452 OENEEAL AGRICULTURAL NOTES. [March 189G. 



statement shows the changes that have occurred in the five years, 

 1892-1896:— 



• — 



1896. 



1895. 



1894. 



1893. 



1892, 



Horses - - ^ - 



No. 



15,124,057 



No. 



15,893,318 



No. 



16,081,139 



No. 



16,206,802 



No. 



15,498,140 



Milch cows . - - 



16,137,586 



16,504,622 



16,487,400 



16,424,087 



16,416,351 



Oxen and other cattle - 



32,085,409 



34,304,216 



36,608,168 



35,954,196 



37,651,2.39 



Sheep - - - - 



38,298,783 



42,294,064 



45,048,017 



47,273,553 



44,938,365 



Pigs .... 



42,842,759 



44,165,716 



45,206,498 



46,094,807 



52,398,019 



If these annual estimates are correct — the later figures are taken 

 from telegraphic summaries — horses in the United States have 

 decreased in number by 374,000 since 1892 ; cows by 279,000 ; 

 other cattle by 5,600,000 ; sheep by nearly 7,000,000 ; and 

 swine by over 9,500,000. 



Adulteration of Milk and Butter. 



In the Twenty-Fourth Annual Eeport of the Local Govern- 

 ment Board, 1894-95 [C— 7867], it is observed that, in 1890, 

 6,419 samples of butter were examined in England and Wales 

 under the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, 1875, of which 667 were 

 found to be adulterated, so that the per-centage of adulterated 

 samples of butter, which was 13*7 in 1893, fell to 10*4 in 1894. 

 This point was also reached in 1888, and is the lowest since the 

 passing of the Act of 1875. A large number of samples of 

 margarine were also taken, most of them proving infringe- 

 ments of the Margarine Act of 1887. Legal proceedings were 

 taken in respect of 694 samples of butter and margarine, 619 

 penalties being imposed, amounting in all to 1,209^. 2s. 6d. Only 

 20 penalties were of 10/. or over, the highest being four fines of 

 20^. each. 



Of 16,305 samples of milk examined in 1894, 1,868, or 11'5 

 per cent., were found to be adulterated. In the previous year 

 the proportion of adulterated samples of milk was 14*9 per cent 

 of those examined. 



