198 agricui^ture; of maine. 



made and that 250 samples of milk were taken, from which 

 three prosecutions were made, two for serving oleomargarine 

 in restaurants without notifying guests and one for selling milk 

 to which formaldehyde had been added. 



In every instance convictions were secured and the defendants 

 duly fined. We have found renovated butter in considerable 

 quantities being sold in the State, but comparatively little oleo- 

 margarine is found in the local retail stores, though the high 

 prices of butter drive many to seek a substitute. In most 

 localities, the quality of milk was found to be good but in a few 

 others, the conditions were bad, and I am convinced that our 

 system of local inspection fails to accomplish its desired purpose 

 and I further believe that this work should be done under the 

 supervision of the State, with a system of State registration 

 which would take the inspection out of local politics and place it 

 in the hands of competent men employed for that purpose all 

 the time, going from place to place and liable to descend, at any 

 time, upon the unsuspecting and unscrupulous ' dealer and the 

 next day be at some other place. 



The work of this division has been considerably varied as 

 can be seen, being divided by the rules to cover instruction and 

 inspection work at the creameries and cheese factories ; instruc- 

 tion and inspection at the dairies of both patrons of factories 

 and private dairymen; the examination of the methods of 

 creamery testing; the enforcement of the laws regulating the 

 manufacture and sale of all dairy products and their imitations, 

 including prosecutions; the attending of farmers' meetings of all 

 kinds, making addresses and being prepared to give advice as to 

 market conditions, etc. 



That our butter product has improved in quality, there can 

 be no doubt. This is attested to not only by our higher scores 

 at the dairy conference and the word of the judges but by the 

 effort of commission houses to secure our product to handle, 

 where a few years ago, they would refuse it. 



Especially is it true that the quality of product received at the 

 creameries has greatly improved, which is shown by the reports 

 from every one. Neither is there any doubt about an improve- 

 ment in methods of creamery testing, or of a better knowledge 

 of making tests by the dairymen of the State. The imitation 

 products are generally sold according to law and there is less- 



