MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. T913. 



SHORT WEIGHT BUTTER. 



In Official Inspection 44 issued in October 1912 will be 

 found the results of an investigation of the weight of butter 

 found upon sale in this State. Since that publication was 

 issued an extended investigation of the weight of butter actu- 

 ually found on sale in thirty-five towns and cities has been 

 made, and the results of the various weighings made will be 

 found in the following pages. The butter investigated includes 

 creamery butter made both in Maine and other states, dairy or 

 country butter and a few lots of renovated or process butter, 

 On the whole an improvement is noted in the butter situation 

 throughout the State, for while the figures given in the follow- 

 ing tables show much short weight butter on sale, manufactur- 

 ers, dealers, and consumers are interested in the question, and 

 all are working in harmony with a view to having all the butter 

 found on sale in the State hold up to standard weight. A num- 

 ber of prosecutions have been commenced under the Food L,slw, 

 taking up the most flagrant cases of violations. In the cases of 

 those butters coming into Maine from outside the facts have 

 been given to the National Board of Food and Drug Inspection 

 for investigation under the National Law. Several cases have 

 been commenced because of the facts presented. Of those cases 

 taken up under the State Laws all have been settled without 

 trial, and in several instances fines have been paid. In the table 

 of creamery butter, several cases of double stars referring to 

 the text will be noted in the columns giving the number of 

 bricks weighed, and the number found short weight. In two 

 instances no figures are given in either column, and these refer 

 to cases where the figures have been given to the National 

 Board for further investigation under the Federal Law. In two 

 instances, however, it will be noted that thirty bricks were 

 weighed, and no number is given in the second column. In the 

 first instance there were thirty prints in the entire lot. These 

 weighed, cartons and all, exactly thirty pounds. The average 

 weight of the cartons was found to be one ounce each. Deduct- 



