to suspect that the two materials used in making the mixture were themselves of very low quality. The price at which this cake was offered was £10 10s., while its value certainly could not have exceeded £8, allowing the bran to be worth £6 per ton.

The other sample was of a very different kind. The eye at once detected adulteration, and the suspicion which was then excited was abundantly confirmed by analysis. The substance used in this case was one of the great family of grasses, but the species I have been unable to identify. It most nearly resembles the oat, and is probably the seed of some of the cultivated grasses; but I need scarcely say that it is not possible to ascertain with certainty to which of the almost endless number of species it belongs. The adulteration in this case was extremely rude, so much so that the gentleman by whom it was sent for analysis at once suspected it, but as a proof of the careless manner in which such articles are too often bought, he tells me that, at least, 50 tons had been sold in his immediate neighbourhood.*

Another adulterating material has been used in a cake Imanufactured at Tilsit, of which the following is an analysis :

In this case the cake looked well, but it contained some bran, and a large quantity of some seed which has a close resemblance to rice, and which it was at first supposed might be the refuse of that substance, but I am now inclined to think it is some grass seed, though what species it is I cannot pretend to say. The price of this cake was £8 15s., which no doubt is far above its value, as the adulterating article was probably a refuse of little or no value.

* Since this was written, I have ascertained that this cake was produced from an "inferior" linseed, a sample of which I found to contain 42 per cent. of grass seed, the greater part of which was identical with that I had detected in the cake. I have been unable, as yet, to ascertain the species of grass, but hope to do sʊ.

Bad as these cases are, they are surpassed by that of the following sample, which contained :

If here the analytical numbers only be looked at, the sample might be described as an oil cake of rather low quality, but there is nothing to excite suspicion as to the sophistication it had undergone. The fact is that this is really the grossest case which ever came under my notice. To call it adulterated is to understate the case. Substitution would be a more correct expression, for it contained only a small proportion of linseed, the bulk of it being made up of a variety of substances. Among these were detected bran, the root of some plant, woody fibre, some kind of nut, and portions of a succulent plant, besides others which could not be identified.

It is unnecessary to multiply analyses of such oil cakes, though it would be easy to do so to almost any extent. A sufficient number has been given to show what I am anxious to impress on the farmer, which is, that the mere analytical numbers, without comment, are not sufficient for his purpose, because mixtures of inferior substances may be made which simulate, in the most perfect manner, the composition of genuine oil cake. It may be said indeed that, provided the farmer gets an equal amount of valuable nutriment, it does not matter to him whether it is in the form of linseed, or of any other substance which may have been substituted for it. In practice, however, he proceeds on an entirely different plan. He does not pay the same price for rape cake as for linseed cake, though the nutritic value of the former, as indicated by analysis, is as high, sometimes higher, than that of the latter. He is ready at all times to pay nearly twice as much for oil cake, because he has found by experience that its nutritive matter is more available (that is, produces a greater weight of meat) than the same quantity of rape cake; and it is quite obvious that the same must apply to it when mixed with any other substance. Granting even that a mixture of linseed with a small quantity of rape does as well as linseed

N

alone, that is no reason why he should pay for the mixture the price of linseed (which he is pretty sure to do) when he can buy them separately for less. Whenever a mixture is made, the farmer may rest assured that this cannot be done without entailing some cost which he is called upon to pay in addition to the market value of the materials mixed. That extra cost may be greater or less according to circumstances, but it must always exist.

In order that the farmer may have some guide to direct him in the purchase of cakes, I shall conclude with a few rules which he will do well to observe; and I find this the more necessary, because the character and composition of good oil cakes are sometimes but imperfectly understood, and I infer this because I have recently been shown the analysis of a cake containing 20 per cent. of albuminous compounds, of which I am informed a large quantity was sold last season, though this fact is in itself in the highest degree suspicious-so much so, that I do not hesitate to say the cake must have been adulterated, though I have never seen samples of it.

1. In buying a cake, examine it carefully. It should be hard and difficult to break, and its colour should not be too pale. If it is soft and splits easily, it is almost certain to be adulterated, and if its colour is pale, even though it may be hard, it is suspicions.

2. Examine the analysis. A genuine oil cake of the best quality should contain 11 to 13 per cent. of oil, and from 26 to 28 per cent. of albuminous compounds. If made from inferior linseed, the proportion of the latter ingredient may be as low as 24 per cent., but if it falls below 23 it is suspicious, and if much below this quantity, the chances are that it is adulterated.

3. Remember that even if it contain the full amount of those substances, the cake may be made up of inferior matters mixed with some substances rich in albuminous compounds, and take care to observe whether the analysis, in addition to the mere numerical results, states whether the cake is made entirely from linseed.

4. A low-priced cake is probably, though not necessarily, adulterated. As a rule, the market price of a good oil cake is well known, and there is no great room for variations in price; so that if a cake is offered at a rate much below the average, it is scarcely necessary to say that it must be considered doubtful.

5. Obtain from the seller a guarantee that the article is made entirely from linseed without mixture, and ascertain that it is up to the mark. For this purpose a full analysis is not required, a careful examination being enough to detect adulteration, though it will not decide as to the relative qualities of different samples which are genuine

If these rules be adopted, the purchaser will be able to secure a genuine article; but if they are disregarded, he is pretty sure to be taken in. My experience leads me to say that, at the present time, a very large proportion of the oil cakes offered for sale. in this country are adulterated, and that this applies more particularly, though not exclusively, to home-made cakes. The manufacturer alleges that he is compelled to have recourse to the practice in consequence of the demand for cheap cake on the part of the farmer, and that unless he used some cheaper substance he could not compete with those who do. So far he is right; for if the farmer will take adulterated cake without question, merely because it is cheap, the fair trader must obviously go to the wall. He must either do as his neighbours do, or find some way out of the difficulty by throwing the burden of protecting himself upon the buyer. This is done by selling several qualities of cake, one only of which is guaranteed as made entirely from linseed; the others are sold without guarantee, and the farmer is left to take them at his own risk. If he does so, he disregards the obvious meaning of their being unguaranteed, and takes what, though apparently cheaper, must unquestionably be a dearer bargain than the more expensive article.

PREMIUMS

PREMIUMS AWARDED BY THE SOCIETY IN 1865.

I.-REPORTS, &c.

1. L.30 to James Archibald Campbell of Inverawe, Newlands Farm, Rugby, for a Report on the Results of the Application of Town Sewage to the Farm.

2. L.30 to John Dickson, W.S., Greenbank, Perth, for a Report on the

Agriculture of Ayrshire.

3. L.20 to Robert J. Thomson, Grange, Kilmarnock, for a Report on different descriptious of Cattle Food.

4. L.15 to Robert J. Thomson, Grange, Kilmarnock, for a Report of Experiments with different varieties of Oats.

5. L.15 to Robert J. Thomson, Grange, Kilmarnock, for a Report of Experiments with different varieties of Wheat.

6. L.15 to John Richardson, Drylawhill, Prestonkirk, for a Report on the same subject.

7. L.15 to Phipps Turnbull, Little Pinkerton, Dunbar, for a Report on the same subject.

8. The Gold Medal to Sir Robert C. Sinclair of Stevenson, Bart., for Improvements on the Estates of Murkle and Dounreay, in the County of Caithness.

9. The Gold Medal to James Dyce Nicol of Ballogie, M.P., for Agricultural Cottages erected in Kincardineshire.

10. The Gold Medal to George Armatage, Lecturer on Veterinary Materia Medica, Albert Veterinary College, Queen's Road, Bayswater, London, for a Report on the Diseases of Farm Horses.

11. The Medium Gold Medal to Robert Hutchison of Carlowrie, Kirkliston, for a Report on Transplanting Trees.

12. L.10 to Peter M'Lellan, Mill-Wright, Abernethy, Perthshire, for improved Thrashing Machine.

13. The Silver Medal to A. Brockie, Fala Mill, Blackshiels, for improved Guano Distributor.

14. The Silver Medal to William Kirkwood, Duddingston, Edinburgh, for improved Potato Lifter.

15. The Silver Medal to George Menzies, Bullions, Dunfermline, for improved Sheaf Elevator.

16. The Silver Medal to John Morrison, Superintendent, W. Drummond & Sons, Coney Park Nursery, Stirling, for a Report on Hedgerow Trees.

17. The Silver Medal to William Reid, Granton, Edinburgh, for Water Troughs attached to Railway Trucks.

II.-INVERNESS SHOW, 1865.

CLASS I.-CATTLE.

SHORT-HORN.

Judges-THOMAS HUNT, Thornington, Coldstream; NICOL MILNE of Faldonside, Melrose; and ANDREW MITCHELL, Allos.

Attending Members-Sir GEORGE MACPHERSON GRANT, Bart.; and GEORGE WILLIAMSON, Shempston.