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A point repeatedly brought forward for the defence, or at all events for the purpose of mitigating the fine, in adulteration cases, is the statement that defendant's goods have been analysed on former occasions and have been found genuine. As illustrating the slight value of analyses of previous samples may be taken the average laudatory analyses on patent or proprietary foods, drinks, or medicine. The manufacturer calculates—and calculates rightly—that the general public will believe that the published analysis of a particular specimen which had been submitted to the analytical expert by the manufacturer himself, guarantees all the samples on the market to be equally pure. History has repeatedly proved that in 99 cases out of 100 the goods found on the market fall below the quality indicated by the published analyses. Not long ago a case bearing on this matter was tried in court, where samples of cocoa supplied by the wholesale firm were distributed; but, when the retailer tried to sell the bulk of the consignment, he had repeated complaints from his customers that the samples were a very much better article than what he was then supplying. He summoned the wholesale dealer and won his case. But what guarantee have the general public of the quality of any manufacturer's goods—unless the Control System as instituted in Great Britain is accepted and applied ? Inasmuch as any manufacturer who joins the firms under the British Analytical Control thereby undertakes to keep all his samples up to the requisite standard; as his goods thenceforth bear the Control stamp; and as any purchaser can at any time submit a sample bought on the open market to the analytical experts of the British Analytical Control, free of any charge, to ascertain if the sample is up to the published and requisite standard, it is plain that a condition of things is created which not only protects the public from being cheated, but also acts most beneficially for these firms which are not afraid to supply a genuine article. The public are much more willing to buy an absolutely guaranteed article, of which each sample must be kept up to the previous high quality, rather than one which was good while it was being introduced, but as soon as it became well known fell off in quality and continued to live on its reputation alone.

To provide a list of non‐fictional books, as published, for the use of Librarians and Book‐buyers generally, arranged so as to serve as a continuous catalogue of new books; an aid to exact classification and annotation ; and a select list of new books proposed to be purchased. Novels, school books, ordinary reprints and strictly official publications will not be included in the meantime.

The Sanitary Committee of a certain County Council, strong with the strength of recent creation, have lately been animated by a desire to distinguish themselves in some way, and, proceeding along the lines of least resistance, they appear to have selected the Public Analyst as the most suitable object for attack. The charge against this unfortunate official was not that he is incompetent, or that he had been in any way negligent of his duties as prescribed by Act of Parliament, but simply and solely that he has the temerity to reside in London, which city is distant by a certain number of miles from the much favoured district controlled by the County Council aforesaid. The committee were favoured in their deliberations by the assistance of no less an authority than the “Principal” of a local “Technical School”;—and who could be more capable than he to express an opinion upon so simple a matter? This eminent exponent of scientific truths, after due and proper consideration, is reported to have delivered himself of the opinion that “scientifically it would be desirable that the analyst should reside in the district, as the delay occasioned by the sending of samples of water to London is liable to produce a misleading effect upon an analysis.” Apparently appalled by the contemplation of such possibilities, and strengthened by another expression of opinion to the effect that there were as “good men” in the district as in London, the committee resolved to recommend the County Council to determine the existing arrangement with the Public Analyst, and to appoint a “local analyst for all purposes.” Thus, the only objection which could be urged to the employment of a Public Analyst resident in London was the ridiculous one that the composition of a sample of water was likely to seriously alter during the period of its transit to London, and this contention becomes still more absurd when it is remembered that the examination of water samples is no part of the official duty of a Public Analyst. The employment of local scientific talent may be very proper when the object to be attained is simply the more or less imperfect instruction of the rising generation in the rudiments of what passes in this country for “technical education”; but the work of the Public Analyst is serious and responsible, and cannot be lightly undertaken by every person who may be acquainted with some of the uses of a test‐tube. The worthy members of this committee may find to their cost, as other committees have found before them, that persons possessing the requisite knowledge and experience are not necessarily indigenous to their district. Supposing that the County Council adopts the recommendation, the aspirations of the committee may even then be strangled in their infancy, as the Local Government Board will want to know all about the matter, and the committee will have to give serious and valid reasons in support of their case.

The final report of the Butter Regulations Committee has now been published and it is earnestly to be hoped that Regulations based on the Committee's Recommendations will at once be framed and issued by the Board of Agriculture. It will be remembered that in an Interim Report the Committee recommended the adoption of a limit of 16 per cent. for the proportion of water in butter, and that, acting on this recommendation, the Board of Agriculture drew up and issued the “Sale of Butter Regulations, 1902,” under the powers conferred on the Board by Section 4 of the Food Act of 1899. In the present Report the Committee deal with the other matters referred to them, namely, as to what Regulations, if any, might with advantage be made for determining what deficiency in any of the normal constituents of butter, or what addition of extraneous matter other than water, should raise a presumption until the contrary is proved that the butter is not “genuine.” The Committee are to be congratulated on the result of their labours—labours which have obviously been both arduous and lengthy. The questions which have had to be dealt with are intricate and difficult, and they are, moreover, of a highly technical nature. The Committee have evidently worked with the earnest desire to arrive at conclusions which, when applied, would afford as great a measure of protection—as it is possible to give by means of legislative enactments—to the consumer and to the honest producer. The thorough investigation which has been made could result only in the conclusions at which the Committee have arrived, namely, that, in regard to the administration of the Food Acts, (1) an analytical limit should be imposed which limit should determine what degree of deficiency in those constituents which specially characterise butter should raise a presumption that the butter is not “genuine”; (2) that the use of 10 per cent. of a chemically‐recognisable oil in the manufacture of margarine be made compulsory; (3) that steps should be taken to obtain international co‐operation; and finally, that the System of Control, as explained by various witnesses, commends itself to the Committee.

A FIRST attempt to give the dates of the introduction of printing into the various places in a county, generally results in an exhibition of the ignorance of the compiler. Further, when the information has not been systematically collected but simply forms part of a general collection of titles, relating not only to that county but to the country at large, the local specialist will probably quote vaguely of “rushing in where” he “fears to tread.” My only apology, and I consider it a perfectly valid one, for publishing the following notes on Essex printers and booksellers, is that no one else has done it.

EVERY librarian in his inmost heart dislikes newspapers. He regards them as bad literature; attractors of undesirable readers; a drain upon the limited resources of the library; and a target against which the detractors of public libraries are constantly battering. From the standpoint of the librarian, newspapers are the most expensive and least productive articles stocked by a library, and their lavish provision is, perhaps, the most costly method of purchasing waste‐paper ever devised. Pressure of circumstances and local conditions combine, however, to muzzle the average librarian, and the consequence is that a perfectly honest and outspoken discussion of the newspaper question is very rarely seen. In these circumstances, an attempt to marshal the arguments for and against the newspaper, together with some account of a successful practical experiment at limitation, may prove interesting to readers of this magazine.

“GIVE a dog a bad name and hang him,” is an aphorism which has been accepted for many years. But, like many other household words, it is not always true. Even if it were, the dog to be operated upon would probably prefer a gala day at his Tyburn Tree to being executed in an obscure back yard.

An International Exhibition of Hygiene, Arts, Handicrafts, and Manufactures will be held in the Crystal Palace, Madrid, from September to November next, under the patronage of the Spanish Government. The participation of British exhibitors is particularly desired by the promoters, who state that the attendant expenses will be small. His Excellency the Spanish Minister of Commerce will be the Honorary President; the President of the Committee will be his Excellency the Duke of Tamames and Galisteo, Grandee of Spain, Senator, and ex‐Governor of Madrid. The American war on the one hand, and political changes on the other, have had the effect of seriously damaging the credit of Spain, and many exporters, in view of then existing difficulties, refused to trade until affairs became mere settled. To‐day, however, the Spanish Government are making every effort to restore the economical prosperity of their country. Markets have gained strength, commerce has quadrupled, imports have trebled, and exchange is greatly improved. Well‐advised manufacturers sell in quantity and at good prices, the demand being greater than the supply. Again, the immense natural richness of the Iberian Peninsula, which has not yet received the attention of enterprising and powerful capitalists in any proportion to its value, makes Spain one of those countries where industrial progress is the more certain. The decision to hold this exhibition is evidently a wise one, and considerable advantages may accrue to British manufacturers and merchants taking part therein. There appear to be ample guarantees to show that the undertaking may be supported with every confidence. We understand that all detailed particulars with reference to this important exhibition can be obtained from the Spanish representative in London, Mr. A. DONDERIS, Spanish Arts Exhibition, Compton House, 99A, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C.

In view of the Regulations issued on October 4, 1906, by the Argentine Government with regard to the sanitary inspection of meat foods, the Local Government Board, at the request of the Foreign Office, have formulated a number of conditions to be complied with by traders in England and Wales who prepare or pack meat foods for export to Argentina, and who desire that such exportations should be accompanied by an official attestation of precautions taken to safeguard the wholesomeness of the foods in question.

Future legislation relating to the control of the national milk supply formed the subject of discussion in the House of Commons on the 5th March. Although no new points were brought out, the need for fresh legislation was emphasised in this discussion, especially the need for a general Act that would, while giving the central authority increased powers, do away “with the piecemeal, voluntary, and local enactments at present in existence. It is evident that if any radical change in the present system is to be effective it must not only be general as regards this country, but it must also be imperial” and international; inasmuch as it must deal both with the supplies that are produced at home and with those imported from abroad. It would obviously be in the highest degree unfair to the English farmer to make his stock, workpeople, and premises liable to the frequent expert inspection demanded, and, at the same time, to allow milk to enter this country from abroad without the application of an equally rigorous inspection on this side, and without some form of guarantee from the government of the country of origin. In all matters connected with food supply improved methods of preserving and sterilising as well as increased facilities for international commerce have resulted, as time has gone on, in a large number of food preparations of all kinds being thrown upon the markets. The trade in cheese and butter substitutes as well as that in canned and otherwise preserved meats, and the supply of cereal preparations, afford well known instances, and the milk trade is not singular in the circumstance that a considerable and increasing amount of, milk is treated in various ways, both at home and abroad, for consumption in this country.

In considering this subject, it is desirable to consult, and to go by, official documents and any comments made thereon by competent and unprejudiced persons who are recognised as authorities in their special line. In this connection it will be best to take, first, the text of the latest Imperial law as it stands (which is very explicit in regard to what is permitted and to what is not permitted to be done), secondly, the still more explicit official instructions as to how this law is to be carried out and enforced, and, thirdly, the comments of experts on the subject in some standard book intended for public guidance. Such a book is No. 68 of the well‐known Guttentag Law Series, edited by Doctors Lebbin and Baum.

An important report on the work carried out during the two years 1906–7 and 1907–8 by the Inspectors of Foods appointed by the Local Government Board has been drawn up by Dr. G. S. BUCHANAN, the Chief Inspector, and forms part of the report of the Medical Officer to the Board, Dr. ARTHUR NEWSHOLME, for the year 1907–8 (Appendix A, No. 10).

IN making the suggestion, as some of my friendly critics have done, that the classes Fine and Useful Arts should be restored, as in Dewey, they rather miss the humour of the situation. The Subject Classification is not an amended Dewey or Cutter, but a humble attempt at an entirely new system, designed to meet the needs of popular libraries. It is not even a classification of knowledge, but, as experience has proved, a very practical and simple rearrangement of the factors of knowledge as set forth and preserved in books. The scheme is not indebted to any other system for aught but suggestions of main classes; all the details of the tables having been worked out independently, without reference to any classification save the Adjustable. It will be manifest, on reflection, that it would be fatal for the compiler of a new system to allow himself to be fettered or influenced by the schedules of other authors. I am one of those who decline to believe in the value of standardization of ideas or practice, save to a small degree in certain mechanical matters, and it would therefore be foolish to follow in the same rut as certain predecessors, simply because a longer existence has to some extent established their findings as settled conventions.

GLASGOW was later by about one hundred and thirty years than some of the Scotch towns in establishing a printing press. Three hundred years ago, though Glasgow contained a University with men of great literary activity, including amongst others Zachary Boyd, there does not appear to have been sufficient printing work to induce anyone to establish a printing press. St. Andrews and Aberdeen were both notable for the books they produced, before Glasgow even attempted any printing.

The report of the Departmental Committee on the Irish butter industry to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland was issued on March 23 as a parliamentary paper. Mr. J. R. CAMPBELL was chairman of the Committee, and the other members were Mr. T. CARROLL, Mr. E. G. HAYGARTH‐BROWN, Lord CARRICK, and Mr. A. POOLE WILSON, with Mr. D. J. MCGRATH as secretary. The Committee were appointed:—

Dr. COLLINRIDGE, the Medical Officer of Health to the City of London, had occasion recently to call attention to the diseased condition of certain imported meats, and it is most disquieting to learn that some of these were apparently sent out from the country of origin under official certificates.

[In view of the approaching Conference of the Library Association at Perth, the following note on the Leighton Library may not be inopportune. Dunblane is within an hour's railway journey from Perth and has a magnificent cathedral, founded in the twelfth century, which is well worthy of a visit.]

At the seventeenth ordinary meeting of the Royal Society of Arts, on Wednesday, April 17, 1912, DR. RUDOLF MESSEL, President of the Society of Chemical Industry, in the chair, a paper on “Municipal Chemistry” was read by MR. J. H. COSTE, F.I.C. The following résumé of the points of interest to readers of the BRITISH FOOD JOURNAL is published by kind permission of the author and of the Royal Society of Arts:—

JOHANN FROBEN, the famous printer of Basle, was born at Hammelburg, in Franconia, about the year 1460. The exact year of his birth is not definitely known, but 1460 is probably not far wrong, as we find him established at Basle as a printer in 1491. He was educated at Basle University, where he distinguished himself as a scholar, particularly in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages. After finishing his studies at Basle, he turned his attention to the then new art of printing, and he showed such aptitude that Johann Amerbach, another well‐known printer of Basle, who had set up a press in that city in 1481, induced him to devote his energies to the art, and appointed him to a position in his own printing establishment. Froben thus had the advantage of learning the art of printing under one of the best known printers of the period. In 1491, Froben set up a press of his own in Basle, having become a naturalized citizen of that city the previous year. He had been used in Amerbach's establishment to print with gothic types, and it was, therefore, but natural that his first production should also be printed in that type. This was an octavo Latin Bible, with two columns to a page, printed in a very small gothic type. He afterwards introduced the type invented by Aldus, that known as italic, the first book to be printed with this type being the Adagia of Erasmus, issued in 1513, of which mention is made later. Froben was also instrumental in making the roman type more popular in Germany, as although roman type had been used by German printers for about 20 years, having been introduced by Mentelin at Strassburg, about the year 1470, it was not so much in favour as the gothic type.

THE subject of penalties for undue detention of books may be regarded from various points of view. The librarian, it must be admitted, is prone to consider the receipts from this source as a welcome addition to the library's income. It assists him to eke out the expenditure of the restricted rate, and few library authorities are able to do without this additional income, even if they desire to do so. Where other penalties are inflicted it will usually be found that the rate limit of those libraries has been removed; however, it has been whispered that even in some of the libraries where the experiment has been tried the authorities are considering the policy of reverting to the old system.

The very large number of books at present being issued relating to, or connected with the War, conclusively shows to what a great extent the intellectual as well as the material strength of the nation is engrossed by the terrible struggle in which we are engaged. But without abating any of our own interest in the supreme events now taking place, we may well pause to remember that things will not always be thus, and consider carefully before we crowd our shelves with works that are in many cases of very ephemeral value.

The critical budgetting month of March is over, and we are at liberty to glance at the general position of libraries in regard to finance. As we anticipated, certain retrenchments have been effected in the form of reduced contributions from municipal rates, but while these have been regrettable they have in no case been so drastic as utterly to cripple the libraries involved. The unfortunate circumstance in the matter is the haphazard way in which reductions are made. An example worth quoting of this kind occurred at Ealing, where a councillor moved successfully that the appropriation for libraries be reduced to £1,500, without specifying in what directions economies were to be effected, or troubling himself about the working of a system of libraries upon this manifestly inadequate sum; but, after all, to tilt at haphazard methods is to tilt at British character. Naturally, the old exploded arguments against public libraries were advanced in various discussions, as at Croydon, where a councillor stated that the librarian's hours were spent “in handing novels to servant girls, who had nothing better to do,” a statement which he must have known to be untrue; but such arguments have met with small success, and on the whole the libraries have been supported.

In a recent article dealing with the crimes against humanity committed by Germany, The Daily Telegraph remarks that thousands of innocent men, women, and little children murdered in cold blood by airship and submarine appeal for vengeance. The acts of Germany from the early days of the war onwards have filled decent‐minded people with feelings of loathing, and it is well that the last bonds uniting the two nations should be severed. This is no ordinary war. It has cut a deep chasm between the British and German peoples. By every means in our power we must remove, root and branch, those enemy influences in our midst which, by a process of “peaceful penetration,” were undermining our social, financial, and industrial power.

Signs are not wanting that the policy we have so often urged in these pages, that the present is the appropriate time for all public libraries to pay strict and systematic attention to their collections upon science and its technological and industrial applications, is being adopted by several libraries. An interesting example is that of Richmond, where a special “trades” section is to be formed having as its purpose the collecting and segregating of industrial literature, and Aberdeen has formed a sub‐committee to revise its collections similarly. No librarian believes there is anything novel in either case, since the competent librarian is continually reviewing his collections with the object of replacing obsolete works; but the public particularising of the technology sections is at the moment a policy the wisdom of which cannot be gainsaid. Moreover, numbers of books on important, but little understood, industries are coming from the press at present, and an unusual alertness is necessary to prevent them passing out of notice. Further, definite advertising of the books was never more desirable. In this connexion we have not seen any recent lists more calculated to serve the purpose than those issued by the Coventry Public Libraries, and not their least virtue is their unpretentious character— they are single leaflets with brief library information, a carefully selected set of titles, and an invitation to manufacturers, artisans and other readers to use the telephone in their search for information. We do not suppose that a very great number will avail themselves of the privileges these collections and bulletins offer; but it is all‐important that they should exist. A keen publicity spirit, which is not ashamed of or deterred by lack of visible results, is required now in order to reach the employer and the young worker in particular. Many methods suggest themselves: Lists posted at workshops, special catalogues such as that issued by Gateshead, bulletins such as those at Coventry, even visits from the librarian to the various factories, workshops, business houses and schools. Some of these have been tried, we know, but the circumstances of two years ago are not those of to‐day; and, if results were discouraging in the past, they need not be so now; and, in any case, new efforts should be made.

Except that there is a more intense international situation the circumstances in which we open our twenty‐first volume differ but little from those in which we commenced the twentieth. The War, which has been the cause of so many hopes and fears for libraries and librarians, still drags its disastrous length across the world, thwarting and stifling all those activities for the advancement of mankind of which libraries are part, but the specific attacks upon educational institutions of all kinds have lost their original force; indeed there has been, as every reader of this magazine knows, a rejuvenesence of educational ideals and energy in spite of the baffling obstacles of the time. In almost every municipality libraries have regained much of their former position, and evidences of development have been many. These have been recorded in our pages regularly month by month, with such criticism from ourselves as the occasions seemed to demand; and in relation to suoh progress THE LIBRARY WORLD has endeavoured to pursue a catholic and progressive policy, examining every new idea frankly, and sympathetically whenever it has been possible to do so. Our pages have been open freely to the expression of all phases of library thought, even in cases where our own views did not coincide with the writers. That policy we shall endeavour to continue, welcoming contributions from all who feel that they have something to say to the profession, in the belief that even impracticable schemes and untenable theories have a value of their own if they cause librarians to think anew in contesting them. It is, at the best, a difficult time for professional journals, and for few more than it is for library journals. Cost of production, the obsession of librarians with definitely war‐work, and the absence of more than half of the permanent workers in libraries, are causes which need no elaboration. The mortality amongst our contributors in the great cause has been considerable, and most painful to us. The fact that in spite of all these difficulties our circulation has steadily increased gives us reason to believe, with all modesty, that THE LIBRARY WORLD plays a definite and useful part on behalf of librarians. In thanking those who have supported us, we can add the assurance that our best efforts shall be expended in promoting and sustaining the interests which the magazine was intended to serve.

The very high rate of infant mortality and the profound effects of malnutrition during infancy on the physique in after life are of such national importance that no excuse is needed for referring to a subject which has been much to the fore of late, and has figured prominently in medical literature as well as in the columns of the daily press. The fact that about two‐thirds of the total infant mortality is due to diarrhœa is quite enough to show that the danger is not an imaginary one.

In discussing the merits and demerits of infants' foods, it is impossible to avoid reference to the physiological problems connected with infantile digestion, because, of course, the whole question of suitability or otherwise turns upon the degree of digestibility of the preparations. Appearance and flavour, although of great importance in the case of adults generally, and invalids in particular, here play only a minor part. Unfortunately the views of medical men are based mainly on clinical experience, and the teachings of pure physiology are of comparatively little help.

It has been found that lactase (a ferment which aids the digestion of milk sugar) is present in the pancreatic juice of puppies, though not in that of the adult animal, but would appear in the latter under the stimulous of a milk diet.

In previous articles the chemical composition of the infant's food has been discussed from a theoretical standpoint. Before dealing with the actual preparations at present on the market, it is necessary to refer briefly to certain other practical considerations which, apart from chemical composition and from any question of digestibility, greatly influence the value of these products, and which may be discussed under the following headings:—(1) Bulk or compactness, (2) Keeping power, (3) Ease and rapidity of preparation for use, (4) Cost.

In a previous issue of the BRITISH FOOD JOURNAL (1919, July, page 61), the writer gave a short general account of the procedure adopted in the City of Hull to secure the production of a cleaner milk supply, and in response to many requests he has here set down the salient features of the sedimentation method used to determine the amount and character of the extraneous sediment present in milk samples submitted under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts. Whilst the apparatus used and the method described may have some novel features, no credit is claimed for originality in the main principles of the operation. Previous workers, such as Sir A. Houston (1905), Mr. W. F. Lowe (1906), and Dr. T. Orr (1908), have all used similar methods.

THE topics of the Library Association Conference and the election of the Council of the Association naturally absorb a great deal of attention this month. To deal with the second first: there were few novelties in the nominations, and most of the suggested new Councillors are good people; so that a fairly good Council should result. The unique thing, as we imagine, about the Library Association is the number of vice‐presidents, all of whom have Council privileges. These are not elected by the members but by the Council, and by the retiring Council; they occupy a position analagous to aldermen in town councils, and are not amenable to the choice or desires of the members at large. There are enough of them, too, if they care to be active, to dominate the Council. Fortunately, good men are usually elected, but recently there has been a tendency to elect comparatively young men to what are virtually perpetual seats on the Council, simply, if one may judge from the names, because these men occupy certain library positions. It, therefore; is all the more necessary that the electors see that men who really represent the profession get the seats that remain.

A WEEK or two ago The Municipal Journal, in chronicling the opening of new libraries at Barrow and Bethnal Green, expressed the opinion that libraries “were having a new lease of life.” The phrase is a curious one, as we were not aware that libraries were in a state of senility, although we were vividly aware of their imperfections. It is, nevertheless, true that there has been unwonted library activity of late, and library matters now receive some real attention in the public press. The latter may be due in some measure to the recent publicity campaign of the Library Association. Still, that does not account for the fact that many places, hitherto not quite awake to the value of libraries, are now asking about them, as Sutton, Weymouth, Marylebone, Coulsoon and Purley, while others are pressing for development, especially in the direction of Children's Libraries.

WE note that Llandudno has appointed as librarian a lady whose principal qualifications appear to be that “during the war she served as a V.A.D. nurse at Llandudno and Bristol.” We have every admiration for the services rendered by the lady during the war. She may be a qualified nurse, but is she a qualified librarian? We make no further comment except to say that it is a pity that her nursing qualifications are given so much prominence and that her library abilities are secondary. Personally, we prefer a certificated librarian to a certificated nurse for a library, and vice versa for a hospital!

CIRCULAR 452. MINISTRY OF HEALTH, Whitehall, S.W.1. 8th November, 1923. SIR, I am directed by the Minister of Health to forward for the information of the Local Authority the enclosed copy of the Public Health (Dried Milk) Regulations, 1923, prescribing the labelling and composition of dried milk. The Regulations will come into operation on the 1st May, 1924.

The Final Report of the Departmental Committee appointed to enquire into the use of Preservatives and Colouring Matters in Food has at last been issued and will be read and studied with interest by all concerned.

Circular 547. Ministry of Health, Whitehall, S.W. 1. 29th December, 1924. Sir, I am directed by the Minister of Health to forward for the information of the Authority a copy of the Public Health (Meat) Regulations, 1924, which are based on the recommendations of the Departmental Committee on Meat Inspection to which reference was made in Circular 282 and are designed to secure more adequate inspection of animals slaughtered in this country and improvements in the handling, transport, and distribution of meat.

SATISFACTION was the general feeling in connection with the Conference at Leeds. The local arrangements had been made with care, every reasonable want of the visitors had been anticipated, and all things possible for their comfort had been done. In general the weather was fine, and what intervals of leisure could be snatched from meetings and social gatherings could be devoted usefully to a study of the great city. On other pages of this issue comment is made upon the papers. Here it is sufficient to draw one or two morals from the Conference as a whole.

Provisional Rules and Orders dated April 8th, 1927, made by the Minister of Health for amending the Public Health (Preservatives, etc., in Food) Regulations, are as follows :—

We learn with interest and pleasure that, by the unanimous vote of the Council, the position of Executive Officer to the Library Association has been given to Mr. Guy Keeling, B.A. We understand that over one hundred applicants were considered for the post, and that it was felt that by education and experience Mr. Keeling was eminently qualified for the work which lies ahead of the Association. Mr. Keeling is a Cambridge man, Still on the sunny side of forty, whose pleasing personality is known to many librarians who have met him at conferences of “Aslib” or at meetings of the London and Home Counties Branch. As for his work as secretary of Aslib, it has proved him to be a man of most efficient organizing capacity. We offer him a welcome to the larger sphere of librarianship and we feel sure that all our readers will do the same, and, what is better, will support him in all his efforts in it.

THE PRESIDENT of the Library Association for 1929–30 will be Lord Balneil, the son of the Earl of Crawford, and it is difficult to think of a better choice. Lord Balneil has an admirable bibliographical ancestry—if we may so put it—seeing that his grandfather, the 26th Earl of Crawford, was President in 1898; and the Haigh Hall Library at the family seat is one of the noble private libraries of England. Lord Balneil is the Chairman of the Appeal Committee for the endowment of the School of Librarianship and so has already identified himself in a practical manner with the cause of libraries.

20. There is also a decree, dated 12th April, 1924, made under the authority of the Law of 21st December, 1923, which deals with the preparation of condensed milk and dried milk. The chief provisions of the decree are that the factory where the milk is prepared for export must be licensed by the Minister of Agriculture, and that it must have a satisfactory water supply and drainage system. It must also conform with the requirements of the Minister in regard to cleanliness. Definitions of condensed milk (full cream and skimmed), dried milk, homogenised milk and sterilised milk are also given. Rules are also laid down for the labelling of containers, and standards of purity are prescribed for the metal of which these are made. Provision is also made for the sampling of the products by officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and their examination at the laboratory of the Ministry. A further decree of the same date deals with the sanitation and hygiene of condenseries, the sterilisation and proper condition of milk vessels, the cleansing of machinery, and the health of the workers in so far as risk of infection of the milk is concerned.

We learn from various sources that the Cambridge Conference arrangements are well in hand. It is many years since the Library Association gathered in body at either Oxford or Cambridge and the event should therefore be of universal interest. On one point it has a special interest, for the President will be Mr. Jast, the first municipal librarian to hold our highest office for many years past; and no one will do otherwise than rejoice at the somewhat tardy honour thus to be paid him. Cambridge itself is making first‐class history in that it is about to build a new University Library, the elevation of which—and it is a most imposing one—has been published in The Observer and probably elsewhere. Moreover, the university city with its colleges, halls, libraries and quite glamorous history from the literary point of view, offers librarians more than most people the ideal place of meeting.

WE write on the eve of an Annual Meeting of the Library Association. We expect many interesting things from it, for although it is not the first meeting under the new constitution, it is the first in which all the sections will be actively engaged. From a membership of eight hundred in 1927 we are, in 1930, within measurable distance of a membership of three thousand; and, although we have not reached that figure by a few hundreds—and those few will be the most difficult to obtain quickly—this is a really memorable achievement. There are certain necessary results of the Association's expansion. In the former days it was possible for every member, if he desired, to attend all the meetings; today parallel meetings are necessary in order to represent all interests, and members must make a selection amongst the good things offered. Large meetings are not entirely desirable; discussion of any effective sort is impossible in them; and the speakers are usually those who always speak, and who possess more nerve than the rest of us. This does not mean that they are not worth a hearing. Nevertheless, seeing that at least 1,000 will be at Cambridge, small sectional meetings in which no one who has anything to say need be afraid of saying it, are an ideal to which we are forced by the growth of our numbers.

The interests of Public Health in its medical aspect would seem to have always received support in the Union of South Africa. In the year 1911–12, for instance, the sum of one hundred thousand pounds was expended; in the year of the influenza epidemic three times that sum. The present rate of expenditure is in the neighbourhood of a quarter of a million. There are many public bodies who concern themselves with health conditions in the Union and they are all in touch with the central authority. The officials of the Public Health Department were eagerly waiting for this new Food and Drugs Act to become operative. The growth of industry in South Africa and its bearing on the future of the nation has been fully recognised if the statute book may be taken as a reliable guide. Thus the system of weights and measures was unified by the Act of 1923; the growth of industry encouraged by such Acts as that of the Iron and Steel Industry Encouragement Act of 1922; industrial machinery has been made to run more smoothly by the Industrial Conciliation Act, 1924, and the Wages Act, 1925. Public Health has been safeguarded by the creation of the Public Health Department and by the Public Health Act, 1919, and the Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy Act, 1928; but it was only six months ago that the Act under review came into operation, and the matter with which this Act is concerned lies at the very foundations of public health. The Bill was introduced by the Minister for Public Health on the 2nd February, 1928; and read for the second time on the 27th February. It received the cordial support of both Senate and House of Assembly. Not a dissentient voice was raised. Everyone was eager to support the urgent representations that had been made by such public bodies as the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Board of Trade and Agriculture, the Union Council of Public Health, and all the larger municipalities. The Bill had been drawn up after a careful study of similar Australian, New Zealand, and United States legislation. The existing Acts were hopelessly out of date. The Natal and Free State Acts had been founded on the Cape Province Act, and this in its turn on the English Act of 1875, so that legislation was over fifty years old at the time of repeal. Official figures showed that harmful adulteration might be as high as ten per cent. of the samples submitted and these figures certainly did not give a true idea of the extent of such adulteration. As to adulteration with non‐injurious substances it may be sufficient to state that 27 per cent. of butter samples taken in Cape Town contained from 11 to 6 per cent. of foreign fat. Coffee is almost a universal drink among the Dutch population of South Africa, but owing to the inadequacy of the laws the country had, in the words of a witness in Committee, become “ a dumping ground ” for coffee of such an inferior kind that it is difficult to imagine anyone who could get anything better drinking it. Nevertheless it was described by the vendors in such glowing terms as to call forth protests from the Brazilian consul. Sometimes “ coffee ” was not coffee at all. It might be “ banana skins !” Sometimes it was worse than this. Such was a consignment of coffee from Hamburg. It had been in store for more than two years, and its first use was to nourish a large population of weevils—we understand that coffee must be two years old and over before this can happen. These creatures had made such good use of their opportunity that not much was left of the original coffee. As such stuff was only fit for the rubbish destructor it went to South Africa. The bits of beans plus weevils were embedded in a clay matrix, of the proper shape, to give them coherence, baked, stained, and polished—by the way it may be said that the staining and polishing of coffee had by this time assumed the character and dimensions of a skilled industry. Fortunately at this stage of the proceedings the health authorities at Cape Town intervened. It was stated by the Minister who introduced the Bill, with some reserve, that the incidence of adulteration had reached such proportions that the commercial morality of the Union in general was beginning to deteriorate. We should think so. There was certainly little to encourage the ordinary trader to put Sunday school maxims into practice. Fortunately public patience broke down before public health. On the 1st March the Bill was read for the first time in the Senate. It went into the Committee stage on the 8th. Here the usual revelations were made. Milk had, of course, received its full share of attention. So much so indeed that the Act forbids a milk vendor to carry skim milk or water in the same cart when delivering whole milk. It also appeared in evidence that a dairyman had only to keep two or three cows, which yielded inferior milk, in his herd, water the milk of the lot and plead the cow, when prosecuted, with impunity. More than that such a cow was actually hired out to another milk vendor, whom the authorities were wicked enough to prosecute, so that he might take advantage of the peculiarities of the animal and the weakness of the law. It is said that Huxley had great faith in the elasticity of the Hebrew language in the hands of Biblical commentators, it cannot surpass our belief in the almost infinite possibilities of the cow when milk prosecutions are “ going,” but this new use for old cows had not occurred to us. An important witness stated that in his opinion the 3 per cent. minimum for fat in milk is very low, very little lower indeed than the average standard for milk in Cape Town. Cape Town milk it seems is poorer in fat than up country milk. This has been attributed to the Friesian cattle as in “ short horn ” districts, the fat percentage is always higher. Nevertheless Act No. 13, 1929, Chap. II., Part C. s. 17 (3) still declares the minimum fat content for milk sold for domestic purposes to be 3 per cent. Thus, it seems to us, a good opportunity of raising the minimum legal fat content to the great benefit of everybody has been missed. Most assuredly it will not readily recur. No doubt there would have been strong opposition on the part of the trade had any attempt been made to raise this low standard. There always has been. If we had had any doubt on the subject of trade opposition that doubt would have been removed by the following. The same witnesses stated that all the best brands of herds in the Cape Peninsular, are tested for tuberculosis which is “ very prevalent. ” He agreed that milk from tuberculous cows was “ highly dangerous to infant life. ” In reply as to whether it would not be safer to have all herds compulsorily tested, he said: “ It is a question they are afraid to tackle. ” They have been at it for the last 25 years. “ Q. What is the reason? Is it because ” tuberculosis is too prevalent in the Cape A. “ No. I think it is because it affects so many people. “ Had they started it 25 years ago there would not have been this trouble to‐day. “ During the past few years manufacturers of fruit juices and the like had written asking for particulars of food standards and enclosing copies of analyses. It had to be stated in reply that there were no food standards, but that a draft Food and Drugs Bill had been prepared and would probably be before the House during the next session. The Assistant Health officer of the Union who made this statement added, “ I have had to resort to this method of excluding adulterated food for the last three or four years and cannot carry on much longer. ” To send fruit juices to the land of fruit seems rather like sending coals to Newcastle. However, the addition of pectinous matter to preparations of fruits naturally deficient in pectin is well known, necessary, and permissible. But if this be done with the object of overloading, a jam declared to be made of one kind of fruit with a cheaper undeclared pulp it is a fraud which the Act is drawn to prevent. Chap. V. s. 42 empowers the Minister to make regulations under the Act and publish them in the Gazette. In the issue of the 28th March, p. 9, “jam” is defined. No mineral acid, flavouring substance, nor any vegetable substance save that derived from the varieties of fruits named on the label are permitted, but the jam may contain “a trace” of fruit‐derived malic, citric or tartaric acid, colouring matters as scheduled (p. 4) and added pectin not exceeding 0·3 per cent. calculated as calcium pectate. In “Fruit jelly” this may be 0·6 per cent. It is evident that without this regulation a consumer in this country of South African fruit products would have had no assurance that he was not getting synthetic products of European manufacture in South African fruit tins. As a last instance of the ease with which the law might be evaded and adulteration practiced the following may suffice. An inspector in the Cape Province asked for some “ mixed coffee. ” It was supplied him labelled “ mixed coffee ” with a verbal intimation that it contained 25 per cent. of chicory. It did, and 10 per cent. of ground acorns in addition. The conviction which followed was quashed on appeal by Mr. Justice Solomon on the grounds that acorns cost as much as chicory, that they were not shown to have been added to fraudulently increase the bulk, and that there was no evidence that acorns were injurious to health. It need hardly be said that this decision, extra‐ordinary thought thought it may seem, was in strict accordance with the letter of the law in this case, presumably ss. 6 and 7 of the Cape Province Act. Readers who may have followed us so far will probably by this time have come to the conclusion that any change in the law would have been for the better in the interests of the public health and the commercial reputation of the Union. Moreover as the instances of rascally practice that we have cited do not seem to have been at all “ out of the way, ” the successful continuance of such practice under what really amounted to legal protection would induce a belief that the people who would put up with such things must, in the words of Oriental euphemism, be “ afflicted of God ”; and belief in the existence of this unhappy state of things would have been considerably strengthened by the knowledge that at the very time they were spending thousands every year in the interests of public health, the Department of Public Health itself was almost hopelessly oppressed by the incubus of sub‐fossil legislation fifty years behind the times. That while the country was being advertised as a tourist ground and health resort no one from Cape Town to Johannesburg could be sure that any food product he might buy would not be grossly and harmfully adulterated. That while they were building up an extensive overseas trade in foodstuffs they were content to eat and to drink any rubbish that might be foisted on them. While the delay of the Government in amending the law and so putting an end to a state of things that had apparently become a sort of public scandal is hard to understand. It has taken fourteen years! We recall the action of Mr. Snodgrass in the street row in Ipswich who “ in a truly Christian spirit, and in order that he might take no one unawares, announced in a very loud tone that he was going to begin, and proceeded to take off his coat with the utmost deliberation. ”

IN this issue we conclude our symposium on Modern Library Planning, and although it is not as complete as we could wish, it has certainly proved to be one of the most interesting subjects we have been able to deal with in recent years. We regret that lack of space has prevented us from including some interesting details about new libraries, and that we have laid ourselves open to the criticism of over‐crowding. We hope, however, that we shall be able, from time to time, to add further material as the occasion warrants. We had hoped to obtain a description of the Central Library Extension of the Hull Public Libraries, but this has, unfortunately, proved impossible. Lancashire County Library, too, is constructing four new branch libraries, an account of which we should have liked to include. Plymouth may be mentioned as still another library of which the material was not ready in time for our symposium. Also, we are sorry to have had to omit some of the illustrations which librarians have been kind enough to offer us for reproduction. In spite of these omissions, however, we have been able to gather together much that is new and interesting in modern planning, and one of the points that is well worth notice is the willingness of librarians to experiment in new ideas, even if conservatively.

In the June issue of THE BRITISH FOOD JOURNAL reference was made to a recently issued Report by the Ministry of Health upon the subject of bovine tuberculosis. In that Report the pasteurisation of cow's milk is referred to as a means of reducing the resulting human infection, and it is stated that “milk so treated appears to retain its valuable food properties practically unimpaired.”

From what has been said in this journal regarding standards and associated regulations for jams and allied products, it appears that this is the only English‐speaking country where no standards and no regulations exist for this very important item of the food supply. We manufacture more jam than any other of these countries. We are the greatest consumers, per head of population, of jam. It is therefore a very serious disadvantage to the consumer that it should be left entirely to financially interested persons to formulate their own standards for their own advantage. It would be inexpedient in any case to allow this, but when such “standards” as those we have referred to have been adopted by a great combine, and the products made in conformity with those standards forced on the consumer, a case bad to begin with is made worse. The greater proportion of the jam and marmalade put on the market is either of poor quality or of very poor quality. The poor quality stuff may be labelled “Full Fruit Standard,” and the meaning that is to be attributed to these words is left to the purchaser to find out. We say that this legend is no recommendation, and in saying this we find our opinion to be supported by at least one important member of the combine. One of their labels is before us as we write. The words “This marmalade is guaranteed to conform to the agreed standard of the Food Manufacturers' Federation” is printed in such small type that it is by no means easy to read; it is printed at the very bottom of the label and in such a way that at first glance it appears to be merely an ornamental border. Now the object of making the marmalade is to sell it, and if in the opinion of the makers the words which we have quoted above would aid that sale they would have been conspicuously displayed and printed in large letters on the label. The label also says that the marmalade is made “from … oranges and sugar”; it does not say that it is made from oranges and sugar only. Now this label may be taken as a fair specimen of all the rest. It gives the purchaser no information about that which he is buying, and it is safe to say that not one person in ten thousand knows anything about the “standards” referred to. If the interests of the consumer were fairly balanced against the profits of the manufacturer, a label would read more or less as follows:—“This product conforms to the standard of the Food Manufacturers’ Federation.” “It consists of fresh (name) fruit or fruits and sugar only in the proportions — per cent. fruit and — per cent. sugar.” If there is nothing to fear there is nothing to conceal. Why then is such a label not used?

THE name is arresting, like the personality for which it stands. Cunninghame Graham: Lavery's equestrian portrait of him conveys the essential man as revealed in his writings, though the other one (somewhat reminiscent of Raeburn's Sir John Sinclair), which presents him to us afoot, lacks nothing save a horse for company. He has a passion for horses and has written many an essay in which they are leading characters and one book devoted to them—The Horses of the Conquest. William Rothenstein has recorded him in lithograph and in oils and in Men and Memories includes a reproduction of a painting of him in fencer's garb. Belcher did a charcoal drawing of him—it appeared in Punch—with a lightly indicated background of Hyde Park Corner and a horse or two, in a dexterous mere line or two, clipping past. There is a word‐picture of him in the epilogue to Bernard Shaw's Captain Brassbound's Conversion and another in George Moore's Conversations in Ebury Street. Writer, Scots laird, Spanish hidalgo, South American ranch‐owner, he has ridden and bivouaced in Texas and Patagonia and may be found this month in Morocco, next month in London, or in Venezuela, or enjoying a braw day (or a snell day for that matter) in Perthshire.

THE article which we publish from the pen of Mr. L. Stanley Jast is the first of many which we hope will come from his pen, now that he has release from regular library duties. Anything that Mr. Jast has to say is said with originality even if the subject is not original; his quality has always been to give an independent and novel twist to almost everything he touches. We think our readers will find this to be so when he touches the important question of “The Library and Leisure.”

OUR pages continue the discussion on book‐display, about which all has not been said by any means. The ingenious librarian will always sharpen his wits upon the attracting of readers, and the main problem in the matter is merely: what sort of reader is it most desirable to attract? We do not apologise for this reiteration, because it is the fundamental subject now facing librarians. We are not in the least moved by a comment in a contemporary that we are decrying libraries when we assert, and in spite of him we do assert, that fiction issues nearly all over London show a decline. That decline, we repeat, is due to the slight increase in the employment of readers, and to cheap fiction libraries. What the public librarian has to decide is if he shall compete with such libraries or more definitely diverge from them. If a middle course is preferred—as it usually is by Britons—what is that course? Ultimately, is the educated reader to be the standard for whom the library works, or the uneducated? Or, to put it another way, is the librarian in any way responsible for the quality of the books his community reads? Our readers, young and not so young, are invited to help us to answers to these live questions.