Part 88

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.