BUTTERINE AS AN ARTICLE OF FOOD. 



115 



Hamlet I am enabled to give the results of an analysis made by 

 him, which agrees practically with my own : — 



Specific Gravity ... -9047 -9045 -9121 



Melting point ... 83° 83" 86° 



Salt in ash ■■•2-93% 2-80% 1-63 



The samples on which Mr. Hamlet and myself worked were 



taken about the same time and very possibly from the same batch, 



tliough my results are an average of several samples. 



After making my analysis I called on the manager of the 

 Company, and he very kindly asked me to visit the works situated 

 at Waterloo, which I did. At present they are small, and only 

 turn out about three tons of the manufactured article per week, 

 for all of which there is a steady sale, there being a great 

 demand for Mauritius and the Cape. To state briefly what I 

 saw, I may say the fat as received from the butchers is weighed 

 and taken to an upper floor where it is sorted, and only the 

 freshest caul and kidney beef suet or fat taken. It is first 

 washed in tepid water, and drained, then placed in a pulping 

 machine, which it leaves in a finely cut state, from here it goes 

 into boilers, is boiled, run off* into cans and allowed to cool ; 

 afterwards, quantities weighing about four pounds are placed in 

 strong canvas wrappers, and submitted to great pressure, tliis 

 causes the fat globules or oleo to filter through and flow into 

 cans, cakes of fairly pure stearine remaining in the wrappers. 

 After the oleo is collected it is placed in a churn with cold skim 

 milk and a little liquid colouring matter, churned for some time, 

 then shot into a long trough. The action of placing the warm 

 oleo in the cold milk in the churn, granulates it, and when it is 

 shot into the trough it floats in a finely divided state, from here 

 it is placed in a machine to I'id it of the milk, salted, and then is 

 I'eady for sale in such form as desirable. 



The manager informed me that the men employed are only too 

 glad to pay one shilling a pound for the Butterine for the use of 

 their families. When they can get a greater supply of fat they 

 intend to extract the oleo, and either export or store it. At this 

 season of the year they find it very ditficult to get a sufficient 

 supply of the raw material, i.e. beef kidney and caul suet or fat. 

 They have export orders on hand for sixteen tons for Mauritius, 



