376 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



Imitation Butter. 

 The work of the past year has been almost exclusively 

 devoted to the enforcement of the imitation butter laws, the 

 manufacturers of this counterfeit product having crowded its 

 sales harder than ever. Last year we reported renewed 

 exertions on their part, avarice having lead them to become 

 law breakers. The tendency during the year just past has 

 been even stronger in the same direction. These increased 

 efforts on their part at violating the law have compelled us 

 to confine our labors to checkmating them, with the result 

 that the ofiences charged in the court cases have been as fol- 

 lows : — 



Violation of the anti-color oleomargarine law, . . 145 

 Serving oleomargarine in hotels and restaurants 



without giving notice, ...... 32 



Obstructing officers in the i)rosecution of the work, . 1 



Total 178 



Evidence has also been secured of several violations of 

 the law which could not be tried during the year, and will 

 appear in the next year's records, and of several additional 

 cases in which the defendant could not be found. Of the 

 cases for violating the anti-color law, the complaint in 

 nearly every instance charged " possession with intent to 

 sell within this Commonwealth," although we had evidence 

 of actual sales in 55 cases. In 49 out of these 55 cases butter 

 was called for by the purchasers ; in 2 of the remaining 6 

 the seller supposed that his customer was a pedler, and sug- 

 gested that the article be sold as real butter. In 17 sales 

 taken at random the average price paid by the supposed 

 consumer was 22.23 cents per pound. If the manufacturer 

 charged the dealer 13 cents, the retailer made a profit of 70 

 per cent. 



The oleomargarine cases which we have had in court for 

 the past few years have been as follows : — 



