THE FOODS OF THE NEW EARTH 



generation the activity in this direction has 

 been greater than perhaps in all the previous 

 history of the country put together. It is 

 another curious confirmation of the fact that 

 this period of which we write is one of the 

 marked periods in our history. While evasions 

 of the law yet are known, and while much 

 depends upon the strictness of the administra- 

 tion, the laws already enacted are going far 

 toward overcoming this dangerous form of 

 criminality. Recently the national government 

 has taken up the subject of food preservatives, 

 and this illustrates the scope of this line of 

 work. The Bureau of Chemistry of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture undertook the deter- 

 mination of the effect of borax and boric acid 

 upon foods when used as preservatives. There 

 were three ways in which the test could be 

 made, — by artificial digestion in the laboratory, 

 by experiments conducted upon lower animals, 

 and by experiments upon human beings. This 

 latter test would obviously be the most satis- 

 factory, but no one could be compelled to sub- 

 sist upon foods known to have been treated 

 by preservatives which might be injurious. 

 A^olunteers came forward, however, and twelve 



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