II July, 1910.] Rczitiv of the Dairying Season, igog-10. 449 



(g) In the absence of manifest error, the weights of all goods averaged at any 

 public wharf, quay, or railway depot, shall be accepted as final between buyer and 

 seller. Standing beam shall be considered as short weight, but should standing 

 beam occur more than once in weighing the same parcel it shall be, in the first 

 instance, as short weight, and in the second as full weight, and so on alternately. 



[h] For the purpose of this rule, butter shall be weighed one box at a time, 

 and cheese in drafts of six cheese at a time. 



From these rules it will be clearly seen that those in the trade in Great 

 Britain did not understand the position here, and they will have to alter 

 the rules, or the regulations here must be changed before a satisfactory 

 solution can be arrived at. It seems a great pity that regulations cannot 

 be altered, in the interest of the trade. If the opinion cannot be modified 

 " that it is impossible under the Commonwealth Act " I consider the matter 

 of sufficient importance for an amended Act. 



Boric Acid. 

 The average percentage of boric acid found in samples of butter 

 analyzed was 0.18 per cent., as compared with 0.17 per cent, for the year 

 before and 0.23 per cent, for 1907-8. The number of boxes held up on 

 account of having been found to contain more than 0.5 of boric acid was 

 388 or 0.07 per cent., as compared with 38 boxes or o.oi per cent, for the 

 season before and 180 boxes or 0.03 per cent, for 1907-8. 



Butter Fat. 

 The average percentage of butter fat and casein was 83.71 per cent. ; 

 and 2,376 boxes, or 0.43 per cent., were detained from shipment on account 

 of having been found to contain less than the standard 82 per cent. The 

 average of all samples analyzed for the previous season was 84.65 per 

 cent, of butter fat and casein (ca.sein below i per cent. — the average casein 

 contents of samples analyzed was 0.78 per cent.) ; for the year 1907-8 the 

 average percentage of butter fat only was 84.1 per cent. It will be seen 

 therefore that Victorian butter contains 0.94 per cent, less butter fat than 

 for 1908-9, and 1.17 per cent, less than in 1907-8. In other words, if 

 butter of the same composition were made last season as for the season 

 1907-8 there would have been 7,528 boxes or 188 tons less shipped; and if 

 smiilar to last season 6,065 boxes or 151^- tons less. 



Butter Analyses. 



Altogether, 1.509 samples were taken for analysis or an average of one 

 sample to every 358 boxes. In the report of the Dairy Division in New 

 Zealand for 1908 it appears that 132 complete analy.ses were made and 

 1,005 for moisture contents only, making a total of 1,137, whilst 519,918 

 boxes were exported or equal to one sample to every 458 packages. New 

 Zealand is recognised as having a more thorough check over its export 

 butters than any other country in the world. Therefore, some other 

 means appear to be necessary to keep the composition of butter within 

 bounds than by simple official analyses. The time has arrived when much 

 heavier penalties must be enforced in order to keep the composition of 

 butter within the standard. In the United States the penalties inflicted 

 for .some offences, particularly excessive moisture, are 10 cents per lb. or 

 equal to 23s. 4d. a box; therefore, for a consignment of 100 boxes, the 

 penalty would be ^116 13s. 4d. 



In the report of the principal chemist of the Government Laboratory 

 in Great Britain, on the work of the laboratory for the year 1909, it 

 appears that 1,185 samples of imported butter were analyzed for the season 

 and 1,486 for 1907-8. Only 81 samples were from Australia. 



