THE ANALYST. MARCE, 1884. IT is whispered that the Council of the Society of Public Analysts have had under con- sideration the general question of the statzis and subscription of our AEsociates. This is undoubtedly a matter requiring careful revision, because, when the question is gone into, it mill be seen that the present condition of affairs is somewhat anomalous. When the Society was first started, it was deemed advisable that, while the membership should be reBtricted to actual analysts in practice, the Associateship should be given to auch of their assistants as lshould be from time to time recommended by the Council. It was contemplated that the advantages of becoming an Afisociate would comprise ; (1) The opportunity of attending the meetings of the Society, and of receiving copies of all its published transactions ; (2) The becoming, as it wore, recognised as n qualified assis- tant, fio that when the Associate entered business on his own account, he would, almost as a matter of course, become a full member.Thurr our Associates have a31 the p ~ v i - leges of members except the power of voting at a general meeting or election of Officers. So as to encourage young men to thus make themselves known, the originators of the Society, in framing its constitution fixed the subscription for the Associateahip at the ridiculously low fee of five shillings, while on the other hand, to prevent persons enter- ing as Associates and still continuing 8s suoh after entering into business, it was PYO- vided that the Associate should only be elected for three years at a time.To these provisions time has shown that there are two well-founded objectiions. F!d{q, the election of a man for a limited time is undesirable, as it gives him a very temporaiy standing only. If a gentleman is considered by hi% employer 40 be sufficiently accurate in his manipulation and sincere in his love for the science to warrant his asking the Council for a nomination, surely then he his worthelecting in perpetuity. It is evident that no man would think of remaining tm Associate, when, by entering business on his own account, he had obtained the necessary qualification for full mem- bership. ficc092d@/, the subscription of such a sum as five shill$gs per annum tends to lower the position of a qualified person. Chemiaal assistants in the scientific depart- ment are not, as a rule, impecunious persons, and indeed, if they were, we fear their chancea of ever making n decent livelihood would be somewhat problematical.It i R therefore not only needlerjs, hut positively humiliating, for gentlemen to take a position in which they to some extent pauperize themselres, by getting transactions costing the Sodety more to print than is covered by the present miserable snbscription. We earnestly hope that, as a result of the cleliberrttions of the new Council, the 8ociety will be shortly asked to assent to a modification of the constitution in the double direc- tion of increasing the annual subscription of Associates to ten shillings and sixpence, as well as giving them a& once on their admission a pemanent standing in the Society, so long BW they remain assistants, and unt,il they can take up their full mernberfih.jp.34 TEE ANALYST.--- ------ CONDENSED MILK. SEVERAL successful prosecutions have been conducted against the retailers of condensed milk in Liverpool, which will doubtless cause considerable consternation among the large milk condensing companies, who have up to the presenttime escaped the operation8 of the Condensed milk has been lately extensively employed in connection with what m y be called a new industry, that of ( I milk blending,” or in other words letting down rich dairy milk, so that the analytical results agree with the figures for solids not fat prescribed by the Society of Public Analysts. Large quantities are daily consumed in this I L ~ by milkmen, and to such an extent has the trade increased that condensed milk is imported in churns, especially manufactured for the convenience of dairymen, These churns being returned to the factory for a further supply.The difficulties of condensing rich milk, although much acientific attention has been devoted to it of late years, are well known to those engaged in the trade, more especially when the milk is preserved without the addition of sugar, but there is now no difficulty whatever in preparing condensed milk of fair average quality containing the whole of the cream present in the milk previous to condensation. The excuse that a large proportion of the fat was mechanically carried over in tho operation of condensing in vacuo has been repeatedly proved to be erroneous.I n fact, it is not unusual to add to the milk during the first stage of concentration clear butter fact, in order to prevent the excessive frothing which takes place and causes considerable trouble, requiring great care to prevent the milk from rising over and mixing with the condensing water. Manufacturers of condensed milk have therefore no more right to deprive the milk of its cream previous to condensation than the ordinary milkman ; in fact the offence becomes in their case more serious, as instead of declaring the article as condensed skim milk, it is described as milk, guaranteed to be pure corns’ milk, and is highly recommended for invalids’ and infants’ diet as being more wholesome and nutritious than fresh cows’ milk, and especially milk from cows fed iu com-aheds in large towns j the milk is the richest and best, the water having been abstracted and pure loaf sugar added.The heinousness of selling condensed skim milk under cover of this guarantee is obvious, more especially as the offence irs not committed by a small milkman in one of the poorer districts of our large towns, but by large companies, presumably with extensive capital and controlled by educated men, who, simply for the sake of underselling, put forward an article deprived of one of its most valuable constituents, and represent it to be richer in quality than genuine milk from cows fed in com-Eheds in large towns. We think that the Society of Public Analysts would do well to consider €he question of the purity of condensed milk in connection with the uniformity of milk analysis now being discussed by the milk committee.We have no doubt that if other prosecutions take place, and the subject is well ventilated, the condensed milk companies will speedily turn out an article approaching in substance and quality to the guarantees which they distribute broadcast as advertisements, and which are affixed to the tins. Sale of Food and Drugs Act.”THE ANALYST. 35 PLUM JAM. IT is pretty generally known that cheap jams are mixed with the pulp of every cheap sort of fruit that happens to have been plentiful during the mason when jam is made : there is no necessity, however, for manufacturers to label their goods ‘‘ Plum Jam,” when it is well known that the mason for plums mas unusually bad; this deficiency is made up with apple, an article both wholesome and nutritious, and probably to some, equally as nice as genuine plum jam. We are not surprised to see that Mi*. Mallet, of Bittingbourne, has been successfully prosecuted for selling Steers’ Plum Jam, an article containing 25 per cent. of apple. It is only necessary for Messrs. Steer to adopt the simple expedient of a label describing the nature of the jam, to prevent the recurrence of annoying prosecutions; the public will be equally satisfied, and the analyst will not be under the necessity of condemning an article which is a luxury and a boon to many.