1 86  A  Study  of  Starch  Grains.         {Am^Sf  iSl?,m' 
practical  persons  able  to  carry  on  this  work  with  justice  to  con- 
sumer and  producer.  A  legislation  that  is  based  on  ignorance  is 
arbitrary  and  is  surely  not  what  this  Congress  desires.  The  legisla- 
tion must  be  based  on  knowledge — and  this  knowledge  must  be 
manifest  not  only  in  the  ability  of  legislators  to  frame  laws,  but 
they  must  see  far  enough  that  in  the  application  of  the  laws 
through  the  judges  of  standards,  it  is  not  the  manufacturer  or  seller 
of  pure  foods  and  drugs  that  is  to  be  inconvenienced,  but  that  he 
who  adulterates  these  products  shall  be  punished. 
Some  years  ago  it  was  considered  necessary  to  present  arguments 
upon  the  value  of  the  microscope  in  the  study  of  drugs.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  during  the  past  year  scarcely  a  paper  has  appeared 
on  this  subject  in  the  pharmaceutical  world,  and  it  appears  that  all 
of  our  colleges  and  schools  of  pharmacy  are  utilizing  the  simple 
and  compound  microscope  and  giving  a  more  or  less  thorough 
training  in  the  study  of  botany  (particularly  of  the  plant  cells 
and  their  contents),  preparatory  to  the  study  of  crude  and  powdered 
drugs,  foods,  etc.  It  has  been  shown  by  the  author  on  a  number 
of  occasions  that  the  microscope  is  not  only  sufficient,  but  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  some  cases  in  determining  the  purity  of  a  drug, 
food  or  spice.  It  is  needless  to  repeat  that  this  instrument  is 
safe  only  in  the  hands  of  him  who  is  thoroughly  trained  in  the 
sciences  the  subjects  of  which  are  involved.  The  products  of  the  ani- 
mal kingdom  can  only  be  examined  authoritatively  by  the  zoologist; 
those  of  the  plant  kingdom  by  the  botanist,  etc.  It  may  be  neces- 
sary tp  illustrate  the  above  remarks  with  one  or  two  examples,  indi- 
cating the  value  of  the  microscope  to  the  specialist.  Recently  a 
sample  of  black  pepper  was  submitted  to  the  writer  which  was 
supposed  to  have  been  adulterated  with  cayenne  pepper.  A 
chemical  examination  gave  no  clue  to  the  problem.  But  by 
means  of  the  microscope  the  adulterant  was  detected  with  certainty. 
Some  years  ago  a  fruit  jelly  was  upon  the  market,  which  was  sold 
at  an  unusually  low  price.  It  was  naturally  supposed  to  be  adul- 
terated ;  but  with  what,  was  not  known  until  by  means  of  the 
microscope  the  presence  of  a  diatom  (Arachnoidiscus  threnbergii) 
was  revealed.  The  next  question  was  where  and  upon  what  does 
this  diatom  grow  ?  It  was  found  that  it  grew  only  upon  certain 
seaweeds  in  the  waters  near  Japan,  and  not  upon  fruit  trees  in 
France,  and  this  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  jelly  was  made  from 
