2L0 
IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
In regard to the first, the law usually permits the sale 
of mixtures or compounds, provided they are labeled “ mix- 
ture ” or “ compound,” but the end of the law is defeated 
in some instances. For example, such goods as compound 
pancake flour, compound syrups, etc., are perfectly legiti- 
mate articles of food. But when it comes to compounding 
spices, it is evidently a different matter. The consumer 
may know, in a sense, what he is getting, but a label that 
confesses the crime, is evading the law in a bold manner. 
In regard to guilty knowledge on the part of the vendor 
of adulterated foods it is difficult to convict. It will be 
claimed in his behalf that intent is the essence of crime. 
But if a saloon-keeper unintentionally sells to a minor, 
still he offends, and may be prosecuted successfully for his 
offense. 
It will work no hardship in the long run to hold the 
grocer responsible for the purity of his goods. It is suc- 
cessfully done both in Michigan and Wisconsin. The 
grocer takes pains to buy his goods from a reliable house 
under written guarantee, then if he is prosecuted he can 
fall back on the wholesaler, likewise the wholesaler can 
fall back on the manufacturer. 
NOTES ON THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF ASTRAG- 
ALUS CARYOCARPUS. 
F. W. FAUROT. 
While a student at the University of Nebraska the 
writer became interested in plant embryology, a subject 
which has attracted much attention during the past few 
years, especially since the remarkable work of Stras- 
burger 1 , Guignard 2 , and other European botanists. Many 
American botanists, however, have since done much work 
along embryological and cytological lines, viz.: Chamber- 
lain, Webber, Schaffner, Harper, Coulter, and others. 
Most of the work that has been done is of a purely tech- 
nical and botanical character, excepting that done in the 
