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174
that the addition of 10 per cent. of water is too
small to be worth a man's while to run the risk of
detection. I should have thought that 10 per cent.
on one's outlay twice a day, besides the additional
profit on the sale of milk, would have been a very
handsome recompense. Four per cent. per annum
is not considered a bad investment of one's money,
how much more then 20 per cent. per diem, obtained
by the use of water alone !
I have also examined eleven specimens of
Butter. These have presented considerable difficulties
to the analyst, on account of the skill with
which the admixture of other fats is accomplished.
By judicious admixture of liquid or
nearly liquid fats, the melting-points of the solid
fats have been lowered, so as to approximate them
to the melting-point of genuine butter; consequently,
the melting-point has become of mere nominal value.
Instead of adulterating by the admixture of water
as was common six months ago,the so-called "butters
contain less water than is necessary to make them
palatable. The miscroscope has nearly ceased to be
of use, as the presence of crystal is no proof of
more than manipulation on the part of the manufacturer.
Curd has to a great extent disappeared,
because some of the "butters" have never been
made from milk.