The Butter Swindler's Comeuppance

Men with churns that will get double the usual amount of butter from cream have been plentiful in the country during the past few years. The neatest way to handle these fellows is described in the following extract: A traveling peddler of patent churns called at a farm house the other day, soliciting patronage, and, learning that the lady had a churning of cream on hand, was anxious to churn it. The lady said she had a patent churn already, but the man insisted that his was so much better, that he could get two pounds more butter from the cream than she could from her churn. She said: 'If you can I will buy it.' So he left the churn, promising to come and prove it next morning. The lady put her cream into her own churn and brought her butter; took it out and poured the buttermilk into the vender's churn. He came the next morning and churned and churned, but no butter, exclaiming at last: 'There is no butter in this cream.' 'I know it,' said the lady, 'for I have churned it in my own churn; but I wanted to see you get that other two pounds.' There was no sale and no further conversation. Those extra two pounds usually come from the addition of rennet or pepsin, or something of that kind, and it is needless to say that it is not butter at all.