224  London  Botanic  Gardens.  {Am,M0ay*,imrm' 
they  beneficial,  or  be  they  harmful,  I  maintain  that  the  customer  has 
a  right  to  know  whether  or  not  he  is  eating  antiseptics,  and  I  believe 
that  any  dealer  who  sells  as  a  pure  food  one  which  contains  a  pre- 
servative  is  as  dishonest  as  he  who  sells  the  gold  brick  to  an  innocent 
hayseed. 
There  is,  however,  another  and  more  profound  question  involved 
and  that  is  the  responsibility  of  the  Government  for  the  health  of 
the  people.  Our  legislators  at  least  make  a  pretense  of  protecting 
us  against  those  who  would  take  our  lives  or  our  money,  why  should 
they  not  equally  protect  us  against  those  who  would  rob  us  of 
health  ?  It  is  not  enough  to  force  dealers  to  truthfully  label  their 
food  products,  for  the  great  mass  of  the  people  are  not  capable  of 
making  a  judgment  as  to  the  danger  of  adulterated  foods.  It  would 
be  equally  as  sensible  for  the  State  to  hold  a  pharmaceutical  exami- 
nation and  then  say,  "  Anybody  may  practice  pharmacy  who  wishes 
to,  but  we  will  tell  you  who  has  passed  our  examination."  It  is 
clearly  the  duty  of  our  legislators  to  decide  as  to  the  permissibility 
of  chemical  preservatives,  and  if  they  show  a  disinclination  so  to  do 
it  is  clearly  incumbent  on  us  to  see  that  our  law-makers  perform 
their  duty. 
In  closing  I  wish  to  plead  for  an  active  interest  in  the  Heyburn 
Pure  Food  Bill  now  before  the  United  States  Congress.  To  phar- 
macists and  physicians  this  measure  is  of  especial  interest  because 
it  provides  not  only  for  the  purity  of  foods  but  also  of  drugs.  The 
duty  of  furthering  the  passage  of  this  bill  devolves  to  a  large  extent 
on  these  two  professions,  and  while  it  may  not  be  all  that  could  be 
desired  it  is  certainly  a  step  in  the  right  direction  and  it  behooves 
us  therefore  individually  and  collectively  to  do  all  that  we  can  for 
its  passage. 
LONDON  BOTANIC  GARDENS. 
By  Pierre  £ue  Feux  Perredes,  B.Sc,  F.L.S., 
Pharmaceutical  Chemist. 
A  Contribution  from  the  Wellcome  Research  Laboratories,  London. 
{Continued from  p.  183.) 
Through  Philip  Miller's  exertions  the  garden  continued  to 
prosper,  and  we  learn  from  a  committee  report  of  1750  that  it  had 
been  carefully  examined  in  that  year  by  the  members  of  the  com- 
