(1892); and Untersuchungen über die Mikrostruktur künstlicher und natürlicher Kieselsäuregallerten (1900).
BUTT, Isaac (1813-79). An Irish politician. He graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1835; was professor of political economy there from 1830 to 1841, and became a member of the Irish bar. He was one of the counsel for Smith O'Brien and others tried in 1848 for treason, and also for the Fenians tried in 1865. In 1852 he was chosen to Parliament from Youghal as a Liberal Conservative; and in 1871 was returned from Limerick, and was for many years leader of the Home Rule Party. He was one of the projectors of the Dublin University Magazine, of which he was editor from 1834 to 1838. Among his published works are a History of Italy (1860) and The Problem of Irish Education (1875).
BUTTE, būt (Fr., mound, hillock, elevation; cf. Engl. butt). A hill or knoll rising abruptly above the surrounding level. Buttes abound in the Rocky Mountain region. Often the name is applied to high mountains, as the Downieville Buttes, Sierra County, Cal., which are over 8500 feet.
BUTTE. A city and county-seat of Silverbow County, Mont., on the western slope of a range of the Rocky Mountains, and on the Oregon Short Line, the Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, and the Montana Union (owned by the Northern Pacific) railroads (Map: Montana, C 2). It has a healthful location at an altitude of 5800 feet, is the seat of the State School of Mines, and contains a fine public fountain, a public library of about 30,000 volumes, a private academy, and, among the more notable buildings, the jail and court-house, the high school, completed at a cost of $125,000, city hall, and opera house. The famous Anaconda Copper and Silver Mine is located here, and within a radius of a few miles are many other productive gold, silver, and copper deposits, the industries of the city centring almost entirely in the mines. In copper, the production of Butte is placed at about one-half of the entire output of the United States, and the amount of gold and silver mined is also considerable, the value of the annual production of these three minerals being estimated at nearly $50,000,000. Besides the mines, there are immense mills and smelting-works. The government is vested in a mayor, biennially elected, and a city council. Butte spends annually in maintenance and operation over $500,000 (including amounts for the school district extending beyond the municipal limits); the principal items of expenditure being about $190,000 for schools, the district, as above stated, comprising more than the city limits, $60,000 for the fire department, $55,000 for the police department, $40,000 for street cleaning and sprinkling, and $20,000 for municipal lighting. Butte was settled in 1864, and laid out in 1866, but its prosperity dates from the successful operations in quartz mining in 1875. It was incorporated first in 1879 by an act of the Territorial Legislature, and in 1888 was reincorporated. In 1881, upon the creation of the county, Butte was chosen the county-seat. Population, in 1870, about 350; in 1880, 3363; in 1890, 10,723; in 1900, 30,470.
BUTTER (Lat. butyrum, Gk. [from Scythian, probably] βούτυρον, boutyron, from βοῦς, bous, cow + τυρός, tyros, cheese). A substance made from the fat of milk or cream by churning and working to separate the water and other constituents. It has been known since a period prior to the beginning of the Christian Era, being used as food to some slight extent in early days, but mostly as a medicine and as an ointment after bathing, and sometimes for burning in lamps in the place of oil. The Greeks probably derived their knowledge of it from the Scythians or Thracians, and the Romans from the Germans. Butter was first made from the milk of sheep and goats, and later from that of cows. It was churned in a very crude manner in skin bags or pouches and was evidently a very inferior article. It was not solid, but liquid, and is always spoken of as being poured out. The manufacture and use of butter as a staple article of food is comparatively recent, and in Southern Europe it is still sparingly used, being replaced in great measure by olive and other oils. In the art of butter-making the Danes have long occupied a foremost place, and Danish butter brings at present a higher average price than that made in any other country. Denmark has become the leading butter-exporting country of the world, surpassing France, which formerly led in this respect. The exports of Danish butter in 1898 reached 160,143,255 pounds, valued at $34,575,634. In the United States the production of butter has made rapid growth since the introduction of the creamery system, and a product of high quality is now made. According to the statistics of the United States Department of Agriculture, the amount produced in 1899 was 1,430,000,000 pounds, valued at $257,400,000.
Butter may contain a small quantity of salt, added to make it more palatable and to aid the keeping qualities, or it may be fresh (unsalted), as demanded by the taste of the consumers. Unsalted or slightly salted butter is consumed largely in England and in some parts of Europe, and the European countries in general salt their butter to a less degree than is customary in America. The natural color of butter is a golden yellow, varying in intensity with the feed, the animal, and the stage of lactation. To make the color more uniform throughout the year, a little coloring matter is commonly added in the making, usually some artificial butter-color (q.v.). The demand of different markets varies considerably in regard to the shade of color desired. Some South American countries prefer a deep orange or red color, and butter prepared for export to those countries is colored in accordance with this taste. The other qualities taken into account in judging butter are the flavor, texture or grain, and the ‘finish’ or general appearance. The flavor usually counts 40 or 45 points on a scale of 100. It is largely a matter of individual judgment, the high flavor preferred by some verging on rancidity, while others prefer a mild, delicate flavor. The characteristic flavor should be well pronounced, and there should be an absence of rancidity or any extraneous flavors. The texture is the appearance when the mass of butter is broken in two or when a knife or trier is passed through it. Under this term is also implied the hardness or firmness.
The composition of butter varies considerably with the process and the conditions of manufacture. According to the most reliable data available it may be said to be approximately as fol-
