NOTES 479 



practical commercial lines. The board will not be treated 

 meanly in regard to funds, as the matter is of great urgency, 

 and by working in conjunction with the hospital, it will be kept 

 on practical lines. At first it is proposed to import seeds and 

 plants, and allocate them to the high schools, to be tested in 

 the school gardens. The different plants will be sent to those 

 districts where, in the opinion of the board, the soil and climate 

 are suitable for producing in the highest degree the principle 

 which gives each plant its value. It is known, for instance, 

 that while peppermint thrives luxuriantly in the cool, moist 

 districts, it contains more of the essential oil when grown in a 

 warm, dry climate. The produce from the school gardens will 

 be tested at the hospital laboratory, and also at the laboratory 

 of the Department of Agriculture, by which means it is expected 

 to obtain the necessary data to allocate the various plants to 

 the districts best suited to them. The results will be made 

 public, and persons desirous of embarking in the industry will 

 be invited to communicate with the board, which will give them 

 the necessary instructions. As some of the plants — opium 

 poppy, for instance — must not be grown indiscriminately, it is 

 probable that the board will have the power to issue licences, 

 and at the same time the growers will be guaranteed a market 

 and a definite price for their produce. The scheme seems to 

 be a feasible one, and has the merit of providing the growers 

 with a market in advance. 



The Medical Research Committee 



The first annual Report of this Committee (1914-1915) 

 has just been issued by Messrs. Harrison & Sons, but too late 

 for detailed mention in this number of Science Progress. 1 The 

 activities of the Committee cover a very wide and important 

 field, and the first section of the Report describes its administra- 

 tion. All medical research workers should obtain the publica- 

 tion, as the Committee is evidently going to make a great 

 reform in medical investigations in Britain. 



Sir Edwin Dnrning-Lawrence : a Patron of Science 



The following note on some scientific investigations origin- 

 ated by the late Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence some years ago 

 and placed for execution under my direction, may be of interest 



1 See page 478. 



