274 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



The following is a list of the number of cases entered in 

 court and also the number of convictions secured in the 

 years 1903-1907, inclusive: — 



Oleomargarine. 

 For the first time we are able to report that there are no 

 licenses taken out in this State for the sale of colored oleo- 

 margarine, and no case has been discovered during the year 

 where oleomargarine which contained foreign "coloration," 

 " which caused it to look like yellow butter," has been sold. 

 There are, however, upon the market several brands of oleo- 

 margarine which look like yellow butter, apparently made 

 so by the ingredients which they contain. The wording of 

 our statute seems to many to prohibit the sale of even such 

 goods, but our Superior Court judges rule otherwise. The 

 United States government officials also allow such goods to 

 be made and sold upon the payment of the one-fourth cent 

 tax, as uncolored oleomargarine. So strongly impressed 

 were we that the wording of our statute prohibited the sale 

 of these goods that we took a sample from a prominent 

 wholesale dealer and attempted to make a test case of it for 

 decision by the Supreme Court. The dealer and the manu- 

 facturers were agreeable to this, and an agreed statement of 

 fact was drawn up by their counsel and the district attorney 

 of Worcester County ; but the presiding judge (Brown), sup- 



