SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XV. No. 366 



flavor; (6) salt; and (7) aimatto or other coloring-matter. Some 

 factories employ no -vegetable oils in their oleomargarine, pre- 

 ferring to use a larger proportion of ' 'neutral' ' lard with a small 

 amount of butter to obtain the desired butter consistency. In the 

 higher gi-ade of ' 'creamery butterine' ' the proportions of oleo-oil 

 are reduced, the vegetable oils are discarded, and butter is used 

 to make up the charge for the churn. 



The method of manufacture closely resembles that used in 

 ordinary butter-making, except that the churn is steam-jacketed 

 and the animal fats used are previously melted before being 

 placed in it. From a personal inspection of some of the largest 

 factories, I am convinced that the gTeatest cleanliness is observed 

 tlu-oughout all the operations; that nothing but the freshest 

 animal fats are used ; that machinery is employed as much as 

 possible, and large quantities worked at a time, to reduce the 

 expense. The factories are as well arranged as the best cream- 

 eries ; and it is to the manufacturer' s interest to produce a pala- 

 table and wholesome product, which is, however, not intended 

 to compete with ' 'gilt-edge' ' butter. 



Oleo-Oil. 



Owing to the construction by the attorney-general of Section 3 

 of the oleomargarine law, the internal revenue officers exercise 

 no control over the production and sale of oleo-oil, although the 

 commissioner has recommended that Congress amend the law in 

 that regard. From inquiries that were made over a year ago by 

 the collectors of Internal revenue, there was found to have been 

 produced during the year ended June 30, 1888, 69,633,795 pounds 

 of oleo-oil in nine States. There was used in the manufacture 

 of oleomargarine, as stated in the manufacturers' returns, 13,- 

 265,800 pounds during that period, and 30,146,595 pounds were 

 exported, leaving 37,311,400 pounds used otherwise. As oleo- 

 oil is sold at a much higher rate than tallow, it is presumable 

 that this large quantity is used in some other food products, as 

 emulsified cream and cheeses. 



There is a special provision in the law in regard to the use of 

 any unwholesome material or product in the manufacture of 

 oleomargarine, but no sample has ever been submitted to the 

 commissioner of internal revenue under it. From the testimony 

 and investigations of the most prominent chemists, both here 

 and in Europe, there is a consensus of opinion that oleomargarine, 

 when made from fresh fats and in a cleanly manner, is a per- 

 fectly wholesome ai-ticle of food. 



Compound Lard. 



In the manufacture of oleo-oil there is left behind on the filter- 

 presses a hard white or slightly yellow fat, the beef or oleo- 

 stearine. This for many yeai-s was sold to the candle and soap 

 makers, but is now used in the extensive manufacture of ' 're- 

 fined" or "compound" lard by being melted and mixed with 

 some cottonseed-oil and a little leaf-lard until the mixture has 

 attained the desired consistency. ' 



From the testimony given before the Congressional Lard Com- 

 mittee, "prime steam lard" is about as disgusting a mixture as 

 can be imagined. The entrails and other viscera, head, feet, in 

 fact every part of the animal which contains the faintest traces 

 of fat, are dumped into the rendering-tanks, and live steam 

 turned on until all the fat is thoroughly melted out. The liquid 

 is then allowed to cool, the water containing a highly savored 

 mass of impurities is run oJff, and the remaining fat is tierced or 

 canned. If it smells too ' 'loud, " it is washed with hot water, 

 allowed to cool, and then repacked. 



The oleo-stearine and cottonseed-oil mixture is prepared from 

 clean and wholesome materials, and does not suggest any such 

 filthy practices as ' 'prime steam lard. ' ' The manuf acturei-s are 

 generally abandoning the designation of ' 'refined, ' ' and are now- 

 calling such mixtures ' 'compound lards. ' ' 



Cottonseed-oil. 



The enormous and constantly increasing production of cotton- 

 seed-oil in this country is noteworthy as showing to what an 

 extent it has come to be employed as an article of food, both here 



1 My thanks are due to Messrs. Fairbanks & Co. of Chicago for a set of sam- 

 ples illustrating the manufacture of compound lard. 



and abroad. The principal domestic consumption of the oil is in 

 the manufacture of ' 'compound lard. " It is also used as a sub- 

 stitute for, and an adulterant of, olive-oil for cooking and table 

 use, and in medicinal preparations. It is employed instead of 

 the more expensive animal and vegetable oils in the mining 

 regions for the miners' lamps. There are a hundred and 

 twenty-five mills in operation, with a capital invested, in the 

 South, estimated at $35,000,000. Twelve thousand hands, 

 receiving $34,000, are employed per day. The amount of seed 

 crushed last season was 875,000 tons, ' yielding, on an average,. 

 37i gallons of crude oil per ton. 



Some Queer Prejudices. 



A large proportion of the articles suitable for food, and pro- 

 duced in all counti'ies, is wasted annually because of people's 

 prejudice against them. The old saws, "What is one man's 

 meat is another man's poison," and "There is no accounting for 

 taste, ' ' are trite, but warranted by the facts. 



We do not object to eating a live oyster, but prefer all our 

 other meats dead, and undergoing putrefaction to a slight extent, 

 in order to get rid of the ' 'toughness, " as it is generally called, 

 produced by the rigor mortis. Some people like to let the putre- 

 faction proceed further until the meat is ' 'gamy. ' ' The Texan 

 cowboy eats goat's meat in preference to that of the cattle and 

 sheep he is herding. Young puppies, rats, and bird's nests are 

 considered delicacies by the Chinese. Fi-og's legs and snails are 

 among the highest priced dishes served at Delmonico' s. Except 

 the bones and hide, every part of an animal slaughtered for food 

 is eaten by most civilized nations, — the brain; tongue; blood in 

 the shape of black pudding and sausages; the liver; heart j 

 lungs ; stomach as ti'ipe ; the pancreas, thyroid and sublingual 

 glands, which are called sweetbreads, and considered a great 

 delicacy ; the feet in the way of jellies, and pickled ; the intes- 

 tines as sausage covering, etc. In the markets of Paris there is a 

 steady demand for hoi'se-flesh as food. The Arabs and other 

 nomadic tribes j)refer mare's or camel's to cow's milk. Many 

 people would as soon eat a snake as an eel, yet the latter com- 

 mands a higher price than most fish in many pai'ts of the world. 

 Lobstere, which are the scavengers of the sea, are eaten by people- 

 who would not touch pork. The Eskimo, who eats blubber and 

 other solid fats, and the native of the tropics, who ' 'butters' ' 

 his bread with a liquid vegetable oil, have the same object ia 

 view ; viz. , to supply a concentrated form of fuel. The squirrel 

 is considered a great delicacy in many parts of this countiy, but 

 is not eaten in England. The vain efforts of Professor Riley 

 some years ago to induce the starving people of Kansas to eat the 

 food they had at their doors, — grasshoppers, sorghum, and millet 

 seeds, and squin-els, — hituself setting them the example, will be 

 recalled by many present. 



Cooking. 



From experiments made by Jensen in the laboratorj' of the 

 University of Tiibingen, it appears that raw meat is much sooner 

 digested than cooked meat. Cooking, as far as animal food is 

 concerned, has the effect of making it more pleasing to the taste, 

 but is unnecessary ; whereas with certain vegetables, especially 

 those composed principally of starch, as gi-ain and potatoes, it is; 

 required to fit them for use. The proper preparation of food is 

 one that has not received the attention it demands. A badly 

 cooked meal is more apt to disorganize the system than to prove 

 nutritious and beneficial. The general teaching of cookery in 

 our schools, both public and private, to girls would undoubtedly 

 result in much improvement in this regard. 



Glucose. 

 In April, 1883, the commissioner of internal revenue addi-essed 

 a letter to the president of the National Academy of Sciences, 

 requesting ' 'the appointment of a committee of the academy to 

 examine as to the composition, nature, and properties of the 

 article commonly known as 'glucose' or 'gi-ape-sugar. ' " In the 

 report on this subject, made in January, 1884, the committee, 

 consisting of Professors Barker, Brewer, Gribbs, Chandler, andl 



1 This information was kindly furnished me by Mr. A. D. Fulton^ editor of 

 the Oil, Paint, and Drag Reporter, in a letter dated Dec. 28, 1889, 



