67 
attending physician, and one of them bore marks of the children’s 
teeth. They were planted, and grew into the true garden pars- 
nip, Pastinaca sativa,which has so commonly escaped from gardens. 
There seemed no chance for’error in this case. It was subse- 
quently ascertained that in the cultivated form some growers are 
careful about working among the leaves while the dew is on them, 
as severe cases of poisoning have resulted from this, and on large 
seed farms the workmen have to protect their hands and arms 
against contact with the juices, or risk poisoning similar to that 
from Rhus toxicodendron. 
White seeded Variety of the Honey Locust. Thomas Meehan. 
(Proc. Phil. Acad. Sci., 1885, pp. 404, 405.) 
The seeds of this tree, which grew near Germantown, Penn., 
were white instead of dark olive-brown as in the normal con- 
dition. It was of considerable age, and had evidently borne fruit 
for many years. The seeds were nearly orbicular in shape, in- 
stead of the usual narrowly-ovate form. 
Botanical Notes. 
Flard Rubber Slides—For about six years I have been using 
a kind of rubber slide which I have found very convenient for 
various reasons, so that I think a description of it might be of 
some interest to microscopists. The slide is of ordinary length and 
width (3x1 in.), but quite thin (about 1-7 mm.), and is provided in 
the middle with a circular perforation about 15 mm. in diameter. 
I place the slide on the turntable, apply some cement to the edge 
of the perforation, and then fasten a 20 mm. cover glass (circle) 
_on the rubber slide, which then can be used like an ordinary glass 
slide. Very thin sections or objects not requiring any cell may 
be mounted on the upper side of the circle (i.e, the side not 
touching the rubber), while, in order to mount thicker objects, or 
such as are to be protected from pressure, I simply invert the 
slide and have a cell the depth of which I can easily increase by 
a ring of cement in the usual way. 
I hardly need to say that the principal advantage gained with 
this slide is that the observer is enabled to examine both sides of 
any object under the highest powers. Perforated slides have long 
been in use, but I am not aware that they were made of rubber, 
