Looking at the matter from a practical point of view, it seems to be an impossibility to eliminate the use of preservatives from all articles of food, and it would be a far more satisfactory course if a _via media_ could be found between prohibiting their use absolutely and leaving it to the manufacturer to dose his products with any quantity of any antiseptic. Evidence could be heard by such a body of official referees, who, after taking into consideration the views of all concerned, could from time to time issue authoritative regulations, which would be binding upon everyone. It should also be part of the duties of such a Court to see that the regulations were rigidly enforced, so that a manufacturer who carried them out should not suffer by the competition of another manufacturer who (as at the present time) ran only a trifling risk of prosecution in ignoring them. Another advantage of such a proposed Court of Reference would be that the manufacturer would no longer be liable to a criminal prosecution on points on which there is no agreement between the highest scientific authorities in the country. Under the present conditions, a town or borough council, using the ratepayers' money, may attempt to get a decision on the subject of preservatives in an ordinary police court. The manufacturer, if he is rich enough to pay for the necessary expert evidence, will probably succeed in getting the case dismissed, as, in fact, has frequently been done. But the magistrates' decision carries no finality, and is not binding upon anyone else, so that the borough council may raise the question again, and prosecute the same firm for the same alleged offence in the same court. If, instead of selecting the same firm of manufacturers, which would have the appearance of vindictiveness, they bring an action against another firm which cannot afford the £200 to £300 required to win an action of the kind, and the case is tried before another magistrate, they may succeed in getting their victim heavily fined, and justice would thus be reduced to the absurdity that, while one magistrate held that there was no offence, his brother magistrate decided that a criminal offence had been committed. It may, perhaps, be mentioned that this is no imaginary picture, but is based on actual occurrences. Another question which has been the subject of almost as many conflicts as the addition of preservatives is the colouring of preserved peas with a small trace of copper. Many of the prosecutions have been successful, but quite as many have been dismissed. The public demands a green colour in the preserved peas it purchases, and it is apparently impossible to have this without the addition of copper. Formerly a vigorous campaign was carried on in France to prevent any addition of copper whatsoever, but it was found to be impossible to enforce its absence, and the attempts to do so there have long been abandoned.