232 THE BUTTER INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES [456 



requires the Secretary of Agriculture to prescribe rules and 

 regulations to carry out the provisions of the Act relating 

 to renovated and adulterated butter. Abnormal quantities 

 of water the Secretary held to be water in excess of 16 per 

 cent. It is held that normal butter contains from 12 to 14 

 per cent of water. 



The provisions of the federal law as regards adulterated 

 butter are very stringent. The manufacturer of adulterated 

 butter must pay a special tax of $600 per annum, and 

 wholesale and retail dealers, $480 and $48 respectively. In 

 addition to the special taxes a tax of 10 cents per pound is 

 imposed on adulterated butter. The manufacturer of reno- 

 vated butter must pay a special annual tax of $50. Whole- 

 sale and retail dealers in renovated butter do not pay any 

 taxes, nor is there a tax imposed on the product. The Sec- 

 retary of Agriculture is charged with the inspection of reno- 

 vating factories and storehouses where " renovated butter 

 is manufactured, packed and prepared for the market and 

 of the products thereof and materials going into the manu- 

 facture of the same ". The Secretary shall also have power 

 to ascertain whether or not materials used in the manu- 

 facturing process are deleterious to health. If he finds that 

 the finished product, whether for exportation or for ship- 

 ment into other states, is unwholesome, he is directed to 

 confiscate it. All renovated or adulterated butter must be 

 plainly marked as prescribed by the Secretary. There is 

 therefore very strict supervision of the renovating process, 

 and the result has been that during the last decade an annual 

 saving of about 40 million pounds of butter has been added 

 to our butter supply. Most of this butter would have been 

 absolutely worthless as food, if it had not been subjected 

 to the renovating process ; and if it had been renovated with- 

 out government supervision, it would have been manufac- 

 tured from butter that was no longer fit for human food 



