794 - Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, Dec., 1893 . 
Dr. Voelcker’s report on the cake was : — 
Moisture 
Oil . 
September 8, 1893. 
. 10-58 * 
. 101.3 
1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters 
Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre 
Woody fibre (cellulose) .... 
2 Mineral matter (ash) .... 
11-43 
8-34/ 
1 containing nitrogen 
2 including sand . 
3-50 
3-79 
A cake which is full of impurities. Among these figure rape, spurrey, 
cockle, earthnut, mustard, rice, &c., and there is nearly 4 per cent, of sand 
as well. 
In reply to further inquiries it was found that the invoice only 
described the cake as oil cake, and that the order given for linseed 
cake was merely a verbal one. 
Refuse Meal from Tinplate Works . — A Member sent for analysis 
a sample which he described as “bran.” Dr. Yoelcker reported 
that it was “ not bran at all, but an inferior mixture of flour and 
some fibrous material. The ash, moreover, is composed largely of 
sulphate of lime, and with this the meal is adulterated.” 
The purchaser subsequently wrote that the “ bran ” was what had 
been used in local tinworks for cleaning tinplates, and that during 
the process it got saturated with palm oil of the best quality and 
was sold at 21. 10s. per ton as “Best Bran saturated with Palm 
Oil.” Dr. Yoelcker pointed out that while a farmer could not 
expect to get genuine feeding bran for 21. 10 s. per ton, still less bran 
enriched with palm oil, his own analysis showed that there was very 
little oil at all in the sample, and that to such material as that 
used the name “ bran ” had no right to be applied. 
Poisoning of Cattle by Castor-oil Bean occurring in Decorticated 
Cotton-cake Meal . — Three different Members of the Society resident 
in Shropshire sent for analysis to Dr. Voelcker samples of decor- 
ticated cotton-cake meal. The first one wrote that he fancied there 
was something wrong with the meal, as it purged his cattle very 
much, and he had had several very unwell since using it. The 
second stated that out of 150 cattle which had been feeding upon 
the meal nearly half had suddenly taken to scour. The third said 
that on the very first time of giving the meal to twenty-eight feed- 
ing heifers, every one of them became ill with violent purging, and 
one died from the effects. A veterinary surgeon who was consulted 
reported as follows : — “ I have made a post-mortem examination of 
the heifer you sent to-day, and found the cause of death was inflam- 
mation of the bowels caused by irritant poison in the food.” 
After careful analytical and microscopical examination Dr. 
Yoelcker found in each of the three cases that the husk of castor-oil 
bean was present in the meal. This led to further inquiries, and it 
was elicited that, while the vendors did not deny their liability, the 
