423COAL DUST EXPLOSIONS.COAL DUST EXPLOSIONS.

character on the 9th, and on the night of the llth thedelirium passed on to coma and Mr. Burrow died. The

blood-poisoning was evidently of a very intense cha-

racter, and the virus passed into the circulation without

giving rise to a protective inflammation in the lymphaticglands. The septic oedema of the trunk did not appear untilthe fourth day, and to the end there was no formation ofabscesses. It is singular that even in the early stage of theillness the unfortunate sufferer developed a conviction of hisapproaching death, and, while submitting courageously andgratefully to all the measures adopted for his relief, madehis preparations for the end. Cases of this kind are terriblyfrequent, and unnecessarily so. It appears to be very importantthat the habitual use of protective gloves of indiarubber

should be made the rule for all who are actively engaged inpost-mortem examinations, and especially since experiencehas proved that after a little practice the necessary manipula-tions can be performed without difficulty and with almostabsolute safety. The inevitable dangers of our calling arealready too numerous, and it is sad to add to them this seriesof fearful calamities, which may be escaped, or at any rateminimised, by a simple precaution.

character on the 9th, and on the night of the llth thedelirium passed on to coma and Mr. Burrow died. The

blood-poisoning was evidently of a very intense cha-

racter, and the virus passed into the circulation without

giving rise to a protective inflammation in the lymphaticglands. The septic oedema of the trunk did not appear untilthe fourth day, and to the end there was no formation ofabscesses. It is singular that even in the early stage of theillness the unfortunate sufferer developed a conviction of hisapproaching death, and, while submitting courageously andgratefully to all the measures adopted for his relief, madehis preparations for the end. Cases of this kind are terriblyfrequent, and unnecessarily so. It appears to be very importantthat the habitual use of protective gloves of indiarubber

should be made the rule for all who are actively engaged inpost-mortem examinations, and especially since experiencehas proved that after a little practice the necessary manipula-tions can be performed without difficulty and with almostabsolute safety. The inevitable dangers of our calling arealready too numerous, and it is sad to add to them this seriesof fearful calamities, which may be escaped, or at any rateminimised, by a simple precaution.

COAL DUST EXPLOSIONS.ALL doubt that coal dust is the frequent cause of disastrous

colliery explosions is set at rest by the striking experimentswhich are the subject of a report drawn up by Mr. Henry Hall,one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Mines, by desire of theSecretary of State on behalf of the Royal Commissionappointed to inquire into this subject. Experiments on alaboratory scale, notably those of Professor Thorpe,which have already been described in the columns ofTHE LANCET,1 have demonstrated the extreme probabilityof coal dust igniting with explosive violence when freelymixed with air, as in well-ventilated mines, but the recentexperiments recorded in the report referred to furnishevidence of a practical and conclusive kind since they wereconducted in a main shaft placed at Mr. Hall’s disposalby the proprietors of the White Moss Colliery, Skelmersdale,in which the working conditions of a mine in active operationwere as nearly as possible realised. It is impossible to dealat any length with the very exhaustive series of experimentscontained in the report, but the conclusions and recommenda-tions which are appended are so important in connexionwith the prevention of loss of life in collieries from theterrible explosions which unfortunately in recent yearshave shown little abatement in their frequency that we

give a brief summary of the results. The flame froma blowing-out gunpowder shot in the presence of drycoal dust is always found to ignite more or less such

dust and to increase the burning and charring effects of

the shot. When a large flame such as that of a blowing-outgunpowder shot or the flame from the ignition of a smallquantity of fire-damp traverses an atmosphere containing avery moderate quantity of dry coal dust, the dusty atmospherewill explode with great violence, and the explosion will con-tinue and pass throughout any length of such atmosphere, itsviolence and force increasing as it progresses. The coal dustfrom several seams in certain different districts is almost assensitive to explosion as gunpowder itself, the degree ofsensitiveness increasing in proportion to its high qualityand freedom from impurities. In mines which are brisklyventilated there is a greater probability of explosion,while in such cases it is generally more severe. Oneof the most important results of the experiments madehas been to demonstrate that certain "high explosives" "

(roburite, ammonite, &c.) are incapable of igniting or

exploding coal dust. Mr. Hall, in face of these facts, istherefore led to urge the total abolition of gunpowder from

ALL doubt that coal dust is the frequent cause of disastrouscolliery explosions is set at rest by the striking experimentswhich are the subject of a report drawn up by Mr. Henry Hall,one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Mines, by desire of theSecretary of State on behalf of the Royal Commissionappointed to inquire into this subject. Experiments on alaboratory scale, notably those of Professor Thorpe,which have already been described in the columns ofTHE LANCET,1 have demonstrated the extreme probabilityof coal dust igniting with explosive violence when freelymixed with air, as in well-ventilated mines, but the recentexperiments recorded in the report referred to furnishevidence of a practical and conclusive kind since they wereconducted in a main shaft placed at Mr. Hall’s disposalby the proprietors of the White Moss Colliery, Skelmersdale,in which the working conditions of a mine in active operationwere as nearly as possible realised. It is impossible to dealat any length with the very exhaustive series of experimentscontained in the report, but the conclusions and recommenda-tions which are appended are so important in connexionwith the prevention of loss of life in collieries from theterrible explosions which unfortunately in recent yearshave shown little abatement in their frequency that we

give a brief summary of the results. The flame froma blowing-out gunpowder shot in the presence of drycoal dust is always found to ignite more or less such

dust and to increase the burning and charring effects of

the shot. When a large flame such as that of a blowing-outgunpowder shot or the flame from the ignition of a smallquantity of fire-damp traverses an atmosphere containing avery moderate quantity of dry coal dust, the dusty atmospherewill explode with great violence, and the explosion will con-tinue and pass throughout any length of such atmosphere, itsviolence and force increasing as it progresses. The coal dustfrom several seams in certain different districts is almost assensitive to explosion as gunpowder itself, the degree ofsensitiveness increasing in proportion to its high qualityand freedom from impurities. In mines which are brisklyventilated there is a greater probability of explosion,while in such cases it is generally more severe. Oneof the most important results of the experiments madehas been to demonstrate that certain "high explosives" "

(roburite, ammonite, &c.) are incapable of igniting or

exploding coal dust. Mr. Hall, in face of these facts, istherefore led to urge the total abolition of gunpowder from

1 THE LANCET, April 2nd, 1892.

coal mines for blasting purposes and the substitution of certain,"high explosives " - precautionary measures which manylarge firms have already adopted. Apart from the danger ofusing gunpowder arising from the ease with which it startsa dust explosion, it appears that in mere handling alone 400’lives have been sacrificed during the last twenty years, whilethe loss of life from explosions caused by gunpowder duringthe same time has been at least one half of the total loss-

viz., 4098 persons. With regard to preventive measures everypossible effort, it is recommended, should be made, either bywatering the dry dust or removing it to avoid accumulation, so’that any accidental ignition of fire-damp may be limited in its.effects and prevented from developing into a sweeping ex-plosion through the agency of dust. In view of the factthat the results of these experiments coincide in a remark-able manner with the facts in the previous history of theseams as regards explosion, there can be no doubt at all ofthe great practical value of the report, and the commission)are to be congratulated on having selected Mr. Hall as their-expert in this matter, he having exhibited unquestionable skill’and tact in the carrying out of these most important experi-ments. The report is accompanied by some excellent andstriking photographs taken at the time of the experimentalexplosions, and in some cases it is shown that the flame-

emerged some sixty feet above the mouth of the shaft when.quantities of from 3 ewt. to 2 cwt. of coal dust were firedat the bottom of the pit by a cannon charged with 12 lbs. ofgunpowder.

--

coal mines for blasting purposes and the substitution of certain,"high explosives " - precautionary measures which manylarge firms have already adopted. Apart from the danger ofusing gunpowder arising from the ease with which it startsa dust explosion, it appears that in mere handling alone 400’lives have been sacrificed during the last twenty years, whilethe loss of life from explosions caused by gunpowder duringthe same time has been at least one half of the total loss-

viz., 4098 persons. With regard to preventive measures everypossible effort, it is recommended, should be made, either bywatering the dry dust or removing it to avoid accumulation, so’that any accidental ignition of fire-damp may be limited in its.effects and prevented from developing into a sweeping ex-plosion through the agency of dust. In view of the factthat the results of these experiments coincide in a remark-able manner with the facts in the previous history of theseams as regards explosion, there can be no doubt at all ofthe great practical value of the report, and the commission)are to be congratulated on having selected Mr. Hall as their-expert in this matter, he having exhibited unquestionable skill’and tact in the carrying out of these most important experi-ments. The report is accompanied by some excellent andstriking photographs taken at the time of the experimentalexplosions, and in some cases it is shown that the flame-

emerged some sixty feet above the mouth of the shaft when.quantities of from 3 ewt. to 2 cwt. of coal dust were firedat the bottom of the pit by a cannon charged with 12 lbs. ofgunpowder.

--

HOSPITAL v. HOME MORTALITY IN INFECTIOUSDISEASE.

WE have received from Dr. Hope of Liverpool a copy of a..

pamphlet prepared by him with a view of contrasting themortality amongst patients treated at home with that of thosetreated in hospitals for infectious diseases. The LiverpoolHospitals Committee appear to have been much struck withthe comments which have lately appeared in the lay press asto the alleged excessive mortality amongst fever patients atthe Asylums Board Hospitals, compared with the mortality ofthose treated at their own homes. They have, therefore,.most wisely directed their medical officer to investigate the-whole question with the help of statistics derived not onlyfrom Liverpool infectious hospitals, but also from similarinstitutions in other large manufacturing towns, such as.

Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Shemeld, and, of course..the metropolis. After obtaining the necessary statistics.from the various hospitals, and comparing them with.similar data from the hospitals of his own city, Dr.

Hope properly insists upon the observance of certain well-known precautions before accepting as conclusive the:results of comparison between different groups of statistical facts. In particular, he draws attention to the dis-turbing influence of social conditions on the mortality ofinfectious disease in different localities, and he points out that.in Liverpool, which he states to be " by far the most denselypopulated city in Great Britain," the population is far less.

favourably situated (in respect, we suppose, of density))"than London, which has a population to the acre onlyone half as dense." We must here digress for a momentin order to inquire what is the exact meaning that Dr. Hope-attaches to the word " density." If he means that the mean.

density of Liverpool is greater than that of London thestatement may not mean more than that London contains.within its area a larger number of open spaces than Liver-pool. What we want to ascertain for the purpose of com

paring the two towns is whether in the poorer districts, which,as Dr. Hope shows, furnish the majority of the fever cases,the number of persons living on an acre in the one caseexceeds that in another. Estimated in this way, we fancythat there are parts of London and of other great cities.

WE have received from Dr. Hope of Liverpool a copy of a..

pamphlet prepared by him with a view of contrasting themortality amongst patients treated at home with that of thosetreated in hospitals for infectious diseases. The LiverpoolHospitals Committee appear to have been much struck withthe comments which have lately appeared in the lay press asto the alleged excessive mortality amongst fever patients atthe Asylums Board Hospitals, compared with the mortality ofthose treated at their own homes. They have, therefore,.most wisely directed their medical officer to investigate the-whole question with the help of statistics derived not onlyfrom Liverpool infectious hospitals, but also from similarinstitutions in other large manufacturing towns, such as.

Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Shemeld, and, of course..the metropolis. After obtaining the necessary statistics.from the various hospitals, and comparing them with.similar data from the hospitals of his own city, Dr.

Hope properly insists upon the observance of certain well-known precautions before accepting as conclusive the:results of comparison between different groups of statistical facts. In particular, he draws attention to the dis-turbing influence of social conditions on the mortality ofinfectious disease in different localities, and he points out that.in Liverpool, which he states to be " by far the most denselypopulated city in Great Britain," the population is far less.

favourably situated (in respect, we suppose, of density))"than London, which has a population to the acre onlyone half as dense." We must here digress for a momentin order to inquire what is the exact meaning that Dr. Hope-attaches to the word " density." If he means that the mean.

density of Liverpool is greater than that of London thestatement may not mean more than that London contains.within its area a larger number of open spaces than Liver-pool. What we want to ascertain for the purpose of com

paring the two towns is whether in the poorer districts, which,as Dr. Hope shows, furnish the majority of the fever cases,the number of persons living on an acre in the one caseexceeds that in another. Estimated in this way, we fancythat there are parts of London and of other great cities.

424 FEMALE EDUCATION IN ITALY.FEMALE EDUCATION IN ITALY.

also which would show an actual density at least equal v

to anything against which Liverpool has to contend. s

In the course of his remarks Dr. Hope animadverts on a 1

subject which is of more than passing importance-namely, Ithe fact that a large number of patients are sent to hospital a

whose complaints have been erroneously diagnosed, the mistakes being discovered only after admission to hospital. 1

Thus, Dr. Hope says that amongst patients sent into London i

fever hospitals in 1892 certified to be suffering from typhoid fever no less than 44 per cent. were found to be suffering from complaints having no connexion whatever with that - disease. In the case of diphtheria the proportion of errors was 12 per cent. of the admitted cases, in typhoid fever it was 26 1

per cent., and in scarlet fever it was 23 per cent. Althoughthis aspect of the case does not directly concern the subject - dealt with in the paper before us, nevertheless we feel boundto remark that if any scheme could be devised for creating a,distrust of fever hospitals-and, for the matter of that, ofhygienic measures in general-amongst the classes who are

principally benefited by such institutions, it would be the

general dissemination amongst the working classes of the

notion that medical men were in the habit of sending into feverhospitals persons who, to the extent of nearly one half, weresuffering from complaints other than those for which theywere removed from their homes. Turning now to the subjectof case mortality, we find that Dr. Hope has been able tocollect figures which must be regarded as satisfactory. Theycertainly show that in Liverpool, taking the average of thethree years 1891-93, hospital treatment of infectious diseasescompares very favourably with home treatment. In the case

of scarlet fever, patients treated at home died in the proportionof 9 per cent. of those attacked, whilst in hospitals the ratiowas less than 6 per cent. The cases of typhoid fever treated in"hospital died in the proportion of nearly 12 per cent. of theadmissions, whereas the home patients died in the ratio ofalmost 19 per cent. With these facts before him Dr. Hope isfairly entitled to congratulate his Hospitals Committee on theresults of their labours in the past and to refer to the statisticsof the Liverpool institutions with the greatest satisfaction,furnishing as they do evidence that the patients treatedwithin their walls laave recovered from their illnesses in a far

larger proportion than the patients who have been treated attheir own homes.

___

also which would show an actual density at least equal v

to anything against which Liverpool has to contend. s

In the course of his remarks Dr. Hope animadverts on a 1

subject which is of more than passing importance-namely, Ithe fact that a large number of patients are sent to hospital a

whose complaints have been erroneously diagnosed, the mistakes being discovered only after admission to hospital. 1

Thus, Dr. Hope says that amongst patients sent into London i

fever hospitals in 1892 certified to be suffering from typhoid fever no less than 44 per cent. were found to be suffering from complaints having no connexion whatever with that - disease. In the case of diphtheria the proportion of errors was 12 per cent. of the admitted cases, in typhoid fever it was 26 1

per cent., and in scarlet fever it was 23 per cent. Althoughthis aspect of the case does not directly concern the subject - dealt with in the paper before us, nevertheless we feel boundto remark that if any scheme could be devised for creating a,distrust of fever hospitals-and, for the matter of that, ofhygienic measures in general-amongst the classes who are

principally benefited by such institutions, it would be the

general dissemination amongst the working classes of the

notion that medical men were in the habit of sending into feverhospitals persons who, to the extent of nearly one half, weresuffering from complaints other than those for which theywere removed from their homes. Turning now to the subjectof case mortality, we find that Dr. Hope has been able tocollect figures which must be regarded as satisfactory. Theycertainly show that in Liverpool, taking the average of thethree years 1891-93, hospital treatment of infectious diseasescompares very favourably with home treatment. In the case

of scarlet fever, patients treated at home died in the proportionof 9 per cent. of those attacked, whilst in hospitals the ratiowas less than 6 per cent. The cases of typhoid fever treated in"hospital died in the proportion of nearly 12 per cent. of theadmissions, whereas the home patients died in the ratio ofalmost 19 per cent. With these facts before him Dr. Hope isfairly entitled to congratulate his Hospitals Committee on theresults of their labours in the past and to refer to the statisticsof the Liverpool institutions with the greatest satisfaction,furnishing as they do evidence that the patients treatedwithin their walls laave recovered from their illnesses in a far

larger proportion than the patients who have been treated attheir own homes.

___

FEMALE EDUCATION IN ITALY.

THE world is assisting at a spectacle as interesting as itis instructive-the vindication of woman’s rightful place inItaly. It is a spectacle all the more unique inasmuchas the forces out of which it has arisen have been

produced from within, owing to a strong and ever-hasteningsense of the need, in public as in private life, ofa rehabilitated manhood, capable of serving the State

aright by developing power and patriotic spirit in order tomeet the crises of a country becoming yearly more inwant of truly virile leaders. Thirty-two years ago Italy,from being "a geographical expression," became a king-dom-more by masterly diplomacy, it is true, than by,hard fighting. Her resurrection was so sudden that it

may be said of her that she "awoke one morning andfound herself a Great Power." But the stern prepara-tion for the independent part she was expected to playin the international arena had been denied to her sons.

The sifting process that years of combat in the stricken

field impose on peoples rightly struggling to be free- had never been hers ; and so her public life was largelyinvaded by personalities of mediocre ability. Her stock offirst-rate men was soon exhausted, and from decade to decadeshe has plunged deeper and deeper into financial com-

plications and parliamentary confusion, till she now finds.herself in the crisis out of which she is painfully emerging

THE world is assisting at a spectacle as interesting as itis instructive-the vindication of woman’s rightful place inItaly. It is a spectacle all the more unique inasmuchas the forces out of which it has arisen have been

produced from within, owing to a strong and ever-hasteningsense of the need, in public as in private life, ofa rehabilitated manhood, capable of serving the State

aright by developing power and patriotic spirit in order tomeet the crises of a country becoming yearly more inwant of truly virile leaders. Thirty-two years ago Italy,from being "a geographical expression," became a king-dom-more by masterly diplomacy, it is true, than by,hard fighting. Her resurrection was so sudden that it

may be said of her that she "awoke one morning andfound herself a Great Power." But the stern prepara-tion for the independent part she was expected to playin the international arena had been denied to her sons.

The sifting process that years of combat in the stricken

field impose on peoples rightly struggling to be free- had never been hers ; and so her public life was largelyinvaded by personalities of mediocre ability. Her stock offirst-rate men was soon exhausted, and from decade to decadeshe has plunged deeper and deeper into financial com-

plications and parliamentary confusion, till she now finds.herself in the crisis out of which she is painfully emerging

without a strong party and without a leader, cognisant, asshe never was before, of the truth of D’Azeglio’s words in1861: "We have made Italy. We have yet to make Italians."It was in wise prescience of this dearth of first-rate men,and of the means by which that dearth was, in some measureat least, to be remedied, that the illustrious Signora ErminiaFuà Fusinato organised the Istituto Superiore Femminile-aninstitution which, from its original seat in Rome, would

proceed to throw out branches throughout the provinces and,by training the mothers of the new generation, conduce tothe better bringing-up and the purer and nobler develop-ment of their sons. It was part of her scheme to procure

i the co-operation of all that political, academic, literary, orL artistic Italy could boast in genius, talent, or learning,; and to employ the statesman, the university teacher, theL man of letters, the savant, or the painter and sculptor in

addressing the lady members of the "Istituto" on subjectsthey had mastered, or which they had enriched or illus-trated by their lives or by their chefs-d’ceuvre. Her appeal

; to the Bertis, the Tabarrinis, the Minghettis, the Mamianis,3 and the Bonghis of the day met with the heartiest

r response. These accomplished and able men took their turnin addressing the lady audiences of the Istituto " till theirlectures, as long ago as 1873, formed the nucleus of a

t systematic and regular scheme for the higher education ofthe future wives and mothers of the "Italy that is to be."

y In fact, this has now grown to be a recognised influence ine the development, educational and social, of the kingdom, and,s as the " Società per l’Istruzione della Donna," it furnishese from year to year a steadily improving curriculum for then female mind of Italy, awakening it to its higher duties,o ennobling its conceptions of life and work-fitting it, in an word, for the part it has never yet adequately realised, muche less performed-viz., that of making the Italian home a

preparation for the school and the university, and of aiding.s the successive Ministers of Public Instruction in raising thee standard of qualification in every walk and in renovating the;s "Italian civilisation " at its fountain-head. Queen Margherite,t, true to the best traditions of her house, has taken the warmest

and most active interest in the movement.:r -

without a strong party and without a leader, cognisant, asshe never was before, of the truth of D’Azeglio’s words in1861: "We have made Italy. We have yet to make Italians."It was in wise prescience of this dearth of first-rate men,and of the means by which that dearth was, in some measureat least, to be remedied, that the illustrious Signora ErminiaFuà Fusinato organised the Istituto Superiore Femminile-aninstitution which, from its original seat in Rome, would

proceed to throw out branches throughout the provinces and,by training the mothers of the new generation, conduce tothe better bringing-up and the purer and nobler develop-ment of their sons. It was part of her scheme to procure

i the co-operation of all that political, academic, literary, orL artistic Italy could boast in genius, talent, or learning,; and to employ the statesman, the university teacher, theL man of letters, the savant, or the painter and sculptor in

addressing the lady members of the "Istituto" on subjectsthey had mastered, or which they had enriched or illus-trated by their lives or by their chefs-d’ceuvre. Her appeal

; to the Bertis, the Tabarrinis, the Minghettis, the Mamianis,3 and the Bonghis of the day met with the heartiest

r response. These accomplished and able men took their turnin addressing the lady audiences of the Istituto " till theirlectures, as long ago as 1873, formed the nucleus of a

t systematic and regular scheme for the higher education ofthe future wives and mothers of the "Italy that is to be."

y In fact, this has now grown to be a recognised influence ine the development, educational and social, of the kingdom, and,s as the " Società per l’Istruzione della Donna," it furnishese from year to year a steadily improving curriculum for then female mind of Italy, awakening it to its higher duties,o ennobling its conceptions of life and work-fitting it, in an word, for the part it has never yet adequately realised, muche less performed-viz., that of making the Italian home a

preparation for the school and the university, and of aiding.s the successive Ministers of Public Instruction in raising thee standard of qualification in every walk and in renovating the;s "Italian civilisation " at its fountain-head. Queen Margherite,t, true to the best traditions of her house, has taken the warmest

and most active interest in the movement.:r -

THE ADULTERATION OF BUTTER.

THE importance of the adulteration of butter, which formsso large an article of diet, cannot be lightly regarded. Whetherthe adulteration consists of foreign fats or of an excess ofwater does not matter. A very important prosecution hastaken place recently in Manchester, where some dealers weresummoned for selling butter containing 21 per cent. of wateras certified by the city analyst. The prosecutors had sucheminent men as Professor Long, Canon Bagot, and Sir Charles.Cameron to support their analyst, and they agreed "that15 per cent. of water was ample for any kind of butter tocontain." The Chief Inspector of the Cork Butter Marketstated that the amount of water should not exceed 16 percent., and when butter containing more than 20 per cent. hadbeen found in Cork Market the market trustees had prose-cuted the seller for adulteration. Mr. Long went so far asto state that where the percentage was more than 20

per cent. the moisture must have been deliberately andartificially increased. Notwithstanding all this evidencethe prosecution failed. Evidence was given to show thatthis butter did not contain 21 per cent. of water andthat Somerset House allowed 18 and even 19 per cent.to pass. For the defence, Professor Tichborne was inclinedto fix 20 per cent. of moisture as passable. Mr. Gibson of

Limerick, who seemed to have most experience in the manu.facture of butter, gave very interesting evidence as to thedifficulty of getting water out of butter sometimes, espe-cially in hot weather, and when the Irish farmer had not allthe necessary appliances for the purpose, and this Captain

THE importance of the adulteration of butter, which formsso large an article of diet, cannot be lightly regarded. Whetherthe adulteration consists of foreign fats or of an excess ofwater does not matter. A very important prosecution hastaken place recently in Manchester, where some dealers weresummoned for selling butter containing 21 per cent. of wateras certified by the city analyst. The prosecutors had sucheminent men as Professor Long, Canon Bagot, and Sir Charles.Cameron to support their analyst, and they agreed "that15 per cent. of water was ample for any kind of butter tocontain." The Chief Inspector of the Cork Butter Marketstated that the amount of water should not exceed 16 percent., and when butter containing more than 20 per cent. hadbeen found in Cork Market the market trustees had prose-cuted the seller for adulteration. Mr. Long went so far asto state that where the percentage was more than 20

per cent. the moisture must have been deliberately andartificially increased. Notwithstanding all this evidencethe prosecution failed. Evidence was given to show thatthis butter did not contain 21 per cent. of water andthat Somerset House allowed 18 and even 19 per cent.to pass. For the defence, Professor Tichborne was inclinedto fix 20 per cent. of moisture as passable. Mr. Gibson of

Limerick, who seemed to have most experience in the manu.facture of butter, gave very interesting evidence as to thedifficulty of getting water out of butter sometimes, espe-cially in hot weather, and when the Irish farmer had not allthe necessary appliances for the purpose, and this Captain