224 THE BOOK OF BUTTER 



" It goes without saying, that attempts have been made, 

 in order to promote its sale, to make margarine as attrac- 

 tive as possible. There is no reason, however, on this 

 account, for rendering the new fat similar in external 

 appearance to butter, or for bringing it on the market in 

 a similar form and packed in the same way as butter. The 

 great resemblance of the prepared animal fats to butter 

 has always this disadvantage, that it opens the way to 

 fraudulent practices, and has thus a tendency to destroy 

 the honest character of the sale. The possibility of fraud 

 was formerly increased by the universal practice of calling 

 margarine by the name of butterine ; that is, by a title 

 which was only justified by the appearance of the mar- 

 garine, but which was otherwise strained on account of the 

 fact that not only was the chemical behavior of the mar- 

 garine, but also its mechanical texture and fundamental 

 condition, different from that of butter." 



The laws controlling the manufacture and sale of 

 margarine, therefore, have been very stringent. The 

 Senate and House of Representatives of the United States 

 of America ^ enacted certain laws in relation to this product 

 on August 2, 1886, and amended them on May 9, 1902. 

 A certain tax was placed on the manufacturer, wholesale 

 and retail dealers. A tax of ten cents a pound was put 

 on margarine that was colored artificially and of a quarter 

 of a cent a pound on uncolored margarine. Provision 

 was made for the manufacturer to pack the margarine 

 in firkins, tubs or other wooden packages, each containing 

 not less than ten pounds, and marked, stamped, and 

 branded as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue pre- 

 scribed, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. 



1 U. S. Internal Revenue Regulations No. 9. Revised July, 

 1907. 



