68 
London  Botanic  Gardens. 
J Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I    February,  190tJ. 
contaminating  potassium  iodide  and  potassium  nitrate,  and  then 
carefully  dried  in  a  dark  place. 
In  conclusion,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  silver  iodide  appears  to 
offer  a  very  wide  field  for  experimentation  both  for  the  pharmacist 
as  well  as  for  the  physician.  The  varied  activity  due  to  age  and 
physical  condition,  and  the  readiness  with  which  a  fresh  and  com- 
paratively active  preparation  may  be  prepared  extemporaneously 
would  appear  to  offer  little  or  no  excuse  for  the  pharmacist  not  pre- 
paring the  preparation  himself  and  explaining  its  virtues  to  the 
physician  or  the  surgeon. 
For  the  latter,  on  the  other  hand,  silver  iodide  would  appear  to 
offer  possibilities  for  application  and  use  as  well  as  opportunities  for 
research  and  observation  that  appear  to  be  well  nigh  inexhaustible. 
LONDON  BOTANIC  GARDENS. 
By  Pierre;  I£ue  Feux  Perredes,  B.Sc,  F.L.S., 
Pharmaceutical  Chemist. 
A  Contribution  from  the  Wellcome  Research  Laboratories,  London. 
{Continued from  p.  g.) 
THE  MUSEUMS,  LABORATORY,  AND  HERBARIUM. 
Although  a  detailed  description  of  the  above  does  not  fall  within 
the  limits  of  this  paper,  no  account  of  Kew  would  be  complete 
without  some  reference  to  these  essential  adjuncts  of  the  gardens, 
and  a  rapid  enumeration  of  the  salient  facts  connected  with  them 
will  accordingly  be  given. 
The  idea  of  forming  a  museum  for  the  reception  of  drugs  and 
other  economic  products  derived  from  the  vegetable  kingdom, 
originated  with  Sir  William  Hooker,  who,  in  1847,  adapted  a  brick 
structure  which  had  previously  formed  part  of  the  Royal  Kitchen 
Gardens,  and  converted  it  into  a  museum.  This,  together  with  a 
small  west  wing  added  in  1 881,  constitutes  the  present  Museum  II 
(see  Plate  X) ;  it  is  now  devoted  to  vegetable  products  derived  from 
monocotyledons  and  cryptogams. 
Museum  I  (see  Plates  VIII  and  X)  was  opened  to  the  public  in 
1857.  It  contains  the  dicotyledonous  and  gymnospermous  collec- 
tions, which  were  removed  to  it  in  that  year.  The  extension  on  the 
north  side  was  added  in  1881  from  a  grant  made  by  the  India  office. 
