General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Glass, paper and mercury

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

26.5 cm

Width

3.4 cm

Height

3.4 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Agriculture

Category

Dairying

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

The lactometer belonged to a German veterinarian and meat inspector, Karl Johann Hochstein, whose descendants now live in Canada. Hochstein was born, according to Beate Kuprath, on March 28, 1873 in Ühlfeld Nürnberg (Nuremberg) and died in Lauf/Pegnitz in 1966.

Function

A lactometer assesses the purity of a milk sample by measuring its fat content.

Technical

Lactometers such as these were used to assess the purity of milk. The mercury-filled instrument would float in relation to the fat content of the milk. If the milk had been adulterated with water, the lactometer would sink and give a reading indicating water content on a graduated scale. Governments in Europe and North America took responsibility for milk inspection in the last half of the nineteenth century as consumers began protesting about adulterated foods. “Consumer anxieties about hygiene and food safety emerged as food systems expanded and industrialized. Scandals in milk processing and meat-packing revealed lax standards and inspection, and, as Ann Vileisis argues, the increasing “scale, complexity, and anonymity” of North American food production. Governments responded with increased surveillance and regulation: Canada’s Food Adulteration Act of 1874 and the Pure Food and Drug Act in the United States in 1906 sought to restore confidence in food production through regulatory standards and inspection.” While this instrument was used in Germany, it is similar to the type of instrument used in North America.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Print on paper reads "Lactodensimeter nach Goschlet Temp 15° No: 112 Carl Leidig Nuremberg 1892.".

Missing

Appears complete

Finish

Clear glass with white paper with black and red print on it. Mercury in the bulb.

Decoration

N/A