vn] BACTERIA IN BUTTER-MAKING 135 



was fraudulently sold in the place of butter, and 

 largely mixed with pure butter. There can be no 

 doubt that the practice at first, it is possible, 

 innocently followed of producing in margarine an 

 article which resembled genuine butter in flavour and 

 external appearance, as well as in the form in which 

 it is packed and exposed for sale, led the way to 

 fraudulent practices. The very name, butterine, 

 under which it was at first permitted to be sold, 

 had a fraudulent ring about it. 



The extent to which this fraudulent sale of 

 margarine was practised gave rise in the year 1885 

 to an attempt being made, in most countries where 

 the dairying industry was in an advanced state, to 

 deal with this practice. The result of the movement 

 was that laws were passed in most European countries 

 forbidding the sale of the article under the name of 

 butterine, and enforcing other restrictions. There 

 can be no doubt that this legislation has done much 

 to lessen the fraud ; yet it is equally certain that an 

 enormous amount of adulteration of butter with 

 margarine still goes on. 



The chief difference, from a chemical point of 

 view, between margarine and butter is that the 

 former contains a larger percentage of fixed insoluble 

 fatty acids than the latter, which may be said never 

 to exceed 90 per cent of the total quantity of fat. 

 The specific gravity of the fat of margarine is also 



