Proceedtxgs of tee Faemers' Club. 677 



butter was placed iii a small tin clinrn with about a quart of milk 

 and a teaspoonful of the ]^owder added. It was then churned for 

 about fifteen minutes, some- coloring matter, the exact nature of which 

 was not ascertained, was poured in, and the churning continued for a 

 few minutes longer. Whereupon the whole was turned out into a 

 wooden bowl. The milk had apparently been deprived of its 

 buttery and cheesy matter, and the butter from a bright yellow had 

 been brought to a dirty white color. A box of the powder was 

 obtained and subjected to a careful analysis to determine its composi- 

 tion. It consists for the most part of burnt alum with traces of ses- 

 qui-oxyde of iron, and .carbonate and phosphate of ammonia which 

 were simply impurities in the alum. The remainder, a considerable 

 portion of the powder was free tartaric acid. A pound of butter is 

 simply sixteen ounces, a teaspoonful of the powder would weigh per- 

 haps half an ounce, and one ounce and a half would be a liberal 

 estimate of the solid matter in a quart of milk. This would give at 

 the outside a total weight of eighteen ounces instead of the two 

 pounds and a half promised by the venders of the powder. Any- 

 thing more than this must be gained by the water incorporated in 

 the butter by the churning to which it is subjected, and this explains 

 why the purchaser is directed to work the butter only enough to salt 

 to the taste. Attention is, furthermore, called to the fact that alum is 

 one of the most deleterious substances used in the adulteration of 

 food, and its use in connection with the latter cannot be too strongly 

 reprobated. To sum up, in a few words, we would say that the 

 " Star Butter Powder " is simply one of the most transparent swindles 

 that have ever been brought to our notice. 



On motion of Dr. Trimble the above report was unanimously 

 adopted. 



Cure ^cxs in Sheep. 

 Mr. John Palmer, of Piatt county. 111., sent the following for this 

 purpose : '" Take tobacco ; boil until strong ; then add soft soap amd 

 salt ; then, for 100 head of sheep, add one ounce of carbolic acid, 

 crystalized, as it is the best dip, and rub the affected part well. The 

 soap softens the part and creates a gum, while the salt tends to allay 

 the itch. Tobacco will not cure by itself; we tried the pure tobacco 

 and failed to cure ; then we mixed this dip oni-selves. We used 

 this dip the last year and have now got our sheep about ; another 

 dipping will cure them. Be careful to get the hard scab soaked well, 



