THE UNITED KINGDOM. 239 



to interfere with the utilization of this native timber, which is now practically worth- 

 less when grown in quantity. The most scientific butter-producing countries, Den- 

 mark, Sweden, Germany, and America, use nothing but beech packages, while we in 

 Ireland, through our ignorance, send from 50,000 to 100,000, annually, out of the 

 country for imported oak. In this connection, I cannot omit referring to the very bad 

 treatment which Irish butter receives from both our railway and steamship companies. 

 They handle it roughly, which, of course, injures the quality, and neither on their 

 platforms, wharfs, trucks, or steamers, do they make any special provision, in the 

 simple matter of cleanliness, for the proper transportation of Irish butter. The con- 

 sequence is that very often a shipper is not able to recognize in the begrimed casks 

 delivered in London or Manchester the clean packages shipped at Cork or Waterford. 

 In this matter a great injustice is done to Irish butter. In the local rates from pro- 

 ducer to market, and in the general rates from Irish markets to the English centers, 

 Irish butter is very heavily handicapped by excessive charges. Butterine is brought 

 from Holland to Dublin at less money than Cork butter could bo delivered in Dublin. 

 Butter is .brought from New York to Liverpool at less money than from Cork to the 

 same port. It costs 42s. (id. per ton to send Cork butter via Dublin to Bradford, and 

 Danish butter is brought from Copenhagen via Hull, Bradford, and Liverpool to Dublin 

 at '25s. per ton. Tho'lrish carrying companies are doing their best to kill the Irish 

 butter trade. I wish a deputation of their traffic managers would visit France and 

 Holland to see the delicate handling which butter receives from the carrying com- 

 panies there, and the scrupulous cleanliness of the trucks and steamers specially re- 

 served for butter traffic. What is wanted in Irish butter is cleanliness in make, pack- 

 ing, and transportation, close grain, and fine texture, total exclusion of water, freedom 

 from oversalting, even quality, even color, and uniformity of weight. I cannot con- 

 clude this paper without referring to the butterine trade. It would be childish to 

 say that because butterine interferes with the sale of butter therefore it ought bo 

 suppressed. When manufactured from wholesome ingredients and sold under its 

 proper designation it is as legitimate an article of food as any other. But when the 

 trade is conducted as it now is, most dishonestly, it ceases to have any claim to con- 

 siderate treatment. In this week's issue of The Grocer, one of the largest wholesale 

 houses in London advertises to sell it as finest Irish firkins and fine Irish firkins; 

 a Dutch firm offers, by circular, to make it so as to imitate any well-known butter 

 Irish firkins and Irish roll being specially mentioned. Every week's police office 

 reports contain records of fines imposed for selling butterine as butter. In Dublin 

 last week several firms were fined 10 for selling Dutch butterine as Irish roll butter. 

 I have no hesitation in saying that I believe nineteen-twentieths of the butterine sold 

 in Great Britain is consumed as butter. Irreparable damage has been done to the 

 dairy interests of these countries by this nefarious trading, and Parliament should 

 intervene to put a stop to it. This compound has no claim to the name butterine; 

 it is adopted to deceive the public. This name should be prohibited. Let these com- 

 pounds of fat be called margarine or oleomargarine. If, as they claim, the manufact- 

 urers depend on its intrinsic merits to sell it, they need not fear adopting its true desig- 

 nation. Every package imported into the country should have either of those names 

 branded on it in letters one inch long, and also the name or the manufacturer or his 

 trade-mark. Every package issuing from a British factory should comply with the 

 same conditions. Every shopkeeper selling any quantity of these compounds should 

 be bound by law to mention the name of the compound to the purchaser. If these 

 conditions be enforced, with the same penalties as they (or simillar provisions) are en- 

 forced in other countries, no injustice will be done to honest traders, and a great act 

 of justice will be done to dairy farmers, who have quite enough to face in the keen 

 competition of honest rivalry. The existing powers of dealing with this gigantic 

 swindling are utterly inadequate. Unless from those who are interested in maintain- 

 ing fraud, I don't see where any opposition could be given to legislation in this direc- 

 tion. 



