Acidification of intact butter before extraction with diethyl ether resulted in a slightly different free fatty acid distribution pattern than when the samples were prepared by high-speed centrifugation. The ether-extraction procedure appeared to be more accurate, since higher levels of the 4:0 acids were found in all samples and slightly larger amounts of the 6:0 and 8:0 acids were observed in some trials. © 1969, American Dairy Science Association. All rights reserved.