,  it  is  true,  are  very  conservative 
in  their  methods  and,  when  they  receive  something  different 
or  described  differently  from  what  they  have  had  before,  get 
suspicious,  yet  the  real  fault  lies  with  the  makers,  and  it  is 
clearly  in  their  power  to  alter  the  practice.  I have  often 
pointed  out  the  objections  to  the  use  of  the  term  “95  per  cent.,” 
and  I would  again  remind  purchasers  that  it  provides  no  secure 
guarantee  to  them,  but  that  they  should  stipulate  for  “ pure  ” 
linseed  cake  only.  The  answer  comes  from  some  that  if  they 
were  to  do  this  they  would  have  to  pay  more  for  practically 
the  same  cake  ; this  again  is  a matter  in  the  hands  of  the 
makers.  It  is  to  my  mind  indeed  very  questionable  whether  a 
guarantee  in  terms  of  “95  per  cent.,”  as  applied  to  linseed  cake, 
is  a proper  one  under  the  Fertilisers  and  Feeding  Stuffs  Act. 
The  Act  si)ecifies  that  a cake,  if  sold  as  “linseed  cake,”  must  be 
“pure,”  and  there  seems  to  me  no  warranty  for  a description 
in  terms  of  “95”  or  other  per  cent,  “pure.”  A cake  that  a 
maker  will  not  sell  as  “ pure  ” linseed  cake  ought,  in  my 
opinion,  to  be  sold  as  “ oil-cake  ” or  by  some  name  indicating 
that  it  is  not  pure. 
While  certain  advantages  of  the  Fertilisers  and  Feeding 
Stuffs  Act  have  been  set  out,  there  are  also  disadvantages 
connected  with  it.  One  of  these  is  that,  in  consequence  of  the 
rigid  interpretation  of  the  terms  of  guarantee  as  contained 
in  invoices,  manufacturers  and  vendors,  in  order  to  be  on  the 
safe  side,  decline  to  give  a guarantee  in  terms  as  high  as  the 
material  often  warrants.  This  applies  in  particular  to  basic 
slag,  which  has  been  the  subject  of  several  and,  in  my  opinion, 
