42 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



reference was made in our last number, commonly 

 called eozoonal. A brief, but exceedingly clear 

 abstract is given of the opinions of Carpenter and 

 others as to the organic character of Eozoon, on the 

 one hand, and of Mobius on the other. The Suther- 

 landshire Eozoon lends considerable evidence to the 

 mineralogical theory of Professors King, Rovi^ney, 

 and Mobius. The sketches accompanying the part 

 are very carefully drawn and executed. 



Slides illustrative of Marine Zoology. — If 

 there is "no royal road to knowledge," it cannot be 

 denied that the old road has been rendered very much 

 smoother and easier for the modern student to travel 

 upon. In the matter of marine zoology, for instance, 

 the possibility of obtaining such slides as Sinel & Co. 

 are sending out from their natural history depot at 

 St. Heliers, Jersey, for microscopical examination, 

 saves an enormous amount of time and trouble. The 

 latest of these slides, mounted in a medium, and after 

 a manner which Sinel & Co. alone possess, include 

 the zoea of crab {Pisa tdraodon), two days old, which 

 admirably exhibits the long-jointed, lobster-like body, 

 subsequently abbreviated into the "apron." Other 

 slides are that of young fishes {Gobiiis nigcr), one 

 day old, of another interesting crustacean {Hifpolyte 

 vaiians), and an exquisite young starlet {Ash'n'a 

 £-Mosa), so mounted that both surfaces, upper and 

 lower, can be equally well studied. 



Hardening Animal Tissues.— I should be very 

 glad if any reader would inform me how to success- 

 fully harden animal tissues which have been injected. 

 I have tried spirit, as Dr. Marsh recommends in his 

 little book, but cannot succeed to my satisfaction. — 

 m H. P. 



The Postal Microscopical Society.— Part 9 

 of vol. iii. of the "Journal" of this society has 

 appeared under the able editorship of Mr. Alfred 

 Allen. It gives the presidential address, papers on 

 "Living Bacilli in the Cells of Vallisneridje," by 

 Dr. T. S. Ralph; "The Foraminifcrce of Galway," 

 by Messrs. F. P. Balkwill and F. W. Millatt ; 

 "Solorina Saccata," by Arthur J. Doherty ; "Thy- 

 mol as a Polariscope Object," by Dr. Ralph ; " Half 

 an Hour at the Microscope with Mr. Tuffen West ;" 

 Selected Notes ; Reviews, Current Notes, &c. 



Preservation of Soft Tissues.— " Science" 

 reports that at a recent meeting of the Philadelphia 

 Academy, Dr. Benjamin Sharp called attention to 

 Professor Semper's mode of preparing dried speci- 

 mens of soft animals, and exhibited a couple of 

 snails as illustrations of the admirable results of the 

 process. The tissues are first hardened by being 

 steeped in chromic acid, which is afterwards thoroughly 

 washed out in water. The specimen is then allowed 

 to remain in absolute alcohol until the water is 

 perfectly extracted, when it is placed in turpentine 

 for three or four days. It may then be dried and 



mounted. Specimens prepared in this way retain 

 their characters in a very satisfactory degree, and are 

 strong and flexible, the example shown resembling 

 kid. If the surface be treated, after drying, with a 

 solution of sugar and glycerine, the natural colours 

 will be restored ; but the specimens must then be 

 kept in hermetically-sealed glass cases to preserve 

 them from the dust. The objection to this mode of 

 treating large specimens is the expense of absolute 

 alcohol ; otherwise there is no reason why the largest 

 animals shouljl not be preserved by this process. 



" The Journal of THE Royal Microscopical 

 Society." — The December issue of this compact 

 and encyclopedic scientific journal, besides the 

 usual "Summary of Current Researches," contains 

 the following papers: "On Some New Cladocera 

 of the English Lakes," by Conrad Beck ; "On an 

 Improved Method of Preparing Embryological and 

 other Delicate Organisms for Microscopical Exami- 

 nation," by Edward Lovett ; "The Relation of 

 Aperture and Power in the Microscope," by Professor 

 E. Abbe; "On a New Camera Lucida," by Dr. 

 Hugo Schroder; and "On Optical Tube Length; 

 an Unconsidered Element in the Theory of the 

 Microscope," by Frank Crisp, Hon. Sec. 



Carlisle Microscopical Society. — This newly- 

 founded society is in the full flush of active en- 

 joyable work. The session for 1SS3-84, according 

 to the programme forwarded to us, has numerous 

 papers of great interest to be brought before it, 

 among which are the following: "The Salmon 

 Disease," by the vice-president (Dr. Lediard) ; 

 "Structural Botany," by the hon. sec. (Mr. A. 

 Barnes-Moss) ; " Animal Tissues," by Dr. Maclaren ; 

 " Fertilisation of Flowers," by Mr. R. A. Allison ; 

 " The Microscope in Manufactures," by the president 

 (Mr. C. S. Hall); "Adulteration of Food," by 

 Mr. W. Parker ; " Micro-Photography," by Mr. J. 

 Forsyth. A communication from Dr. \V. B. Carpenter, 

 the eminent physiologist and microscopist, was pre- 

 sented. The communication is printed in the syllabus 

 of this promising society. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Whales and their Origin. — The President of 

 the Zoological Society, Professor W. H. Fowler, 

 LL.D., F.R.S., on the 20th inst., delivered at the 

 London Institution a profusely illustrated and in all 

 respects most interesting lecture on "Whales," in 

 which he took a survey of the existing and fossil 

 species, with a view to some sort of solution of the 

 oliscure but important problem of their origin. 

 It needed no great foresight, he said, to forecast their 

 more or less speedy improvement out of existence. 

 But what was their probable origin ? In the first 



