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addition of colouring matter, the Act sets out that Margarine
shall mean all substances, whether oompound or otherwise,
prepared in imitation of butter, and whether mixed with butter
or not; and no such substanoe shall bo lawfully sold except under
the name of Margarine, and under the condition set forth in the
Act. Any one dealing in Margarine who is found guilty of an
offence under the Act shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding
£20 for the first offence, not exceeding £50 for the second
offence, and not exceeding £100 for the third or each subsequent
offence. Packages containing Margarine are to be branded or
durably labelled "Margarine" in printed capital letters not
less than one-and-a-half inches square, and when sold by retail,
if in a package, it must be labelled as above mentioned; and if
in a paper wrapper, the same shall have printed thereon the
word "Margarine," in capital letters not less than a quarter of an
inch square. There are other provisions which I need not set
out, including power for any officer authorised to take samples
under the Food and Drugs Act, 1875, to take samples of butter
for analysis, adopting the forms required by that Act. In the
early part of 1888 1 visited several shops, and the Food
Inspector went to a very large number, and ascertained that
the provisions of the Act as to marking and labelling have been
well carried out. Tho price, however, at which it is 6old is high,
viz.: either from 8d. to 1s. 2d., or more generally from l0d. to
1s. 2d.; but it is, in my opinion, much more wholesome than
rankbutter, and contains a greater percentage of fat than butter,
which often has a large quantity of butter milk mixed with it,
owing to changes in which the rancidity chiefly depends.
Meteorology.—The weather during the year has been
somewhat unusual, and variable with less than the average
rainfall. In the first half of January the temperature was
unusually low, with frequent falls of snow, but after the 18th
it rose, and there were some days of fine weather. The mean
temperature for the month was 21 deg. below the average, and
the rainfall was three quarters of an inch in depth. In