394 THE OVERRUN 



or without brand, number of contract, and the date of packing, 

 and shall be free from all other marks, except such as may be 

 placed thereon by the Government inspector. Net weight only 

 to be paid for. 



"The letters in the rubber stamp must not be less than % 

 inch square. Marking by means of stencil and blacking will not 

 be permitted. 



Containers Cube Butter. 



"Cases. Cases to be cubical or rectangular in shape and 

 to have a capacity of from 56 to 66 pounds; to be made of first 

 quality white spruce or Pacific coast spruce or clear poplar lum- 

 ber, cut true to gauge and planed on both sides; tops, bot- 

 toms, and sides to be not less than J/ inch thick, and ends not 

 less than % inch thick when finished; to be well nailed with 

 cement-coated nails, and strapped with J^-inch flat iron or 

 strong wire; otherwise to conform to all applicable require- 

 ments of the specifications for containers for tub butter above, 

 which include paraffin coating and parchment paper lining." 



CHAPTER. XIII. 

 THE OVERRUN. 



Definition. By the overrun is understood the difference 

 between the pounds of butterfat churned and the pounds of 

 butter made. The overrun is made possible by the fact that, in 

 addition to butterfat, butter contains non-fatty constituents, such 

 as moisture, salt, curd and small amounts of lactose, acid and 

 ash. 



Importance. The overrun is the financial "vitamine" of the 

 creamery business. Under the present system of creamery oper- 

 ation there is no margin left between the purchase price of the 

 butterfat and the sales price of the butter, on which the creamery 

 can do business. In fact, in a great many instances the cost per 

 pound of butterfat is greater than the price received per pound 

 of butter. The creamery must, therefore, depend on the overrun 

 to pay for the cost of manufacture and sale of the butter and to 

 make a reasonable profit. If it were not for the overrun 

 the creamery could not do business on the present method of 



