theory that the butter fat in the cow's milk was absorbed from the animal tissues of the cow. He believed that same butter fat could be extracted directly from the beef fat of the slaughtered animal. His experiments proved successful. But his artificial butter was crude compared with the dainty that the American manufacturer puts into the hands of patrons. The American has perfected and improved on his discovery.

Nearly all of the "raw materials" entering into the manufacture of oleomargarine are obtained from the big packing houses. Many of these packing houses maintain oleomargarine plants of their own; others sell the raw materials to independent concerns that make nothing but oleomargarine. The raw materials consist in the main of oleo oil and neutral lard. The finished product-oleomargarine may contain, however, cottonseed oil and real butter, either butter that is mixed with the other ingredients or obtained from cream with which they are churned in the process of manufacture.

The oleo oil is obtained from the fat of cattle. Usually only the best fat of steers is employed, the caul fat and the fat that corresponds to the leaf in hogs.

Immediately after the steer is slaughtered the fat is removed and thoroughly washed. When perfectly cleansed it is conveyed to a room kept at a temperature almost as low as the freezing point. The animal heat soon vanishes and the fat becomes hard.

A process similar to the grinding of sausage is the next step. The fat, however, is not ground, but is chopped into minute particles. It is shoveled into a great hopper, goes through a machine. fitted with numerous keen knives and comes out a spout in a steady stream of finely comminuted fat. A giant caldron, holding at least ten barrels, is its next stopping place. This caldron has an outer jacket, called a steam jacket.. When the caldron is sufficiently full of the chopped fat, steam is admitted into. the space between the jacket and the caldron itself. This melts the fat. Inside the caldron is a shaft with side wings, which is revolved by machinery so that the fat is kept in motion till completely melted.

While still hot the fat is piped to another steam-jacketed caldron. Most of the solid substance of the fat-the animal tissue-remains in the bottom of the

first caldron. After a fresh heating and stirring in the second caldron, large quantities of salt are thrown in. The liquid is then permitted to stand awhile. to "settle," the salt helping to clarify it. Before any portion of it begins to harden every particle of animal membrane has gone to the bottom of the caldron. The clear liquid is now piped to a big vat where it is allowed to stand four or five days. During this time the stearin in it crystallizes, part of it rising to the top and part settling to the bottom, thus forming crusts above and below. Between the two crusts is the pure oleo oil. The next process begins with the breaking up of the stearin crusts, which are stirred up with the oleo oil until the mass looks like corn meal pudding. The mush-like mass is shoveled into cars and taken to the hydraulic presses. Here it is shoveled into burlap and formed into bales three feet in width and several inches thick. The bales are formed in the press itself and when all the holes of a press are full a lever is thrown, the hydraulic power applied, and a weight of twenty tons descends, squeezing the

oleo oil out of the stearin slowly but perfectly and completely.

The stearin is utilized for fertilizer or some other purpose. The oleo oil is piped from the press to vats where it remains till the oleomargarine manufacturer wants it. Of the original fat put into the first caldron, about fifty per cent becomes oleo oil. About twenty-eight per cent is tallow and stearin. The rest is animal tissue or shrinkage.

Neutral lard is obtained in a manner precisely the same as oleo oil. The object in putting the lard through this process is to remove the characteristic odor and flavor of the fat of the hog so that neither can be observed when the lard becomes a part of oleomargarine. Any portion of the hog's fat may be used, but customarily only the leaf is employed. The back fat, however, is often used in making the cheaper qualities of oleomargarine.

We have now obtained the raw materials and are ready to manufacture oleomargarine. Almost every manufacturer has his own formula. Each figures out the proportions of the raw materials to

be mixed.

Some use a greater proportion of oleo oil with the neutral lard than do others. Some simply mix the o'eo and lard and churn the mixture in crean; others put in butter and churn the triple mixture with milk or buttermilk. While still others use cottonseed oil or sheep oil. It is practically impossible, however, to destroy the odor and flavor of cottonseed and sheep oils and these are practically discarded except in the manufacture of the cheapest grades of oleomargarine and of oleomargarine for export to countries in Europe where they do not prove objectionable. One Chicago manufacturer combines his ingredients in the following proportions for making a medium grade of oleomargarine:

We have now seen how all the simple ingredients are obtained. We have also inspected the formula for the finished product. We will now enter the oleomargarine factory and see how they are put together. First the oleo oil, the neutral lard and the butter are melted separately. The proper amount of oleo oil is allowed to flow through a pipe into the mixing vat, a pair of scales weighing it as it enters. Then the proper proportion of neutral lard is run in and after that the right quantity of genuine butter. These ingredients are mechanically mixed and then are piped or pumped into churns. seven feet high and twenty-two feet in circumference. In the churn the milk and cream are added, together with the coloring, if coloring is to be used.

By steam power the churns are kept in motion for half an hour, a central shaft with paddles attached doing the churning inside. The churned mass then flows out into ice cold vats, a stream of ice cold water falling from a pipe above on the mixture to prevent crystallization from taking place. The vats into which it runs are also kept cold with ice water, the object being to harden the oleomargarine before any of it forms into crystals. The salting and stamping are all that remain to be done, but these processes are the most interesting of any.

When the oleomargarine is cold and hard it is shoveled into cars and wheeled

hopper. The table top is made to revolve under the hopper, the oleomargarine drops through the hopper to the table, where automatic workers roll it over and over and thoroughly mix in the salt, at the same time working out the buttermilk.

From the worker the oleomargarine goes to the packing rooms, where it is packed into wooden tubs or pressed into cakes, wrapped in tissue paper and made ready for shipment to market.

When oleomargarine began to be manufactured on a large scale and a large scale and palmed off in the market as butter, the dairy interests made a loud complaint. The result was that in 1886 oleomargarine was taxed two cents a pound. In that year 21,000,000 pounds were manufac

ten cent additional tax on the product if colored. Various states also passed laws requiring that each package of oleomargarine offered for sale be labeled with its right name. The result was that for the year ending June 30, 1903, only 2,312,493 pounds of colored oleomargarine and 66,785,796 pounds of the uncolored, were manufactured, but on all this the makers paid taxes and still sold their product cheaper than butter. In the year ending June 30, 1906, the output was 2,503,095 pounds colored, and 50,536,466 pounds uncolored, showing considerable loss. It is estimated, however, that the report for the present year will show a tremendous increase on account of the prevailing high price of butter.

S

AID President Roosevelt, when visiting the Isthmus:

"I used to say to my children, when they were younger: "There are three kinds of mice-the housemouse, the mousekeeter, and the hippopotamouse. But,' I would add, 'the most dangerous is the mousekeeter'-a fact of which I am seriously convinced after seeing what sort of houses you are building down here."

The President referred to a type of dwelling somewhat new in architecture, which the government has introduced in the Canal Zone for the housing of clerks and other employes of the better class. It is entirely enclosed in fine wire net, to

keep out the dreaded mosquitoes which are the carriers of malaria and yellow fever.

Thus, by doing away with every ascertainable source of mosquito, supply, the strip over which Uncle Sam holds sway has been rendered as healthful as any part of the United States. All is ready now for the pushing ahead of the work of actual construction, thirty-two millions of dollars having been already spent in preparations chiefly-including seven millions for sanitary and other inprovements.

It is estimated that the cost of completing the canal will. be about one hundred and eighteen million-making a total of one hundred and fifty millions