64 



HARDWICKE'S SCIE^' CE-GUS SI P. 



this mail three specimens, prepared exactly as the 

 above directions, that you may judge of the results. 

 None of them were dried, and none have been 

 mounted over tliirfy days, but you can clean them 

 as much as you please without displacing the cover. 

 [The specimens are admirable samples of mount- 

 ings.— Ed.]— /F. i/. Wulmsley, Philadelphia, U.S. 



BuxT OF Wheat as a Lens.— (Translation). 

 I thank your correspondent "E. W. M." for his 

 courtesy in replying to my query, and shall be glad 

 to avail myself of his offer to send me a slide or 

 two of the preparations showing the multiplied 

 images. I had already tried the experiment of 

 placing the object between the stage and the source 

 of illumiuation, but had failed in obtaining the 

 desired results. May I ask him, in employing the 

 5-iuch objective, at what distance I should place 

 the object which I wish to see multiplied in the 

 eyes of the beetle ? — A. 31., liochefort-sur-Mcr. 



How TO PICK OUT Diatoms in Mounting. — 

 The Monthly Microscopical Journal for February 

 contains a good abstract of a paper in the Lens, 

 by Dr. C. Johnson, on this subject. The latter 

 says that nothing is easier than to seize particular 

 diatoms and transfer them to a bottle for future 

 use, or to a slide, provided the field from wliich we 

 select be ricli and clean. Difficulty, however, 

 occurs when forms in any gathering are few and 

 far between. Let such prepared material be spread 

 upon a large slide, covering a space of one inch by 

 two, and let it be filliped as it is set away to dry 

 spontaneously. With a two-thirds objective, search 

 the white field for any object whatever, and, upon 

 finding, encircle each one with a line, made with 

 the point of a match sharpened and moistened, 

 adding near the circle a dot, or cross, or other sign, 

 always appropriated to the same diatom, and of 

 which a tallying record is kept on paper. At 

 leisure one may, witliout trouble, single out any 

 desired object, pick it off with a fine dampened 

 point of cane (reed), not including the siliceous 

 cuticle, and deposit it free from injury, in a small 

 drop of distilled water placed in the centre of the 

 slide. 



ZOOLOGY. 



New Societies. — "We are always glad to notice 

 the foundation of new clubs or societies for natural 

 history pursuits, regarding them as the most prac- 

 tical illustrations of the extension of science. The 

 Kensington Entomological Society is one of the 

 latest, and is fortunate in having for its president 

 such a well-known writer and naturalist as Alex. 

 Murray, F.L.S. The names of the committee and 

 hon. secretaries are all of them guarantees for good 

 work. Among other things, we have just received 

 the first report of the Birmingham School Natural 



History Society for 1873. It is exceedingly modest 

 in its pretensions, but we are disposed to allow it 

 more importance than it claims, as institutions like 

 these, in disposing the minds of clever boys towards 

 natural science, must do an amount of good that 

 cannot be easily estimated. The president of the 

 society is the head master, the Rev. A. R. Vardy, 

 who is ably supported by his assistant masters and 

 a committee of the school- boys. The society is 

 divided into three sections, for the relative study 

 of botany, entomology, and geology. Several ex- 

 cursions were made last year in pursuit of these 

 sciences, which appear to have been very successful. 

 The report also contains summaries of the principal 

 papers read last year by the members. We cordially 

 wish this unpretending society success, and that its 

 example may speedily be followed by other public 

 schools. 



East Kent Natural History Society.— Our 

 readers will have been prepared by the various ex- 

 tracts we have given in our columns from time to time 

 of the proceedings of this society, to give it credit for 

 standing in the front rank of its hard-working pro- 

 vincial brethren. The fourteenth Annual Report, 

 just issued, fully bears out this idea, and shows the 

 society to be] in a] most flourishing condition in 

 every respect. A sub-committee had been formed 

 to work out the Elora of East Kent, but we are 

 sorry to find that its work was suspended during 

 last year. The part taken in the proceedings by 

 Dr. Gulliver, Colonel Horsley, and Mr. Eullagar 

 was very important. The latter gentleman's re- 

 searches on the economy of the Hydra, originally 

 communicated to the society, have already appeared 

 in this journal. 



Brighton and Sussex Natural History 

 Society. — The nineteenth Report of this society 

 shows it to be in a more prosperous condition 

 than ever. It has the advantage over many local 

 societies of including members whose names are 

 well known to science generally. The most inter- 

 esting meetings, however, appear to be those de- 

 voted to Microscopy. Evenings for the special 

 exhibition of specimens are another feature which 

 provincial societies elsewhere would do well to 

 copy. Among the papers read, and of which abstracts 

 are given, are those by Dr. Stevens, on "Elint 

 Works at Cissbury ;" Mr. J. Robertson, on " Se- 

 piola oceanica," &c. ; Dr. Stevens, on the late 

 "Discovery of Pit-dwellings in Hampshire;" Mr. 

 E. H. Hannah, on " The Palates of Mollusks ;" Dr. 

 Hallifax, on " Certain Facts in the Anatomy of the 

 Cuttle-fish ;" Mr. Mitten, on the " Distribution of 

 Flowering Plants in the Vicinity of Brighton ;" Mr. 

 G. Scott (President), on the " Suffolk Tertiaries ;" 

 Mr. Hcnnah, on "Minute Crustaceans;" Mr. B. 

 Lomax, on the " Colours of Plants," &c.— a good 

 account, as will be seen, of a year's useful work ! 



