August 8, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



7Z 



The differences in these natural fats are due to the differ- 

 ent proportion in which these glycerides are mixed, and to 

 such other physical differences as the various sources of the 

 substance under examination would produce. When sub- 

 jected to chemical and physical examination, a discrimina- 

 tion can be made between fats and oils of different origins. 



According to Blyth,' the general composition of butter fat 

 and butterine (oleomargarine) fat appears to be as follows : — 



The following analyses, made by Drs. Brown and Mott, 

 show the characteristic difference in the composition of gen- 

 uine butter and oleomargarine to consist in the greater pro- 

 portion of soluble fats contained in the former : — 



The discovery of Mege Mouries, in 1867, of a process for 

 the manufacture on a large and cheap scale, from hitherto 

 waste products of the large slaughter-houses, of an artificial 

 butter, is one of the most important advances in industrial 

 chemistry of this century. His object was to obtain a fat 

 " which melted at almost the exact temperature of butter, 

 possessed a sweet and agreeable taste, and which, for most 

 purposes, could replace ordinary butter; not, of course, the 

 finest kind, but which was superior to it in possessing the 

 advantageous peculiarity of keeping for a long time without 

 becoming rancid." He was employed on the Imperial Farm 

 at Vincennes, and his experiments were undertaken at the 

 instance of th.e French Government. 



In 1870 a factory for the manufacture of this new butter 

 substitute was in operation near Paris, at Poissy, and the 

 product was called "margarine." The war then intervened, 

 and suspended the operations of this factory; but at the 

 cessation of hostilities they were resumed. In April, 1872, 

 the Council of Health of the Department of the Seine, on 



' Foods, pp. 285, 287. 



the favorable report of M. Felix Boudet, admitted the new 

 product to the trade under the proviso that it was not to be 

 sold as butter. The process was patented in England in 

 1869, and in this country in 1873, and was described in many 

 of the trade and scientific journals of that time. 



The process of Mege may be briefly described as follows: 

 The fat from the loins and kidneys of freshly slaughtered 

 beeves is thoroughly washed in cold water, 16° to 18° C. 

 (61° to 65° F.), for two or three hours, then, hashed fine and 

 melted in steam-jacketed vats, in which the temperature is 

 carefully regulated, with the addition of a little pepsin or a 

 portion of the finely divided stomachs of calves or pigs, to- 

 gether with a little caustic alkali or alkaline carbonate, at a 

 temperature of about 45° C. (113° F.). The charge usually 

 is, hashed raw fat, 1,000 parts; water, 300 parts; sodium, or 

 potassium carbonate, 1 part; and stomachs, 2 parts. The 

 mass is stirred and kept at a temperature of 45° C. for two 

 to three hours, and allowed to settle. The melted fat is drawn 

 off through hair sieves from the top, and run into the set- 

 tling-tanks. In these tanks the fat is kept melted at 45° C. 

 until it becomes clear; the addition of salt, about 2 per cent, 

 hastening the operation. The mass is then cooled at a tem- 

 perature of 23° to 25° C. (73° to 77° F.), whereby a large 

 proportion of the stearine and palmitine separates in the solid 

 state, leaving the oleine, much of the palmitine, and some 

 stearine in a pasty state. The mass is placed in bags and 

 subjected to hydi-aulic pressure. The temperature of the 

 pressing-room is maintained at 25° C. The oily product ex- 

 pressed constitutes the " oleo oil," or "oleo," which is the 

 principal ingredient of oleomargarine. The hard fat re- 

 maining in the press is turned over to the candle and soap 

 makers. The average yield is stated to be, hard fat, stearine, 

 palmitine, 40 to 50 per cent ; oleo oil, 50 to 60 per cent. This 

 oleo oil is nearly colorless, tasteless, and at ordinary temper- 

 ature is a soft, granular fat, rather than an oil. 



To make it into the artificial butter, it is necessary to im- 

 part to it the color and aroma it still lacks. For the former, 

 annotto or turmeric is used ; and for the latter, fresh milk, 

 cream, or genuine butter. To effect an intimate mixture of 

 the flavoring and coloring matter with the oleo, it is neces- 

 sary to emulsify the fat. Mege discovered that the udder of 

 a cow contains a substance, extractable by water, which 

 will emulsify the fat. The operation is carried on in churns. 

 The Usual charge is, liquid oleo, 200 pounds ; fresh milk, 40 

 to 50 pounds ; aqueous extract of the udder, 40 to 50 pounds ; 

 and coloring-matter in suitable quantity. The churning is 

 kept up for two hours at as nearly 17° C. (63° F.) as possi- 

 ble. The product is treated essentially in the same way as 

 ordinary butter, — washed, drained, salted, and packed. 



The yield is stated to be as follows : one ox affords 166 

 pounds of crude fat; 56 pounds caul fat, giving 36 pounds 

 of artificial butter, besides 6 pounds of scrap. 



Mage's original process has been modified from time to 

 time. The use of pepsin or of calves' or pigs' stomachs has 

 gradually been abandoned. 



Though numerous patents have been taken out in this 

 country for the manufacture of artificial butter, and materi- 

 als unknown to science specified as ingredients to be used, 

 the process employed is comparatively simple, and not pat- 

 ented. 



The process used in this country consists in pi-epaimg from 



