438 



Journal of Agriculture. 



[8 July, 1908. 



The evidence submitted from all parts of the world to the 

 Departmental Committee on Food Preservatives in England will have to 

 be combated before the public can approve of the prohibition of boric 

 acid. The Committee consisted of the Right Hon. Sir Herbert Eustace 

 Nlaxwell, Bart., M.P., Professor Edward Thorpe, Vice-President of 

 the Royal Society, Herbert Timbrel 1 Bui strode, Esq., M.D., Francis 

 Whittaker Tunnicliffe, Esq., M.D. It will be seen that, with the 

 exception of the Chairman, the Committee was purely professional. Their 

 investigations embraced all that was known on the subject from every 

 corner of the globe, particularly from medical authorities. They 

 recommended "that the onlv preservative permitted to be used in butter 

 and margarine, be boric acid, or mixtures of boric acid and borax, to be 

 used in proportions not exceeding 0.5 per cent., expressed as boric acid." 



Experiments.- — On the 13th of April last the Managers of Butter 

 Factories in each District were asked bv me to conduct experiments in the 

 following terms: — 



" Take from one churning portion of the butter and manufacture with the 

 addition • of o-s per cent, boric acid preservative; another portion with 0.25 per 

 cent.; a third with o. i per cent.; and a fourth without any preservative; also a 

 similar set of samples with like quantities of saltpetre so that the result may be 

 tested at the Managers' Conference. 



"A cross set of experiments may be made with butter manufactured from 

 jjastsurized cream; and with butter to which no salt is added." 



Mr. Proud, of Korumburra, kindlv provided one set of samples, and 

 Mr. Watson, of Colac, another. Three other sets were made bv officers 

 of the Department at country factories. Owing to the time of season it 

 was impossible to secure cream of good quality to operate on. 



The whole of the samples, ranging from two to five weeks old, have 

 just been examined by the Government Graders at the Cool Stores. 



The following is a table of comparisons: — 



