286 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



getting genuine butter. . . . The statute seeks to suppress false 

 pretences, and to promote fair dealing in the sale of an article of 

 food. . . . Does the freedom of commerce among the States 

 demand a recognition of the right to practise a deception upon the 

 public in the sale of any articles, even those that may have become 

 the subjects of trade in different parts of the country? . . . If an 

 article compounded of cheaper ingredients can be made so closely 

 to resemble butter that ordinary persons cannot distinguish it from 

 genuine butter, the liability to deception is such that the protection 

 of the public requires those dealing in the article in some way to 

 designate its real character. ... It is within the power of a 

 State to exclude from its markets any compound manufactured in 

 another State which has been artificially colored or adulterated so 

 as to cause it to look like an article of food in general use, and the 

 sale of which may, by reason of such coloration or adulteration, 

 cheat the general public into purchasing that which they may not 

 intend to buy. The constitution of the United States does not 

 secure to any one the privilege of defrauding the public. The 

 deception against which the statute of Massachusetts is aimed is 

 an offence against society. 



The following is a summary of the receipts, exports, 

 stocks and consumption of butter at Boston for the past 

 year, as compared with the year previous : — 



The above statement shows that the consumption of butter 

 supplied by the Boston market increased aliout three per 

 cent last year, as compared with the year previous, and 

 averaged about 925,000 pounds per week. If, by having 



