Annual Repost of the Commissioner of Agriculture. 303 



Bale of which was at that time stopped by an injunction granted 

 by the Supreme Court. No further effort has been made by them 

 to place these goods anywhere within this division. 



During February and March the attention of the experts was 

 called to the fact that large quantities of butter were being re- 

 ceived in this city from Chicago and other western cities and sold 

 at a very low price. Many samples of this butter were taken for 

 analysis and found deficient in butyric acid when tested by the 

 Eeichert process. The number of cubic centimetres of decinor- 

 mal soda solution required varied between 20.0 and 26.8, the 

 greater number of samples averaging about 23.5, while butter of 

 known purity required 27.5 when treated by the same method. 



I am informed on presumably reliable authority that this butter* 

 was manufactured by treating stale and unsaleable goods by a 

 process of meltings washing, resalting and recoloring. Whether 

 this treatment involved a partial loss of the characteristic butyrio 

 acid of butter, or whether its proportion had been reduced by the 

 addition of foreign fats, admits of question. 



This class of goods we advised the dealers not to handle, and 

 all have agreed to refrain from doing so, althougih great induce- 

 ments have been offered to the trade to handle them. The manu- 

 facturers have been unable to place any with the dealers in this 

 section this season, so that we can siafely say that we have also 

 driven the above class of goods out of this market. 



BUTTER. 



The persistent manner in which our exper'ts have followed up 

 the dealers in adulterated butter has tended to encourage the 

 manufacture of butter in this section to a greater extent than 

 heretofore, for since these spurious goods have been driven out of 

 our markets good, pure and wholesome butter has found ready 

 sale at an advanced price, a fact greatly appreciated by the butter 

 makers hereabout. Creamery butter manufactured in this dis- 

 trict for the home market is preferred, and brings from two to 

 three cents per pound more than the best foreign makes, and we 

 look for and are sure that the manufacture of butter will be a 

 yery important industry in this district in the near future. 



