200 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



istence, and there was finally crystallized a sentiment to the 

 effect that oleomargarine should be allowed to be sold as and 

 for oleomargarine under as small as possible and yet sufficiently 

 large tax to pay the expense of surveillance ; that, however, the 

 product should not be allowed to be manufactured in imitation 

 or semblance of butter of any shade of yellow. It was further 

 determined that the phrase "of any shade of yellow" should be 

 defined. The proposition was, therefore, placed before the 

 Bureau of Standards of the National Government, and that 

 body, after deliberation and study of some months, brought 

 forth a definition of the limit of the shade of yellow that 

 might be in oleomargarine. 



It was embodied in Section 1 1 of a bill, prepared by the 

 National Dairy Union, and has since been introduced in the 

 last Congress by Mr. Haughen of Iowa. 



The Section referred to reads as follows : 



"That to afford the Bureau of Internal Revenue more effi- 

 cient means for the detection of Jraud and the collection of 

 revenue sections thirty-one hundred and sixty-four to thirty- 

 one hundred and seventy-seven, thirty-one hundred and sev- 

 enty-nine to thirty-two hundred and forty-three, thirty-three 

 hundred and forty-six as amended, thirty-four hundred and 

 forty-five to thirty-four hundred and forty-eight, and thirty- 

 four hundred and fifty to thirty-four hundred and sixty-three. 

 all inclusive, of the Revised Statutes of the United States, 

 and all laws relating to internal revenue, so far as applicable, 

 are hereby made to extend and apply to the taxes imposed by 

 this Act and to the substances upon which and the persons 

 upon whom they are imposed, no margarin shall be manu- 

 factured in imitation or semblance of butter of any shade of 

 yellow — for the purpose of this Act margarin shall be deemed 

 to be in such imitation or semblance of butter of any shade of 

 yellow, if the diffuse reflecting power for light of wave length 

 four hundred and thirty-six micro millimeters is less than sev- 

 enty per centum of the diff'use reflecting power for light of 

 wave length five hundred and seventy-eight micro millimeters 

 the temperature of sample being seventy to eighty degrees 

 Fahrenheit ; no margarin shall be manufactured by mixing 

 butter with the same or which contains more than five per 



