422 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Mr. Pell has examined them with a microscope, and although minute, 

 its power reveals them as it does now in its modern application to business 

 purposes— the discovery of adulteration in provisions and drugs — more ef- 

 fectually than chemistry, I move for a committee to examine the new but- 

 ter machine, and report to the next meeting. 



Mr. Veeder. — When I was young, and on my father's farm, my good 

 mother employed me ocasionally to churn the cream. I had discovered 

 that heating it saved much labor, and I sometimes put in some hot water 

 to make the butter come quicker. Butter composed of stearic and marga- 

 ric acids, or hydrogen and carbon, if crushed to a certain degree, would be 

 entirely decomposed — the hydrogen escaping, while the carbon remains 

 totally different substances from butter. The oil of butter, called dain or 

 bitty rine, when used to make a soap, gives three odorous compounds, 

 hulyric, capric, and capronic acids — the two last so called from the goat- 

 ish smell. Perhaps the sudden production of butter in the machine, is an 

 electrical effect from the metalic rollers. I once had a quantity of lard, 

 which had been in a vessel laden with wheat, leaky ; the wheat heated by 

 fermentation, caused the lard to undergo an alteration, deemed destructive 

 to it, but was beneficial. It was beautifully granulated, and was stearic 

 acid. The lard had been three weeks under the wheat. 



Mr. Seeley. — Milk put on bibulous paper, passes through, leaving the 

 butter on the paper. In churning, atmospheric air is dashed in. The 

 globule of butter has no sack ; heat softens it. and it therefore more readily 

 collects in masses. It is the casein in butter which renders it difficult to 

 keep. If that was all out, the butter would keep a century. 



Mr. Leonard. — Any material improvement in butter and its manufacture, 

 is of such great importance to the world, that I must ask the Club to ex- 

 amine this new machine, by their special committee. 



Mr. Stetson. — The theory of churning the globules of butter between 

 rollers will appear, by calculation, to be absurd. The diameter of the 

 globule, instead of being, as magnified, one-eighth of an inch, must be 13 

 inches to be crushed by the rollers, however fine the thread of the adjust- 

 ing screw, even 32 per inch. Heat is injurious to butter. The roller ma- 

 chine should not receive justification from this club, which, that it may be 

 useful to the world, must be mathematically exact, if it is possible. 



Mr. Seeley moved an amendment, viz : that the committee also examine 

 and report on HilVs Air Light. Lost. 



A committee was then ordered to be appointed by the President, who 

 appointed Messrs. Tillman, Hedrick and Veeder, 



THE TELESCOPE. 

 Mr. Henry Fitz continued his remarks from the last meeting. He had 

 made a mistake as to Gallileo's telescope. It was composed of two glasses, 

 plano-concave and double convex. The tube about two feet long, magni- 

 fied about 30 ureal ^ not diametrical — making about 6 times. The eye-glass 

 magnifies. A telescope with its object glass, or reflector, is perfect as a 



