Chapter II: BLEACHING of =Linen=:--Linen may be bleached in a similar way to (7)

The amount of water is best ascertained by heating 5 grams of the butter in a small weighed beaker to a temperature of about 110° or 120° C. for an hour or so. Some chemists merely heat the butter on a water bath. According to the author's experience, perfect drying is next to impossible at that temperature.

The dried butter is next treated in the beaker with anhydrous ether, or commercial benzoline. The former liquid is expensive and inconveniently volatile, while it must be used in a perfectly anhydrous condition (to avoid solution of the salt), and except when boiling has but a limited solvent power for butter, especially when adulterated. Benzoline dissolves fat more readily than ether; it does not volatilise so rapidly at ordinary temperatures, it is always anhydrous and has the advantage of low price. The "benzoline" employed by the author is made by redistilling the commercial article from a retort immersed in a bath of boiling water. About one third of the original bulk usually comes over readily at 100° C., and has a gravity of 0·689.

On warming the beaker containing the benzoline the dry butter readily dissolves. The liquid is poured on a small dry filter and washed with warm benzoline, the filtrate being collected in a small wide beaker. If the filter had been previously weighed, its increase of weight, after careful drying, will of course give the quantity of curd and salt in the 5 grams of butter taken. Except in cases in which extreme accuracy is desired, it is preferable to scrape the residue off the filter and weigh it separately.

The error (owing to imperfect removal) only amounts to one or two tenths per cent. of the butter taken. As the salt is accurately estimated afterwards, the loss falls on the curd. The salt may be determined by careful ignition of the filter and residue, the incombustible matter consisting almost wholly of common salt, while the curd is ascertained by loss of weight. This method is not to be recommended; for without great care some of the salt will be volatilised and lost, the error causing the amount of curd to appear excessive.

Ignition also renders any further examination of the curd an impossibility. A far preferable plan is to return the weighed curd and salt to the filter, and to wash them with cold water. The filtrate is made up to 100 c. c., and the salt is estimated in a half of it by titrating with decinormal nitrate of silver. The remaining portion of the solution can be employed for the estimation of sugar, if desired. This is effected by inverse titration with Fehling's copper solution, in the same way as grape sugar. The estimation of sugar may sometimes be of interest, as a means of ascertaining whether the aqueous portion of the butter consisted of mere water or of serum of milk. In other words, the estimation of the sugar may furnish a means of ascertaining whether an excess of water in the butter is due to insufficient removal of the butter-milk, or to subsequent incorporation of water. Every 0·001 gram of milk sugar represents about 0·022 of average milk serum.

The residue insoluble in cold water usually consists almost wholly of casein. If, however, the butter has been adulterated with mashed potatoes, flour, or other starchy matters--said to be occasionally employed--they will be found here. The presence of starch in the residue will, of course, be readily indicated by treating it with hot water, and testing the cooled liquid with solution of iodine. By pressing out a small portion of the butter between two slips of glass, so as to obtain a thin film, and observing it under the microscope (or by observing the caseous residue after treatment with cold water), the nature of the starch may be ascertained.

The solution of the fatty matter in benzoline is evaporated at 100° C. till it no longer decreases in weight. The average proportion of fatty matter in butter is about 85 per cent. If less than 80 per cent. the butter must be considered adulterated. It is evident that a careful estimation of the per-centage of fatty matter would often render separate estimations of the water, curd, and salt unnecessary; for unless the sum of the three latter constituents exceeded 20 per cent. the butter could not be considered as adulterated, unless by an admixture of other fats.

An easy and rapid method of estimating the fat in the undried butter is therefore a great desideratum; but unfortunately no satisfactory method is at present known. The indirect estimation of the fat, by subtracting the sum of the per-centages of water, curd, and salt from 100·00, ought to agree with the direct estimation of fat within 0·5 per cent., and the variation is often much less.

2. Dr Dupré adopts the following method: About 5 grams of the dry filtered butter fat are weighed in a small strong flask; 25 c. c. of a normal alcoholic soda solution are added; the flask is closed by means of a well-fitting cauotchouc stopper, firmly secured by a piece of canvas and string, and heated in a water-bath for about an hour. When cool the flask is opened, the contents--which are semi-solid--carefully liquefied by heat, and washed into a flask with hot water. This flask is now heated for some time on a water-bath to expel the alcohol, some more hot water is added, and 25 c. c. of diluted sulphuric acid somewhat stronger than the alkali used, are run in. The contents are allowed to cool, and the acid aqueous solution below the cake of fatty acids is passed through a filter. The fatty acids in the flask are washed by hot water in the manner recommended by Dr Muter, _i.e._, each time allowed to cool; all the washings are passed through a filter.

The author uses no cambric, but passes everything through paper. With care scarcely any of the fatty acid will find its way into the filter. After the washing with water is completed and the flask drained, he washes any fatty acid that may be on the filter into the flask by means of a mixture of alcohol and ether on a water bath, and finally dries the fatty acids in the flask at a temperature of 105° C. The drying can be done readily if the melted fat is now and then shaken briskly, so as to subdivide the water as much as possible. In this way the acids when once in the flask are not taken out until their weight has been taken, thus reducing the risk of loss to a minimum. Meanwhile the acidity of the aqueous filtrate and washings is estimated by decinormal soda solution. Subtracting from the amount required to the proportion necessary to neutralise the excess of acid added in decomposing the soap, the rest represents the soluble fatty acids contained in the butter taken, and on the assumption of its being butyric acid, we can, of course, calculate the amount of this acid present. When once the equivalent of the soluble acids present in butter is fairly determined, this, of course, will have to be substituted for that of butyric acid. The results thus obtained are very accurate, and the process is very simple in execution.

The author has satisfied himself by repeated experiments that the alkalinity of the alcoholic soda solution by itself is not altered by the process. The author places no reliance on the specific gravity test, as he finds that mutton dripping, and other fats likely to be used as adulterants of butter, may acquire a specific gravity above ·911 by being strongly and repeatedly heated. He thinks, however, that any sample of butter below ·911 may safely be pronounced adulterated.

In a subsequent note Dr Dupré states that he has effected the saponification, decomposition of the soap, and the washing and drying of the fatty acids at ordinary temperature, thus still further reducing the risk of breaking up the higher into lower acids. The saponification is readily effected by using a sufficiency of alcoholic soda. Between four and five grams of the dry butter fat were shaken up for several minutes with 100 c. c. of normal alcoholic soda. The butter soon dissolves, but after a time the solution gelatinises to a clear transparent mass. (The temperature of the laboratory at the time of these experiments ranged between 22° and 50°.) This jelly is now allowed to stand over night, during which time the smell of butyric ether, very strong at first, entirely disappears. In one of the experiments the alcohol was allowed to evaporate spontaneously before the acid was added; in the other (made with a different sample of butter) the soap was dissolved in about half a litre of water, and at once decomposed by the addition of hydrochloric acid.

The fatty acids which separated in white curdy masses were thoroughly washed on a filter with cold water, about four litres, dried in vacuo over oil of vitriol, and weighed. The results of experiment show that butter fat yields the same proportion of insoluble fatty acids when saponified with or without the aid of heat.

3. Mr Gatehouse. _Rapid Method of Detecting the Adulteration of Butter with other Fats._ The following comparative method is based upon the insolubility of potassium stearate in alkaline solutions when the stearate has been produced at high temperatures:

Before applying the test it is essential to remove all curd, butter-milk, and salt, by washing with hot water or dissolving in ether. Twenty grains of the butter are placed in a large test-tube one third full with water boiled thoroughly and allowed to stand till the fat separates. The fat is either dissolved in ether, and after evaporation saponified, or the lower layer of the liquid is drawn off by a pipette as follows:--A thin glass tube is drawn out to a fairly fine point and bent at the top to an obtuse angle. Whilst the butter is still liquid this nozzle is inserted into the bottom of the test-tube, placing the finger over the upper end to prevent any liquid from getting in till it reaches the bottom. When fairly cold the liquid may be withdrawn by a pipette attached to the tube. This process can be repeated till the washings are free from chlorides.

The saponification is effected by heating the purified butter with 1/3-1/2 of its own weight of pure solid potassium hydrate (purified by alcohol) to a temperature above 420° F.; applying the heat gently at first, and when the frothing ceases, heating it more strongly, till no further apparent action occurs. The ultimate temperature during saponification must be kept above 400° for some minutes, otherwise the sterate formed will be soluble instead of insoluble in the alkaline solution.

If the butter is pure, the colour of the residue will be at the utmost light yellow, but should the butter be adulterated to any extent, it may be almost black. Too much reliance must not, however, be placed on the colour.

After allowing the tube and its contents to cool, the mass is boiled with successive portions of distilled water till 6 oz. (or 200 c. c.) altogether have been used. If the butter is pure, a portion of this solution poured into a test-tube will present only a faint opalescence; if, on the other hand, the butter is impure, a decided opacity will be perceived, the degree depending upon the amount of adulteration.

The amount of adulteration in any sample is determined by first obtaining pure butter and adding to separate portions of it known per-centages of lard, &c. Each of these can be saponified as stated above; they are then corked up in tubes of equal diameter and labelled with the per-centage of lard they contain. On comparing them it will be seen that 2 per cent. of lard can be clearly indicated.

When a butter is analysed all that is wanted is to saponify, make up to the correct strength, and after cooling pour into a test-tube and compare with the specimen tubes.

4. Dr Redwood. _The Determination of the Melting Points of Butter and other Fats._ The apparatus in the form best suited for general use consists of a basin, two small beakers, and a thermometer. The author uses an enamelled iron basin about six inches in diameter, and three and a half inches deep. In this is placed a beaker four and a half inches deep and three inches in diameter, and within this beaker is placed another much smaller one, supported by its projecting rim on a disk of tinplate or copper, the outer edge of which rests on the mouth of the larger beaker. Some mercury is put in the smaller beaker to the depth of about an inch, and cold water into the larger beaker, so that its surface shall be half an inch or an inch higher than that of the mercury.

A small drop of the fat which has been previously melted and heated to several degrees above its melting-point, but has been allowed to cool again to near its setting point, is put on the surface of the cold mercury. This is best done by means of a thin glass rod about one eighth of an inch in diameter, the end of which has been rounded off in the blow-pipe flame.

It is important that the drop should be very small, and its temperature when placed on the mercury not much above its melting point, for if it be too hot it will spread over the surface of the mercury, which is not desirable.

If the rounded end of the rod be slightly dipped into the melted fat, and then brought to the surface of the mercury, a small hemispherical particle will attach itself there and speedily congeal, becoming more or less opaque in doing so. The weight of one of these hemispherical masses, which should not be more than the eighth of an inch in diameter, will be from 1/50 to 1/10 of a grain. Having placed the drop of fat upon the mercury, the bulb of a thermometer, with sufficiently minute graduations, is introduced into the mercury and hot water poured into the basin. The heat is thus communicated to the contents of the small beaker slowly through the water in the larger beaker, and the rise of temperature in the mercury may be easily regulated, and should take place at the rate of about one degree per minute.

The mercury, by virtue of its comparatively good conducting power, acquires a uniform temperature throughout, which is indicated by the thermometer, and at the same time communicated to the fat. The fat when the temperature approaches its melting point becomes partially transparent, and if the stem or elongated bulb of the thermometer be now brought up against it, the moment fusion takes place the liquid fat will run into the channel formed by the repulsion of the mercury and the outside of the thermometer tube. This process presents the following advantages:--

1. The heat-conducting power of the mercury, on which the fat is placed, ensures the equalisation of the temperature as indicated by the thermometer, and at the same time communicated to the fat.

2. The direct contact of the fat with the mercury, without the intervention of a bad conducting medium, such as glass, ensures a more immediate and correct indication of the temperature at which liquefaction takes place than would otherwise occur.

3. The minuteness of the quantity of fat operated upon reduces to a minimum the time occupied in its melting, and thus facilitates the determination with exactness of its melting point.

4. The time occupied in preparing small tubes and charging them with the fat is saved, and several experiments in succession may be easily and rapidly made with the same apparatus. The author observed that in butter as well as other fats, such as tallows, there were at least two melting points, dependent upon the way in which the fat had been previously subjected to the action of heat, and that they may differ in butter to the extent of 3° or 4° F.; the low melting point being that of the fat after it has been heated to several degrees above its first melting point, and the higher melting point being that of fat which has been previously melted to the lowest possible temperature, and then immediately allowed to congeal.

5. Professor Wanklyn carefully weighs one gram of butter, and heats it in a platinum dish of the size shown in the accompanying figure, from four to six hours or even more--in short, until it ceases to lose weight. The loss of weight is the water, which should be calculated and expressed in per-centages.

_Fat._ The dried butter is now to be heated with ether (the ether should be made to boil by floating the dish in hot water). Several successive portions should be taken, the whole passed through a filter, the filter well washed with ether, and the filtrate evaporated to dryness and weighed.

_Caseine and Ash._ The residue from which the fat and water have been extracted is now to be taken, carefully weighed, then burned down to a low red heat; the residue remaining is the ash, the loss the caseine.

The amount of ash, practically speaking, is the salt, but if there be any doubt as to its composition, the chlorine maybe estimated by a volumetric solution of nitrate of silver, and further examined.

The following table shows the composition of a few genuine and other butters, examined according to the same, or at least to a similar process to the one described:--

--------------------+------+-----------+------+--------+-----------------+------------------
| | Ash, | | | |
| Fat. |principally|Water.|Caseine.| Quality. |
| | Salt. | | | |
--------------------+------+-----------+------+--------+-----------------+------------------
Fresh Devonshire |82·7 | 1·1 |16·2 | 16·2 |Good. |WANKLYN.
butter. | | | | | |
Normandy butter. |82·1 | 1·8 |16·1 | 16·1 | " | "
Jersey butter. |78·491| 8·528 |10·445| 2·536 | " |ANGELL AND HEHNER.
Normandy butter. |82·643| 2·915 | 9·305| 5·137 | " |
Butter from Ventnor.|86·280| 6·600 | 3·831| 3·289 |Found to be | "
| | | | | adulterated |
| | | | | with foreign |
| | | | | fat. |
Butter from London. |87·50 | 1·559 |23·981| 6·880 |Adulterated with| "
| | | | | water. |
" " |47·119| 2·689 |42·358| 7·834 |Adulterated with | "
| | | | | water, and |
| | | | | contains an |
| | | | | excess of curd.|
--------------------+------+-----------+------+--------+-----------------+-----------------

6. _A Method of Detecting Meat Fats in Butter._ Mr Horsley, writing to the 'Chemical News,' September, 1874, says:--"My starting point is, that fresh butter is permanently soluble in methylated ether, sp. gr. 0·730 at the temperature of 65° Fahr. But with the view of seeing if any other substance it may contain could be precipitated from it, I took, say, 20 or 25 grains of fresh butter, placed it in a small test-tube, and poured over it one drachm of methylated ether, and on corking the tube it readily dissolved after a few minutes' agitation. I then added 30 drops of methylated alcohol, 63° o. p., and agitated again, but nothing was precipitated. I, therefore, made another experiment with 15 grains of butter and 10 grains of prepared mutton fat, dissolved them in 1 drachm of ether first, and added 30 drops of alcohol, when in less than half an hour the fat was precipitated in a room heated to 68° Fahr. Next, in order to see the effects upon mixtures of known fats, such as lard, beef, mutton, and tallow fats properly melted together in proportions of 60 grains of butter and 40 of fat, and stirring till cold, I found that each of them could, by a similar procedure, be precipitated in a few minutes. In one case, that of mutton, I filtered off the ethereal liquid, and collected the residue, and obtained as much as 30 per cent. of what had been used; so that there is no longer any doubt about easily detecting fatty adulterations in butter. Lastly, I would observe that crystallisation of butter, out of the ethereal solution at a lower temperature than 65°, must not be mistaken for the fats precipitated by alcohol alluded to, as the butter, besides being so much lighter, occupies the upper layer, and is different in character and easily remelted by the application of the warm hand for a minute or so.

"Further experiments have proved that half an hour suffices to effect the full precipitation of fats from the ethereal solutions by the addition of 20 drops or so of alcohol to the drachm of ether, containing not more than 25 grains of the adulterated butter; after which the tube should be agitated and its contents projected on to a small double filter, washed with a little alcohol, and the residue whilst moist scraped off, and transferred to a watch-glass to dry. In this way loss by melting and absorption into the paper is obviated.

"The following were the proportions of fats I recovered, viz.--

Lard 60 per cent.
Mutton fat 75 "
Beef fat 95 "

The precipitated mutton fat is powdery, and white as snow. Lard and beef are more adherent and greasy; for that reason mutton makes the firmest compound."

7. _On the Cooling of Fats._ At a meeting of the University of Edinburgh Chemical Society, held on March 13th, 1878, a paper on the above subject was read by Mr Treharne, M.B.C.M., wherein the author states:--"If equal bulks of the fats of mutton, beef, pork, and butter, and palm oil be heated to 100° C. in small flasks fitted with a thermometer through the cork, and then allowed to cool by radiation under the same conditions for each, temperature is found to fall regularly to a certain point (which is different for each of the facts above named) and then to rise to a certain turning point. These turning points are approximately as follows:--

For Mutton fat 40° C.
" Beef " 28·5° C.
" Pork " 26·5° "
" Butter " 23·5° "
" Palm oil 21·0° "

The extent of the rise in temperature is different in each fat, being greatest in that of mutton, and least in that of butter and palm oil. The extent of the rise is also greater within certain limits the greater the quantity of fat employed; but as a rule the turning point is pretty constant for the same fat. There is also a little difference in the turning points and the extent of rise according to the part of the carcase from which the fat has been taken. If temperature and time be taken as co-ordinates, and the rate of cooling be represented by curves, these latter will be characteristic of the respective fats. A mixture of equal parts of mutton and butter fats does not give a curve intermediate between those of its two components; but is such as to indicate that less heat is given out on cooling (to 20° C say) than in the case of butter, which, compared with mutton fat, gives off very little heat."

For further information on the subject of 'Butter' the reader is referred to a Report by Mr Bell--the principal of the Chemical Laboratory at Somerset House--to the Board of Inland Revenue, included in a return made to the House of Commons in 1876.

_Preservation._ 1. Melt the butter in a stoneware or a well-glazed earthen pan set in a water bath at a heat not exceeding 180° Fahr., and keep it heated, skimming it from time to time until it becomes quite transparent; then pour off the clear portion into another vessel, and cool it as quickly as possible by placing the vessel in very cold water or ice. This is the method employed by the Tartars who supply the Constantinople market. In this state it may be preserved perfectly fresh for 6 or 9 months, if kept in a close vessel and a cool place. This is the plan so strongly recommended by M. Thénard. Mr Eaton states that butter melted by the Tartarian method, and then salted by ours, will keep good and fine-tasted for two years.

2. Saltpetre and white sugar, of each 1 oz.; best Spanish great-salt (or Cheshire large-grained salt), 2 oz.; all in very fine powder; mix thoroughly, and add 1 oz. of this mixture to every lb. of butter, and thoroughly incorporate them together. The butter thus prepared is then to be tightly pressed into clean glazed earthenware vessels (or well-seasoned casks), so as to leave no vacuities. This plan is recommended by Dr Anderson, who declares that "butter so prepared will keep in a cool place for years; and will bear a voyage to the East Indies, if packed (stowed) so as not to melt." It does not taste well before it has stood for three or four weeks, after which it acquires a rich marrow-like flavour, which no other butter ever possesses. A good method to preserve the butter from the air is to fill the pots to within an inch of the top, then to lay on it some coarse-grained salt to the depth of a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch, and lastly to cover each pot with a slate, plate, or other flat article. The salt by long keeping runs to brine, which forms an air-tight layer on the top of the butter, and may at any time be very easily removed by turning the pot on one side.

3. Fresh butter, 21 lbs.; salt, 1 lb.; saltpetre, 1 oz. These are the common proportions for the best salt butter of the shops.

4. Fresh butter, 18 lbs.; salt, 1 lb.; saltpetre, 1-1/2 oz.; honey or fine brown sugar, 2 oz. Superior to No. 3.

_Concl. Remarks._ It may be useful to know that rancid butter may be restored, or, in all cases, greatly improved, by melting it in a water bath with some fresh-burnt and coarsely powdered animal charcoal (which has been thoroughly freed from dust by sifting), and straining it through clean flannel. A better and less troublesome method is to well wash the butter first with some good new milk, and next with cold spring water. Butyric acid, on the presence of which rancidity depends, is freely soluble in fresh milk.

The turnip-flavour arising from the cows being fed on turnips or cabbages is said to be removed by one or other of the following methods:--1. When the milk is strained into the pans put to every 6 galls. 1 gal. of boiling water.--2. Dissolve 1 oz. of nitre in a pint of spring water, and put a 1/4 pint of the solution to every 15 galls. of milk.--3. Keep back a 1/4 pint of the sour cream when you churn, and put it into a well-scalded pot, into which you are to gather the next cream; stir that well, and do so with every fresh addition. Each of these methods come on good authority, but we are bound to say that our own experience does not confirm their constant success. We have found that the addition of a handful of salt to the water used to wash the butter is as good a plan as any.

=Butter, Ancho'vy.= From anchovies (boned and beaten to a paste), 1 part; butter, 2 parts; spice, q. s.

=Butter-colouring= (from Paris). A mixture of 40 per cent. of chrome yellow with some fat coloured with annatto. (Flückiger and Weil.)

=Butter, Clar'ified.= Fresh butter melted in a water bath, allowed to settle, and the clear portion poured into an earthenware basin or pot, set in cold water, so as to cool it as quickly as possible, without allowing it to crystallise. It keeps a long time without becoming rank. See BUTTER, No. 1 (_antè_).

=Butter, Hon'ey.= Fine Narbonne honey, 2 to 4 oz.; mixed with good butter, 1 lb. Used as a delicacy for children, and by the sick and aged.

=Butter, Lem'on.= See BUTTER, ORANGE.

=Butter, Melt'ed.= This well-known sauce may be prepared of excellent quality as follows:--Beat up about 1 oz. of fine flour with 4 oz. of butter, in the cold, until they are evenly and thoroughly mixed, then add 4 or 5 table-spoonfuls of hot milk, put the whole into a small saucepan, and continue shaking it, all in one direction, until it simmers very gently; lastly, remove it from the fire, and pour it into the butter-boats for use. These last should be filled with hot water, and then emptied and wiped dry, before putting the melted butter into them. See SAUCES.

=Butter, Or'ange.= _Prep._ 1. From 6 eggs, 2 oz. of powdered sugar, and 4 oz. of butter, well beaten together with a little orange-flower water. Sometimes 1 or 2 oz. of blanched almonds, or of almond-paste, is added.

2. Butter, 1 lb.; syrup of orange peel, 4 oz. Both are eaten as a delicacy. LEMON BUTTER, is made in a similar manner.

=Butter of An'timony*[double-dagger].= Trichloride of antimony.

=Butter of Caca'o.= See CO'COA, and CO'COA-NUT OIL.

=Butter of Nut'megs.= Collected from the surface of the water in the still, after the distillation of the essential oil of nutmegs.

=Butter of Ro'ses.= Obtained by distilling damask roses. It separates slowly from the water in the receiver. It has little smell, and is hence used to dilute the odour of musk, ambergris, and civet.

=Butter of Wax.= Prepared by distilling bees'-wax. A factitious kind is also made.

=Butter of Zinc*[double-dagger].= Chloride of zinc.

=Butter Powder= (from the Adler-Apotheke Emmerich on the Rhine). Bicarbonate of soda. (Dr U. Kreusler.)

=Butter Powder= (Lemmel, Schleswig-Holstein). An impure bicarbonate of soda, coloured with turmeric. (Hirschberg.)

=Butter Powder, Schuhrer's= (Emil Schührer, Mutzschen, Saxony). This, it is claimed, will considerably increase the yield of butter, shorten the process of churning, and yield a product which will be firm even in the height of summer, well-flavoured, of a handsome colour, and of excellent commercial value. It consists of a tolerably pure commercial bicarbonate of soda, with 1/2 per cent. of powdered turmeric. (Dr Peters.)

=Butter Powder, Tomlinson's= (Tomlinson & Co., Lincoln, England). Ordinary bicarbonate of soda, coloured with 3/4 per cent. of annatto. (Dr Karmrodt.)

=Butter-preservative Paste= (from Spaa). Consists of common salt, 52 parts; nitre, 23 parts; syrup, 5 parts. (Wittstein.)

=BUTTERINE.= A substance known under this name, and intended as a substitute for butter, is imported into this country from New York.

Of butterine Dr CAMPBELL BROWN remarks:--"In general appearance, taste, and consistence, it is very similar to ordinary butter; but notwithstanding that its solidifying point is lower than that of some butters, it retains much of the peculiar crumbly texture and fracture of dripping.

"It softens at 78° F., and melts at 86°. When heated and slowly cooled it obscures the thermometer at 62° and solidifies at 60°. It contains--

Water 11·25 to 8·5
Salt 1·03 " 5·5
Curd 0·57 " 0·6
Fat 87·15 " 85·4
------ ------
100·00 100·00

"The fat consists of oleine, palmitine, margarine, a trace of stearine, and about 5 or 6 per cent. of butter. When dissolved in about four times its weight of ether, and allowed to evaporate spontaneously, it does not deposit any fat until more than half of the ether has passed off, and if the temperature is not below 60° the deposit is not solid.

"The first deposit when dried fuses at 108°; the second deposit fuses at 88°, and solidifies at 64°.

"Under the microscope butterine does not appear to consist of acicular crystals of fat, but of irregular masses, containing a few butter globules, particles of curd, and crystals of salt. With polarised light the irregular crystalline structure is beautifully seen, and is clearly distinguishable from butter which has been melted and recongealed. When old and rancid it acquires the odour and taste of dripping, but it keeps longer undecomposed than butter. When fresh it is a wholesome substitute for real butter. No one can reasonably take exception to its sale.

"Butterine may be detected by the following characters:--

"1. Its crumbly fracture.

"2. Its loss of colour when kept melted for a short time at 212°.

"3. The behaviour of its ethereal solution.

"4. Its action on polarised light."

The 'American Chemist' for 1876 contains an interesting paper by Mr Henry Mott on the manufacture of artificial butter, which is too lengthy for insertion here.

=BUTTER-MILK.= The liquid that remains after the butter is separated from the cream.

_Qual., &c._ Butter-milk left from the churning of sweet cream is not only very delicious, but exceedingly wholesome and nutritious. It is eaten with fruit, puddings, and cakes, and is said to possess the property of allaying the nervous irritability induced by excessive tea-drinking. It is an admirable beverage in rickets, diabetes, and many stomach affections. An American physician has recently asserted that it induces longevity. See MILK.

=BUTTONS.= See BRASS, GILDING, &c.

=BU'TYRATE.= [Eng., Fr.] _Syn._ BU'TYRAS, L. A salt in which the hydrogen of butyric acid is replaced by a basic radical.

=Butyrate of Barium.= _Prep._ Saponify butter with a boiling solution of caustic alkali, and decompose the resulting soap by adding a solution of tartaric acid; filter and distil; neutralise the distillate with hydrate of barium, and evaporate; the first crystals that form are caprate of barium; the next, caproate of barium; and the last, butyrate of barium. This salt is very soluble in water, and hence is easily separated from the others.--_Use._ Chiefly for making butyric acid.

=BUTYRIC= (-t[)i]r'-). _Syn._ BUTYR'ICUS, L.; BUTYRIQUE, Fr. Of or from butter.

=BUTYRIC ACID.= HC_{4}H_{7}O_{2}. _Syn._ ACIDUM BUT[)Y]R'ICUM, L.; ACIDE BUTYRIQUE, Fr.; BUTTERSÄURE, Ger. An oily acid, first obtained by Chevreul from butter.

_Prep._ From butyrate of barium or magnesium, by adding sulphuric acid in quantity not quite sufficient to decompose the whole of the salt; the clear liquid, filtered and distilled, yields butyric acid, from which the water may be removed by digestion with chloride of calcium.

_Prop._ A thin colourless liquid, of pungent rancid odour, and sour taste, miscible with water and alcohol. It boils and distils unchanged at 327° Fahr. Sp. gr. ·963. See ETHERS.

=BU'TYRIN= (-in). [Eng., Fr.] An oily substance existing in butter, and of which it forms the characteristic portion. It was discovered by Chevreul.

_Prep._ Keep clarified butter in a porcelain vessel, at a heat of 66°, for some days; carefully collect the oily portion which separates, mix it with an equal weight of alcohol of the sp. gr. ·796, and agitate it frequently for 24 hours; after repose pour off the clear portion, and evaporate it; treat the oily residuum with a little carbonate of magnesium, to remove free acid, and wash off the butyrate of magnesium, thus formed, with water; lastly, heat the remaining fatty matter in alcohol, filter, and evaporate, by a gentle heat; the residuum is butyrin.

=BUXINE= (-[)i]n). A substance detected by M. Faure in _bux'us semper'virens_, or the common box-tree.

=CABBAGE.= _Syn._ BRAS'SICA, L.; CHOU, Fr.; KOHL, Ger. This common esculent, and all its numerous varieties, are merely cultivated specimens of the wild sea-cabbage of our coasts (_bras'sica olera'cea_, Linn.), one of an extensive and valuable genus of plants belonging to the nat. ord. Cruciferæ. After the potato, the cabbage is doubtless more extensively used by the masses of the people than any other fresh vegetable. When young, and properly dressed, it forms an agreeable and wholesome addition to animal food, the grossness of which, it is said, it tends to correct. It should be eaten only when fresh gathered and fresh cooked; and the unconsumed portion, as well as the water in which it has been boiled, should be at once thrown away. Persons troubled with a weak digestion, or who have a tendency to flatulence, diarrh[oe]a, or worms, would do well to avoid them. Their use is particularly serviceable in scurvy, and in numerous skin diseases.

It has been asserted that cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, celery, and several other culinary vegetables, may be preserved in a fresh state for some time, by cutting them so that they may have about two inches of stem left below the leaves, scooping out the pith as far down as a small knife will reach, and then suspending them perpendicularly by means of a cord, in an inverted position, in some cool situation, and daily filling up the bottom part of the stem with clean cold water. In this way it is stated that a supply of green vegetables may be readily obtained during a severe winter, and on ship-board. Other methods, including those usually adopted with the same object, are noticed under VEGETABLES (Culinary).

Cabbages, broccoli, &c., are dressed by simply throwing them into boiling water, and simmering them until tender. A few minutes is sufficient for this purpose. A pinch of salt of tartar, or of carbonate of soda, is commonly added to the water, to preserve the green colour of the vegetables.

=CACHOU AROMATISE= (k[)a]shoo [)a]r[)o]m[)a]t[=e]z[=a]). [Fr.] A mouth-lozenge intended to sweeten and perfume the breath. Preparations of this description are much used by smokers and bacchanals. The form under which they are generally prepared for sale is that of 1-1/2 to 2 gr. pills, neatly silvered. Originally they were composed chiefly of catechu and sugar, flavoured and perfumed with the stronger aromatics; but at the present day the catechu, from which they derive their name, is not unfrequently omitted. Their preparation is described elsewhere. See BREATH, LOZENGES, PASTILS, &c.

=CAD'MIUM.= Cd. [Eng., L.] _Syn._ KLAPRO'THIUM. A metal discovered by Stromeyer and Hermann, in the ores of zinc.

_Prep._ 1. (Stromeyer.) The cadmo-zincic ore is dissolved in an excess of dilute sulphuric or hydrochloric acid by heat; a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen is passed through the solution, the resulting precipitate (sulphide of cadmium) dissolved in nitric acid, and the solution evaporated to dryness; the residuum is dissolved in water, the solution precipitated with carbonate of ammonium in excess, and the precipitate (carbonate of cadmium) collected, mixed with charcoal, and heated to redness in a crucible apparatus so arranged as to condense the fumes; the cadmium sublimes.

2. (Wollaston.) A solution of the ore obtained as above is placed in a platinum capsule, and a piece of metallic zinc is plunged into it. In a short time the cadmium is precipitated, and attaches itself to the sides of the capsule, when it is collected, washed, and dried.

3. (Herapath.) When zinc is obtained by distilling its ores, per descensum, the first portion of the metallic fumes evolved burn with a brownish flame, and deposit oxide of cadmium, which is subsequently reduced by distillation with charcoal. Thousands of pounds of cadmium are yearly wasted at the zinc works which might be easily collected in a similar manner.

_Prop., &c._ Resembles tin in most of its physical properties, being white, soft, and malleable. Sp. gr. 8·61. Stromeyer gives its melting point as 442° Fahr., but Dr Wood, an American chemist, states that the metal requires for its fusion nearly the same heat as lead, and gives it as about 600° Fahr. It volatilises at a somewhat higher temperature, giving off orange-coloured, suffocating fumes, which, when inhaled too freely, leave a disagreeable, sweetish, styptic sensation upon the lips, and a persistent brassy taste in the mouth, with constriction of the throat, heaviness in the head, and nausea. The alloys of cadmium are said to be brittle by almost all who have treated of them, but Wood found that many were extremely tenacious, as, for instance, the combination of 2 parts of silver and 1 part of cadmium, which is perfectly malleable and very strong. The amalgam of equal parts of cadmium and mercury is also highly malleable. Like bismuth, cadmium has the property of promoting fusibility in certain alloys; thus, a remarkable fusible metal may be formed by melting together cadmium 1 to 2 parts, lead 2 parts, and tin 4 parts.

_Tests._ Its ores and salts are recognised as follows:--1. Mixed with carbonate of sodium, and exposed on a charcoal support to the reducing flame of the blowpipe, the charcoal becomes almost instantly covered with a reddish-yellow incrustation of oxide of cadmium, commonly forming a circle or zone.--2. Caustic soda and potassa give a white precipitate (hydrated oxide) in solutions containing cadmium, insoluble in excess of the precipitant.--3. Ammonia gives a similar white precipitate, freely soluble in excess.--4. The alkaline carbonates give white precipitates (carbonate of cadmium), insoluble in excess.--5. Sulphuretted hydrogen, and sulphydrate of ammonium, give a bright yellow precipitate (sulphide of cadmium), which is insoluble in dilute acid, alkalies, sulphides, and cyanide of potassium, but readily soluble in both hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, especially with heat.--6. The salts of cadmium are readily distinguished from those of arsenic, by the precipitated sulphide being insoluble in ammonia, and soluble in hydrochloric acid, and being capable of sustaining a white heat without subliming.

=Cadmium, Car'bonate of.= CdCO_{3}. _Syn._ CAD'MII CAR'BONAS, L. From a solution of sulphate or chloride of cadmium, and an alkaline carbonate; the precipitate being collected, washed, and dried by a gentle heat. A white powder.

=Cadmium, Chlo''ride of.= CdCl_{2}. _Syn._ HYDROCHLO''RATE OF CADMIUM, MU''RIATE OF CADMIUM; CAD'MII CHLORI'DUM, CAD'MII HYDROCHLO''RAS, L. _Prep._ 1. (Pure.) By dissolving carbonate or oxide of cadmium in hydrochloric acid, and crystallising by gentle evaporation. Prismatic crystals; very soluble in water.

2. (Turner.) By exposing the product of the last process to heat. Amorphous.

3. From crude cadmium or its oxide, and hydrochloric acid, as last.

=Cadmium, I'odide of.= CdI_{2}. _Syn._ HYDRI'ODATE OF CADMIUM; CAD''MII IODI'DUM, C. HYDRIO'DAS, L.

_Prep._ (Crookes.) Cadmium in filings 1 part, pure iodine 2 parts, are to be placed together in a capacious flask, with alcohol sufficient to cover them. Action commences at once, attended with considerable evolution of heat; when it ceases, heat the mixture till it is colourless; then filter from a few grains of cadmium which will remain undissolved, evaporate and crystallise.

_Uses._ In photography this salt has lately been employed with great success for iodizing collodion. Being very stable, it is not decomposed, and the collodion iodized with it preserves its sensitiveness undiminished during many months. (See COLLODION.) In _medicine_ it is used occasionally as a substitute for iodide of lead.

=Cadmium, Ox'ide of.= CdO. _Syn._ PROTOX'IDE OF CADMIUM; CAD'MII OXY'DUM, L. _Prep._ 1. (Hydrated.) From sulphate or chloride of cadmium, and a solution of caustic alkali; observing to well wash and dry the precipitate. A white powder, freely soluble in acids.

2. (Anhydrous.) By igniting the hydrated oxide, or the carbonate or nitrate of cadmium. That from the first two has a pale brown colour; that from the nitrate has a dark brown tint and a semi-crystalline appearance. The former has been proposed to be used as a pigment.

=Cadmium, Sul'phate of.= CdSO_{4}. _Syn._ CAD'MII SUL'PHAS, CAD'MIUM SULPHU'RICUM, KLAPRO'THRIUM SULPHU'RICUM, L. _Prep._ 1. From carbonate or oxide of cadmium and dilute sulphuric acid, as the chloride.

2. (Cottereau.) Oxide of cadmium, 1 oz.; sulphuric acid, q. s.; dissolve, evaporate, and crystallise.

3. (Pereira.) Sulphuric acid, 6-1/2 parts; water, 15 parts; mix; add cadmium, 7 parts; dissolve, evaporate to dryness, redissolve in water, filter, and evaporate by a gentle heat, so that crystals may form.

_Prop., &c._ Efflorescent, rectangular, prismatic crystals; very soluble in water; tastes astringent. It is about 4 times as strong as sulphate of zinc, and is used in similar cases. _Dose_, 3 to 10 gr. _Externally_ (1/2 to 3 or 4 gr. to water, 1 oz.); in specks of the eye, opacity of the cornea, chronic ophthalmia, &c. As an ointment, 10 to 12 gr. to lard, 1 oz.

=Cadmium, Sul'phide of.= CdS. _Syn._ CADMIUM YELLOW. This occurs native as GREENOCK'ITE. It may be prepared artificially, either by fusing its elements together, or by passing a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen through a solution of the chloride, nitrate, or sulphate. When prepared artificially, it is of a bright yellow or orange colour, and is of great value to the artist. It has been used in making fireworks. See FIRES, _Coloured_.

=Cadmium, Yellow.= See CADMIUM, SULPHIDE OF (_above_), and YELLOW PIGMENTS.

=CÆSALPINA (GUILANDINA) BONDUCELLA.= (Ind. Ph.) _Habitat._ Tropical portions of both hemispheres.--_Officinal part._ The seeds (_Bonducellæ semina_, _Bonduc seeds_); of a somewhat irregular sub-spherical or ovoid form, usually from 5/8 to 6/8 of an inch in diameter, smooth, hard, and lead-coloured, and contain an amylaceous white nucleus, having a bitter taste. They contain a fixed oil, resin, and a bitter principle.--_Properties._ Tonic and antiperiodic.--_Therapeutic uses._ In intermittent fevers; also in debility, and other cases requiring tonics.--_Dose_, 10 to 15 grains twice daily.

COMPOUND POWDER OF BONDUC (_Pulvis Bonducellæ compositus_). Take of bonduc seeds, deprived of their shells and powdered, 1 oz.; black pepper, powdered, 1 oz. Mix thoroughly, and keep in a well-stoppered bottle.--_Dose_, 15 to 30 gr., three times a day.

=CÆSIUM.= [Eng., L.] Cæ. A metal belonging to the alkaline group, discovered by Bunsen in the mineral water of Durckheim by means of SPECTRUM ANALYSIS (which _see_), and so named by him from _cæsius_, greyish-blue, the colour of its characteristic ray.

=CAFFE'IC ACID.= _Syn._ CHLOROGE'NIC ACID. A white powder, discovered by Runge in coffee, in which it exists in combination with potassium (caffeiate of potassium), and caffeine, and is then very soluble in alcohol. Pfaff states that the aroma of coffee is dependent on the volatilisation, or, rather, the decomposition of this acid.

=CAFFE'INE.= C_{8}H_{10}N_{4}O_{2}. _Syn._ CAFFE'INA, THÉINE, GUARANINE. A peculiar nitrogenised principle, discovered by Robiquet in coffee. It is, moreover, the essential principle of tea, of Paraguay tea, and of Guarana, infusions of which are used as beverages in different parts of the world. The proportion of caffeine to the pound was found by Liebig to be as stated below in the six descriptions of coffee named:--

Martinique 32 grains.
Alexandrian 22 "
Java 22 "
Mocha 20 "
Cayenne 19 "
St Dominique 16 "

In Hyson tea it exists in the proportion of from 2·5 to 3·4 per cent.; and in gunpowder tea from 2·2 to 4·1. In Paraguay tea, or _maté_ as it is called in Brazil, and in Guarana, it exists in the proportion of ·13 per cent.

_Prep._ 1. Coarsely powdered raw or unroasted coffee is boiled in water, and subacetate of lead added to the filtered decoction to throw down the extractive and colouring matter; the excess of lead is next precipitated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and the liquid filtered and evaporated by a gentle heat; the residuum is dissolved in boiling water, the solution agitated with freshly burnt animal charcoal, filtered, evaporated, and crystallised. By redissolving the product in hot alcohol, it may be obtained in white, shining, silky filaments, as the solution cools.

2. (H. J. Versman.) Quick-lime, 2 lbs.; water, q. s. to form a hydrate; raw coffee (bruised), 10 lbs.; mix, put it into a displacement apparatus, and cause alcohol of 80% to percolate through the mixture, until the fluid obtained no longer contains caffeine; the mass in the percolator is then roughly ground to powder, mixed with a fresh quantity of quick-lime, and the process of percolation repeated with fresh alcohol, as before. The spirit is next distilled from the mixed tinctures in a retort, and the residuum washed with a little warm water to remove the oil; the evaporation is then gently conducted until a crystalline mass is obtained, which is further freed from adhering oil by pressure between folds of blotting paper. It is purified by redissolving it in boiling water or hot alcohol, &c., as before.

3. (A. Vogel.) An extract of powdered coffee is made with commercial benzol; this being distilled off, leaves an oil and caffeine behind; the oil is then removed by a little ether or by hot water, from which latter liquid the alkaloid crystallises on cooling.

4. From a hot infusion of tea-leaves by treatment with subacetate of lead and sulphuretted hydrogen, as in process 1 (_above_).

5. (F. V. Greene.) Powdered guarana is intimately mixed with three times its weight of finely divided litharge, and the mixture boiled in distilled water, the ebullition being continued until, on allowing the temperature to fall below the boiling point, the insoluble portion is found to subside rapidly, leaving the supernatant liquid clear, bright, and without colour. The quantity of distilled water required will be found to be about a pint for every fifteen grams of the guarana used in the experiment, and as the boiling has to be continued for several hours before the desired and all essential separation mentioned above takes place, water must be added from time to time to supply the place of that lost by evaporation. When cool, the clear liquid is decanted upon a filter, and when it has passed through, which it will be found to do with facility, the precipitate is to be transferred to the filter, and washed with boiling water, the washing to be continued as long as yellowish precipitates are produced with either phosphomolybdic acid solution, auric, or platinic chloride. A stream of sulphuretted hydrogen gas is now passed through the filtrate to remove the small quantity of lead that has been dissolved, and the sulphide thus formed separated by filtration. The solution is evaporated on a water bath to expel the excess of sulphuretted hydrogen, filtered to remove a trace of sulphur, finally evaporated to the crystallising point, and the caffeine which crystallises out in cooling removed from the mother liquor and pressed between folds of bibulous paper. After being thus treated the crystals will be found to be perfectly white. On diluting the mother liquor with distilled water, filtering, and evaporating, a second crop of crystals are obtained, which are also perfectly white, after being pressed as above. The crystals are now dissolved in boiling dilute alcohol, filtered, and the solution set aside to crystallise by spontaneous evaporation. The resulting crystals of caffeine are perfectly pure and colourless.

6. (O. Caillol and P. Cazeneuve.) The following is a process for the rapid preparation of caffeine:--Black tea is thoroughly softened with four times its weight of hot water; a quantity of calcium hydrate equal to that of tea used is then added, and the whole evaporated on a water-bath to perfect dryness. The dry residue is exhausted with chloroform in a displacement apparatus, and the chloroform recovered from the percolate by distillation. The residue left in the retort is a mixture of caffeine and a resinous substance containing chlorophyll. On treating it with hot water, filtering and evaporating the filtrate on a water bath, the caffeine is obtained in perfectly white crystals.

_Prop., &c._ Soluble in 100 parts of cold water; freely soluble in hot water and in water acidulated with an acid; slightly soluble in cold alcohol; it fuses at 352° Fahr., tastes slightly bitter, and possesses feeble basic properties. With the sulphuric and hydrochloric acids it forms crystallisable compounds. The salts of caffeine may be made by dissolving it to saturation in the dilute acid, and evaporating the solution by a very gentle heat. It forms splendid double salts with bichloride of platinum and terchloride of gold.

_Uses._ Caffeine has been recommended in those pains that affect only one side of the head (hemicrania); in doses of 1 to 3 gr. Its physiological action is very trifling, notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary. Mr Cooley took 20 gr. daily of pure caffeine, for above a month, without experiencing any other effect than a very slight elevation of spirits after each dose, similar to that produced by a small quantity of spirits of sal volatile. It has been used lately with doubtful success as an antidote to the poisonous effects of opium. See COFFEE, TEA, &c.

=CAFFE'ONE.= A brown, aromatic oil, formed during the roasting of coffee.

=CAJ'EPUT OIL.= See OILS (Volatile).

=CAKES.= A species of fancy bread or trifle familiar to every one.

Before proceeding to the actual operation of cake-making, the various materials which are to enter into their composition undergo a certain amount of preparation. For this purpose every article is got ready about an hour previously to its being wanted, and is placed before the fire, or upon a stove, that it may become gently heated. Without these precautions it is impossible to produce good cakes. The flour is thoroughly dried, and warmed. The currants are nicely washed in a hair sieve, wiped dry in a cloth, and then set before the fire. Before use they are dusted over with a little flour. The sugar is rubbed to a fine powder, and passed through a sieve. The eggs are well beaten in a basin, and strained. The butter is melted by being placed in a basin set in hot water, and is afterwards well beaten up with a little warm milk. The lemon peel is cut very thin, and beaten in a mortar to a paste or powder, with lump sugar; or for common purposes, it is grated. The caraways, ginger, and other flavouring ingredients are preferred in the form of fine powder, or are made into an essence, by digesting them in spirit of wine; the first is the most common method. The milk and water is made lukewarm. When all these things are ready and have stood a sufficient time, they are put into a pan, one after another, in the proper order, and well beaten together, by which the lightness of the cakes is considerably increased.