horticultural specimens, planting designs, and other aspects of horticulture that would be useful to the home gardner. we continue to showcase exciting techniques that make the residential landscape more ergonomic, more efficient to maintain and give it a better resource area for clean water clean air, and wildlife habitats. on the same token, as we are becoming more aware of environmental stewardship, we are becoming more aware of plants'resources in terms of agriculture and other important products we derived from plants. so, you'll see behind me some unusual plants in the bed of the fountain. they are phenyl and we. we are talking about the importance of home gardening for food and spice and flavor. and also the important of agriculture in the history of our nation and certainly in its current context in terms of its importance for food security and

its importance in terms of controlling or mitigating any aspect of environmental degradation. it is really a fascinating historical arc where t has changed a lot but it has straighthe garden-- stayed true to its mission of demonstrating to the american people the importance of plants although we are set up for. by congress, we are open 355 days a year, 356 on leap years free of charge. we get visitors from all over the world. we aim to delight people in the wonders of plants and put a smile on your face. and with that smile, we believe we can educate about some of the wonders and services the plant kingdom provides to human beings.

>> aside from the white house, this missoni and's portrait gallery has the largest collection of presidential portraits. join me as david ward gives a virtual tour of the gallery's presidential paintings including those of andrew jackson, abraham lincoln, and harry truman. tonight at 6:45 eastern on c-span 3 as american history tv. >> each week, american history tv's "reel america" brings you archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century. ♪

>> this is the state of virginia in the springtime of 1956. springtime reckoning to a small boy, urging him to wonder with the wind, over the pasture fence to catch a cow. not an easy thing. because a calf is a youngster like himself. ride him? sure. what is a day without a little rough and tumble? when a boy needs comfort, there is always home. and mother and father. this is the world of randy kerr

of oakton, virginia. typical, except for one thing. randy was the first child to receive an injection of salk polio vaccine. much had preceded this moment when randy kerr made history. in the all-out fight against polio led by the national foundation or into tile paralysis, there were many -- for infantile paralysis, there were many struggles of heartbreak. thousands upon thousands of children and adults fell prey to the crippler. march of dimes funds were needed everywhere. needed desperately by patients. needed by an army of scientists who search for a preventive. in 1954, a vaccine to prevent paralytic polio developed by

jonas salk was tested in the largest field trial and medical history. in 1955, salk vaccine is safe and effective. the next challenge is production in quantity. a huge task, a complex process all detailed in this book. it is officially called a protocol. the manufacturer recalls every step in the production of one lot of vaccine. the first requirement is trained scientists and technicians. the equipment they use get scrubbed up. a scalding steam bath for 15 minutes. when it comes out, it is completely sterilized, ready for the job ahead. vital to the production of the vaccine are monkeys from the far east. given the best of care.

another basic ingredient of the polio vaccine is being prepared. a rich, nourishing liquid called medium 199. 68 different elements going to medium 199. each is carefully checked, weight, and combined according to the formula. when all is thoroughly blended the medium is tested for absolute sterility. why this elaborate preparation? into medium 199 will go monkey kidney tissue, carefully minced by hand. in these bottles, the monkey tissue grows, getting nourishment from medium 199. for days the tissue grows. then because all the nourishment in the medium is exhausted, half is siphoned off to be replaced

by fresh medium but with a difference. the differences here, for the first time, live poliovirus is planted in the medium. three strains of the virus are added. completed vaccine will protect against all three types of paralytic polio. once more, the bottles rock. in four days, the virus multiplies 250 to 1000 times. another stage in the complex production of vaccine has been reached. the polio virus solution is ready for harvesting. the endless testing has now begun. a test measures the amount of live virus present in the solution. this test is made seven

different times during production. next, filtration. a vitally important process. the virus solution goes through these metal tubes containing poor school -- containing porcelain filters, then through sheets of us vestas to strain out kidney tissue and remove stray bacteria. more tests. rabbits are not related to make sure no b virus, a dangerous but non-poliovirus, is in the solution. guinea pigs too receive injections to make certain the solutions are free of tuberculosis. finally, the climax of production. in activation. the power of the poliovirus to infect man will be utterly destroyed.

the colorless, pungent chemical formaldehyde will deal the deadly blow to the poliovirus. 466 hours in a warm incubator room, the in activation process continues. what remains can only do good. provide humans from protection from paralytic polio. a chapter ends. the enemy of man is now ready to become his servant. at every step of the way, checks and double checks. this technician is working on a tissue culture safety test double checking the complete inactivation of the virus. four tests are conducted on every batch of vaccine. behind the store, the final phase of production.

it calls for a giant tank, into which go the three different types of inactivated polio solution, combined for the first time. the solutions are filtered into the polling tank and twice later. additional chemicals complete and preserve the vaccine. then the preparation is mixed for five hours. at the end of that time, the polio vaccine is complete. testing is not. two animal tests are performed. one on white mice injected with vaccine is called the lcm test. and the live monkey potency test. monkeys receive polio vaccine, then are observed and examined to make sure the vaccine is

potent enough to cause formation of polio-fighting antibodies in humans. more tests. a sterility test. the sixth of its kind is perform. it takes time and infinite care. only vaccine found completely free of factory is approved for the next step. that step is putting vaccine into bottles under completely sterile conditions. these are the bottles which finally will find their way into doctors offices and clinics all over the country, even as they reach the end of the production line. other tests are in progress and tests are sent to the government. no vaccine can leave the

pharmaceutical house until all tests by the manufacturer and government are completed satisfactorily. the protocol is finished and then sent to the national institutes of health for government approval, required by law. in bethesda, maryland, the national institutes of health is a vast center of medical progress. in the office of dr. roderick murray, chief of the division of biologic standards, the manufacturer is first reviewed. that he sums to scientists from his staff. each is given a copy of the protocol, which he will study carefully, checking every process, every test for consistency. at the same time, another vital judgment is being made in the laboratories. a sample from every batch of vaccine is received.

then subjected to a whole battery of complex scientific tests. a sterility test confirming those of the manufacturer is carried out. a tissue culture test on the vaccine sample. substantiating tests already made by the manufacturer. living tissue is inoculated with the polio vaccine, incubated and carefully examined. the monkey test, one of the most important tests. 20 monkeys are involved in the testing of every lot of vaccine and each receives three injections from the manufacturer wash sample. the purpose is to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the polio vaccine. these are just the painstaking

review and testing procedures of the national institutes of health. it's contributing to the final judgment and recommendation on every lot and vaccine. once the public health service authorizes its release, the polio vaccine can begin to protect american youngsters. in 1955, over 10 million children receive one or more injections of salk vaccine including this boy, the president's own grandson, david eisenhower. like millions of boys and girls across the nation, david is protected against paralytic polio, free to play and enjoy the delights of summertime with the president, his grandfather. from the united states public health service, a report on these vaccinations in 1985 by the distinguished former surgeon general dr. leonard a. shealy. >> as we enter the second year of widespread polio vaccine, it

is my pleasure to report to you the results of polio vaccinations today. we had a good opportunity to study effectiveness last year. here's a very simple chart which indicates how the vaccine works during 1955. this is based on reports from 22 states. among vaccinated children, the attack rate for polio was only 6.3 over 100,000. the unvaccinated rate was 29.2 per 100,000. almost four times as high. the studies involved about 8.5 million children whose ages ranged from 5-11. even though these children had one injection instead of three the vaccine was found to be 70% effective.