422 
ADULTERATION OF RUTTER, 
First satisfy yourself, by melting a portion of the suspected butter 
over a water-bath, and observing if there be any insoluble admixture of 
farinaceous matter, such as wheat-flour, potato-starch, arrowroot, or 
turmeric (said to be sometimes used), which the microscope and che¬ 
mical tests will prove; then mix the melted butter in an evaporating- 
dish with four or five times its bulk of hot water, and allow it to stand 
for two or three hours to collect on the surface and solidify. Detach 
the resulting cake of butter, and place it on a piece of blotting-paper 
to dry, by the absorption of all adhering aqueous matter. If a piece 
of this prepared butter be introduced into a wide-mouth stoppered 
bottle, and surrounded with ether, at the temperature of 65° Fahr., 
it ought to entirely dissolve, forming a clear lemon-yellow coloured 
liquid. 
On the other hand, the purest lard, which, on being melted, leaves 
no residue, is more or less insoluble in ether at that temperature, as a 
thick milky fluid results, which, on standing, deposits to a considerable 
extent. The same may be said of other fats, such as dripping, mutton 
suet, tallow, &c., the precipitates from which are of a much coarser 
and flocculent character than that from lard in ether. Hence, we per¬ 
ceive there is a striking peculiarity about butter, which, if treated as 
above, enables us to readily determine its purity and the probable pro¬ 
portion of foreign fatty matters mixed with it. The solution of lard 
and other fats in ether is considerably influenced by temperature, for if 
the bottle containing them be held in the hand a short time liquefaction 
takes place, but on a reduction of temperature they are again precipi¬ 
tated. The character also of the various precipitates is remarkable, 
and gives us some clue to their nature,—the precipitate from lard being 
very line and smooth, whilst that of dripping is granular and crystal¬ 
line, and that from tallow long and thread-like, lying piled up one 
above the other. A solution of butter in ether, exposed to a less 
temperature than stated, yields beautiful stellar-like tufts of very fine 
acicular crystals. 
Dr. E. Ballard, parochial analyst, Islington, &c., con¬ 
siders the above process as a somewhat expensive one, and 
therefore not likely to be of much practical use. He gives 
the following as “ tests cheaper and more readily applied." 
The most frequent adulterating fat by far is that of beef. We may 
call it beef “ dripping” if we will, dripping being the form in which 
the fat I refer to is best known. That such is the case may be seen by 
any one who will collect at 65° the residue of solution by ether and 
melt it in a watch-glass. It will, on cooling, be seen to possess the 
physical characters of beef-dripping, with the exception of the odour 
and taste, both of which are wanting. These characters are, a dull, 
yellowish colour, granular texture, but less so than mutton dripping, 
melting slowly on the tongue, with a granular feel when the tongue is 
moved upon it. Its consistence is firm, and when the mass is broken 
by a spatula, the granulations do not separate like those of mutton, 
and its consistence is more waxy. Mutton dripping is white. 
The simple distinguishing character between pure butter and butter 
adulterated with beef dripping, may be noticed in the following par¬ 
ticulars:—Its colour, consistence, odour, the appearance on washing 
with hot water, the occurrences on drying on blotting-paper, the phy¬ 
sical characters when dried, and the results on pressure of the dried 
mass. To render these observations more precise in statement, I will 
