THE EARL OF ONSLOWMy Lords, I desire to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he will lay on the Table of the House, a complete list of the names approved by the Board of Agriculture for milk-blended butter; and whether he will consider the advisability of insisting on the combination with all such fancy names of some one word descriptive of milk-blended butter, as is required in the case of margarine by Section 8 of the Butter and Margarine Act of 1907. When the Act of last year was before your Lordships I asked the noble Earl on more than one occasion whether the Board of Agriculture had made up their mind as to the name under which they would allow milk-blended butter to be designated. I understood that the noble Earl had not made up his mind what that name was to be, but that he had been giving it consideration. Under the Act only one name can be given to the concoction known as margarine—namely, margarine, or some other name conjoint with it. Of the number of fancy names for milk-blended butter, I am told that nineteen have been approved by the Board of Agriculture. Some of them, I think, are misleading in their nature. One name which has been approved is "Casana," which has been interpreted as referring to cheese; another is "Ivelike," another "Bredspread," and another, which might give rise to some doubt on the part of the purchaser as to whether it was butter of not, is "Pearks-own." Pearks are large dealers in milk-blended butter, and there is nothing to prevent a person who went into one of their shops for butter being asked: "Will you have Pearksown; it is the best?" I want to know whether the noble Earl and the Department of which he is head cannot see their way to carry out the Act of 1907, as regards milk-blended butter in, precisely the same way in which it is carried out in the case of margarine. People would then know what they were buying, whereas at present there is a good 1307 deal of, I will not say fraud, but misapprehension, the purchaser often thinking he is buying pure butter.
*THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES (Earl CARRINGTON)My Lords, in reply to the first Question put to me by the noble Earl I will lay on the Table of the House a complete list of the names approved by the Board of Agriculture for milk-blended butter. I have the list in my hand, but I hope the House will permit me to take it as read.
§ EARL CARRINGTONThe names approved by the Board of Agriculture are—Consumo, Casora, Casmon, Casova, Casana, Casoa, Casa, Iveldale, Iveldene, Iveleat, Ivelene, Ivelette, Ivelike, Ivelmene, Ivelmore, Mayblossom, Pearks' Breadmate, Pearks' Bredspred, and Pearksown. Then the noble Earl asked whether I would consider the advisability of insisting on the combination with all such fancy names of some one word descriptive of milk-blended butter, as is required in the case of margirine by Section 8 of the Butter and Margarine Act of 1907. I am afraid I cannot meet the noble Earl's wishes in that respect, and after I have explained the reason I hope he will not press his request. When the Butter and Margarine Bill of 1907 was introduced, it required that milk-blended butter should not be sold except under a name approved by the Board of Agriculture. The use of a single name was objected to, and it was urged by a large number of persons connected with the butter trade that the use of various names should be allowed. Wishing to please everybody, but, unfortunately, succeeding in pleasing nobody, we gave way, with the result that this list of fancy names has been approved. As one of them, "Casana," has been interpreted as referring to cheese, I will consider whether it can be omitted from the list. I hope, however, the noble Lord will not press his second request, because it would re-open a difficult question which has been settled.
THE EARL OF ONSLOWAm I right in assuming that there are over 100 names approved by the Board in which the word margarine is combined with the descriptive term?
§ EARL CARRINGTONI believe so.