at Whitchurch, and carrying on business in Peter Street as a milkseller. He always superintended the sending away of the milk himself, and was most careful that it went away in a pure state. He served the Grand Hotel, Messrs. Dunlop and Co., and other large firms, and had never had any complaint. Richard Backhouse, in the employ of the defendant, said that the milk given to Mr. Bruce was the identical milk supplied to him in the morning by Mr. Norris. He had not put any water in the milk, and it had been under his supervision all the day. The Magistrates, after a short consultation, said that they had carefully considered the case, and they were of opinion that water had been added. With regard to Mr. Norris, they did not think he was aware that water had been added to the milk, but they had sufficient confidence in their Public Analyst to take his word for it. Mr. Norris, as owner of the milk, was of course responsible, and they should inflict a penalty of 40s. and costs.

Was it Sold as Butter or Butterine?—

Samuel Nelson, provision dealer, Folly Hall, Huddersfield, was charged with selling 1lb. of butter not of the quality required by the purchaser. Mr. Kirk, sanitary inspector, prosecuted, and said the defendant had a stall in the Market. On the 24th ult. he requested William Beaumont (the witness in the last case) to purchase for him, from the defendant's shop, half a pound of cheese, one pound of bacon, and one pound of butter. Beaumont made the purchases; and afterwards he (Mr. Kirk) went into the shop and said that the butter was bought for analysis, and asked the defendant's wife if she desired to retain a part of it. She said she had sold it for butterine, but he reminded her that she had told Beaumont that it was good butter. Mr. Nelson then entered the shop, and said "Yes, she did sell it as butterine." Witness asked him who he was, and he said he was the woman's husband. He then inquired of him how he knew that it was sold for butterine when he was not in the shop at the time. The butter was submitted to analysis, and the report of Mr. George Jarmain stated that the sample was made up of fat other than butter fat-it was butterine, and had undergone no change in its composition. Beaumont gave corroborative evidence. He said Mrs. Nelson told him that it was good butter, but when he told her it was for Mr. Kirk she said "I have sold you that for butterine." Mr. J. D. Liversedge, a clerk in the sanitary office, said on Christmas Eve he was near the defendant's shop, and heard what took place. Beaumont obtained the cheese and bacon, and then asked for the butter. When she was wrapping it up she told him (Beaumont) that it was very good butter; but when told that it was for Mr. Kirk, she said she had sold it for butterine. Mrs. Nelson asked how she could sell it for butter when the word "butterine was on the box from which she took it? She said she pointed this out to Mr. Kirk, who said it was not sufficient, and he now told the Bench that the word was not in continuation, but that the termination" ine" was in small letters, and underneath the word "butter." He asserted that it was a piece of deception; but this was denied by the defendant, who called John Kershaw, a neighbour, as a witness. He said that on the day in question he was called by the defendant to his shop, and asked him what the letters on the box spelt, and he said "butterine."-The Mayor said the Bench were of opinion that the case was proved, and the defendant would be fined £5 and costs.

RECENT CHEMICAL PATENTS.

The following specifications have been recently published, and can be obtained from the Great Seal Office, Cursitor Street, Chancery Lane, London.

The Chemist and Druggist; The Brewers' Guardian; The British Medical Journal; The Medical Press; The Pharmaceutical Journal; The Sanitary Record; The Miller; Journal of Applied Science; The Boston Journal of Chemistry; The Provisioner; The Practitioner; New Remedies; Proceedings of the American Chemical Society; Le Practicien; The Inventors' Record; New York Public Health; The Scientific American; Society of Arts Journal; Sanitary Engineer of New York; The Cowkeeper and Dairyman's Journal; The Chemists' Journal; Oil and Drug News; The Textile Record of America; Sugar Cane; British Association Report of Annual Meeting at Swansea (Swansea, Tweney & Co.); Milk and its Analysis, Gibbons (Manchester, Ireland & Co.); Country Brewers' Gazette.

THE ANALYST.

MAY, 1881.

75

SOCIETY OF PUBLIC ANALYSTS.

THE MEETING appointed to take place on the 13th April was postponed on account of the Easter holidays, and will now be held at Burlington House on Wednesday, May 11th, at 8 o'clock. Among the papers to be read are one by Dr. Alfred Hill, on Some Tea Analyses, and two by Mr. Allen, on the Isolation of Strychnine, and the Assay of Oils.

RESULTS OF ANALYSES OF THE MILK OF FORTY-TWO COWS. BY CHARLES A. CAMERON, M.D., Professor of Chemistry, Royal College of Surgeons; Lecturer on Chemistry and Geology, Government Agricultural Institution, Glasnevin.

DURING the winter quarter of 1880 analyses were made of the milk of forty-two cows kept at the Government Agricultural Institution, Glasnevin, Co. Dublin.

The morning's milk and the evening's milk of each cow were each analysed once; and an examination of the mixed milk of the forty-two cows was also made on the 11th December, 1880.

The cows, it may be mentioned, were good animals: they had from one to three crosses of the shorthorn breed. They were in the house during the period of the experiments. Their food consisted of a daily allowance of from 8 to 10 stones of pulped mangolds and turnips, and exhausted grain from the brewery, together with from to 1 stones of hay. They were, therefore, liberally fed.

The results obtained are sufficiently numerous to warrant some conclusions being deduced from them in reference to the average composition of cows' milk and the limits of variability in the proportions of the different ingredients. Some conclusions may also be drawn, but with greater reserve, from them as to the influence of age and period of lactation upon the composition of the milk.

INFLUENCE OF AGE UPON THE QUALITY OF THE MILK.

The ages of the cows ranged from four years to nine years inclusive. If we take two groups-(1st) those aged four years and five years, and (2nd) those aged eight years and nine years we shall find a great difference in favour of the milk of the latter, both in quantity and quality.

The eighteen cows composing the first group were on the average giving milk during three months: the average yield from each cow was 93 quarts-their morning's milk contained on the average 12.97 per cent. of solid matter, and their evening's milk 13.58 per cent. of solid matter. On the other hand, twelve cows, aged eight years and nine years inclusive, on the average in their fifth month of lactation yielded 10% quarts of milk daily,

containing in the morning 13.39 per cent. of solid matters, and in the evening 13.96 per The richest specimen of milk, save one, was yielded by a cow eight years old, and in the tenth month of lactation. She only, however, gave 6 quarts of milk the day on which a specimen of it was taken for analysis. There were only four cows aged four years, and the average composition of their milk was—

The superiority of the old cows in giving more and better milk may in part be due to the fact that it is only good milch cows that are, as a rule, kept in the dairy several years; the young cows that give poor milk are often put into the stall to fatten.

INFLUENCE OF PERIOD OF LACTATION ON THE QUALITY OF MILK.

The belief that milk becomes deteriorated in quality towards the end of lactation is not supported by the results obtained by these experiments, so far as they go. Eleven of the forty-two cows were giving milk from eight to ten months; the average yield of their milk was 6 quarts, which was much below the average yield of all the forty-two cows. The total solid matter in their morning's milk was 13.57 per cent., and in their evening's milk 13.96 per cent.

At an advanced period of lactation the milk becomes scanty in quantity, but its quality —at least, as shown in the cases of the eleven cows in question—becomes, on the whole, improved.

Six cows were giving milk for periods less than one month. They yielded 13 quarts daily each on the average. The solid matters in their morning's milk were 12-70 per cent., and in their evening's milk 13 21 per cent.

Eleven of the cows were giving milk from one to two months. They furnished on the average 11 quarts per diem. The solid matters in their morning's milk amounted to 13.46 per cent., and in their evening's milk to 14.12 per cent.

Five of the cows were giving milk for four months. Their yield was on the average 10 quarts daily. The total solids in the morning's milk amounted to 12.196 per cent., and in the evening's milk to 13.456 per cent.

In the following table the amount of solids in each case is shown:

TYY

During eight to ten months inclusive

111

101

12.196

13.570

13.960

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE QUANTITIES YIELDED IN THE MORNING AND EVENING.

In every instance the quantity of milk yielded in the morning exceeded the proportion furnished in the evening. In two instances the morning's supply was three times more abundant, and in very many cases twice as plentiful. About eight hours intervened between the two milkings.

SUPERIORITY OF THE EVENING'S MILK.

Thirty out of the forty-two cows gave richer milk in the evening than in the morning, and eleven cows gave richer milk in the morning than in the evening, whilst the remaining

cow's milk was equally good at both milkings. The average amount of solids in the morning's milk was 13.20, and the evening's milk 13.74—a difference of 0.54 per cent. The increase in the amount of solid matters in the evening's milk was due chiefly to the larger amount of fats contained in the latter. The amount was 4.22 or 0.4 per cent. over the proportion (3.82 per cent.) found in the morning's milk. In the case of the mixed milk of the forty-two cows, that yielded in the evening was richer by 56 per cent. of solid matters, including 0.44 per cent. of fats.

AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF MILK.

The results of the analyses of the milk of these forty-two cows show that the mixed milk of well-fed cows in houses, in the last quarter of the year, contains, when poorest―i..., in the morning-13.90 per. cent. of solid matter, including 4.20 per cent. of fats. On the 2nd November, the mixed milk of eight cows, which happened to be in the same house, was analysed. One hundred parts contained

The Society of Public Analysts of Great Britain and Ireland have adopted, as a standard for the poorest pure milk, 9 per cent. of solids minus fats and 2.5 per cent. of fats-a total of 11.5 per cent. of solids. There is little doubt that milk containing less than 11.5 per cent. of solids is watered or skimmed. Still, the results of the analyses of the milk of the Glasnevin cows prove that the milk of an individual cow may contain less than 9.5 per cent. of solids minus fats. In twenty-five instances the solids minus fats were less than 9 per cent. So far as house-fed cattle in Ireland are concerned, 9 per cent. of solids minus fats should be reduced to 8.5 per cent. At the same time, if the milk be the mixed product of several cows, say eight and upwards, then 9 per cent. would be a fair proportion to expect. In the mixed milk (morning's) of the forty-two cows the solid matter minus fats was 0.7 per cent. above the standard figure 9, whilst the average of the forty-two analyses of the morning's milk gave only an excess of 0.38 per cent. above the standard proportion.

With respect to the amount of fats, I think 2.5 per cent. rather low: I am disposed to believe that it should be raised to 2.75. In the morning's milk the maximum amount of fat was 5.40 per cent., and the minimum proportion was 2.88 per cent. In the evening's milk the maximum amount was 6.30 per cent., and the minimum 2.69 per cent. The average percentage of fat in the mixed milk of the cows was 4.20 in the morning's and 4.62 in the evening's. Thus it will be seen that, whilst in twenty-five instances the solids minus fats fell below the Society's standard, in no instance did the fats fall so low as the Society's standard.

The percentage of total solid matter in the morning's milk varied from 15.50 to 11.44, and in the evening's milk from 16.80 to 11.50.

The mixed milk of 100 cows kept on the dairy farm of Mr. E. M. Russell, Pery Square, was found to contain at the evening's milking 13.85 per cent of solid, including 4.60 per cent. of fats, and 0.72 per cent. of ash. The solids minus fats were 9.25 per cent. The analysis was made in March, 1881.

The percentage of solids minus fats varied in the morning's milk from 11.78 to 8.25, and in the evening's milk from 11.30 to 8.27.

The suggestion has often been made that a standard for milk should be defined by statute. Perhaps it would be advisable to institute two standards. One might be for solids minus fats 8.5, and for fats 2.7 per cent. Any person selling milk below this quality should not be entitled to any defence on the ground of natural poverty of the milk. Another and general standard might be solids minus fats 9 per cent., fats 3 per cent. It would be open to persons charged with having sold milk below this standard to prove that it was procured from a very limited number of cows; or they might demand that the cows should be milked in the presence of a responsible person, and a sample of the milk so obtained analysed.

A milk vendor who was prosecuted for selling milk which I certified was adulterated, protested in court that it was pure, but that it was procured from four cows known to yield a very poor milk. I suggested that the cows should be milked in the presence of an officer of the court, and the milk analysed. I found that it contained 13.20 per cent. of solids, including 3.5 per cent. of fats. The milk was also analysed by the Inland Revenue Chemists, Somerset House, and with identical results. They further stated that it would be necessary to add 22 per cent. of water to it in order to reduce the amount of solids minus fats in it, to that present in the alleged adulterated sample which was also analysed at Somerset House.

I think there is the strongest proof that milk on the average contains more than 13 per cent. of solid matters. During the last sixteen years I have examined an immense number of specimens of this liquid, and whenever I was certain that it was pure, I invariably found it to contain more than 12 per cent. of solids. I am quite satisfied that the milk of Dublin dairy herds contains from 13 to 15 per cent. of solids.

METHOD OF ANALYSIS.

10 grammes of the milk were kept in a shallow capsule in the water bath at 212 deg. F. until thoroughly desiccated; the residue showed the amount of total solid matters. The 10 grammes, dried and pulverised, were boiled in about 80 cubic centimetres of ether for several hours, an upright condenser being placed over the flask containing the ether to prevent a waste of the latter. The ether containing the milk fats in solution was filtered (a very small piece of filtering paper being used) into a light tared flask. The ether was distilled off, and the last traces got rid of by passing a current of hot dry air through the flask and condenser. The flask and its fatty contents were then weighed. The amount of the ash was determined by igniting at a low temperature in a platinum dish, the residue obtained by evaporating 10 grammes of the milk to dryness.

It is perhaps, in part, owing to the great care taken to extract every particle of the fat that such high percentages of that ingredient were obtained.

In every instance the amount of solids was determined by two independent experiments. Many of the weighings of the fats and ash were repeated.

SWEDISH LAWS REGULATING THE SALE OF POISONS.

BY C. HEISCH, F.C.S., F.I.C.

Read before the Society of Public Analysts, on March 16th, 1881.

HAVING had occasion to examine into the laws affecting the sale of poisons in different countries, I thought it might be of interest to the Society to learn the principal regulations