HARD WICKE 'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



207 



structure) : it is capable of cutting fresh, growing wood 

 as thia as the iiooth of an inch, and sections of 

 bone thin enough to mount at once. The paper on 

 "Black Moulds " calls for no remark, the name of 

 the writer being a sufficient guarantee of its value. 

 Mr. Gilbert's papers are of considerable interest, 

 particularly that on staining vegetable tissues. Mr. 

 C. White's remarks on Botrylloides are valuable, as 

 all contributions to our knowledge of the lower forms 

 of life must be when they proceed from the actual 

 observations of the writei". The " Proceedings," of 

 course, consist of vivA voce remarks and discussions 

 on the papers read at the various meetings. At one 

 of these meetings, Mr. B. Lowne described a very 

 ingenious instrament made by Lippmann in Germany : 

 it is a very delicate form of electrometer, and is in- 

 tended to measure minute cuiTcnts of electricity, such 

 as the most delicate galvanometer would fail to indi- 

 cate. We would strongly recommend those interested 

 in microscopical research to purchase the part.'' 



QuEKETT Microscopical Club. — The twelfth 

 annual meeting of this important society was held on 

 July 26th, when the annual report was presented and 

 elections for officers took place. From the report it 

 appeared that satisfactory progress continued to be 

 made ; many valuable papers had been read, much 

 practical work accomplished, and many valuable 

 additions to the library and cabinet had been made. 

 The meetings, held fortnightly throughout the year, 

 had been well attended, the field excursions were 

 well conducted, and the Journal had taken its place 

 amongst the microscopical literature of the day. 

 Forty-five new members had been elected during the 

 year, and after allowing for removals by death and 

 default, the present number was stated to be 542. 

 It was incidentally mentioned that the total number 

 of members since the establishment of the club had 

 been 1,050. The report of the treasurer showed the 

 receipts from all sources to have been ^Z^"]. 5s. iid., 

 with the satisfactory balance in hand of ;^7 1. 14s. lod. 

 The president then read the customary annual address, 

 in which the distinctive features of the club were 

 specially dwelt upon, and many valuable hints and 

 suggestions were given. Votes of thanks to the 

 president for his admirable address, to the officers 

 and committee for past services, and to the Council 

 of University College for continued permission to 

 meet in the Library of that building, were unani- 

 mously carried. The election of officers for the 

 ensuing year, and of four members to supply va- 

 cancies on the committee, was then proceeded with, 

 and the result of the ballot was announced as fol- 

 lows : — President, Henry Lee, Esq. ; vice-presidents. 

 Dr. Matthew, Messrs. Frank Crisp, E. T. Newton, 

 and T. C. White ; treasurer, Mr. F. W. Gay ; hon. 

 secretaiy, Mr, J. E. Ingpen ; hon. foreign secretary, 



• Published by Hardwicke & Bogue. Price is. 



Dr. M. C. Cooke ; committee, Messrs. Gilburt, 

 Parsons, Priest, and Spencer. 



On Mounting Spider Preparations. — In the 

 December number of last year's (1876) Gossip, a 

 correspondent, signing himself F. E. Fletcher, in- 

 quires the best method of mounting spiders for 

 microscopical research. No answer, as far as I can 

 see, having been given to your con-espondent's re- 

 quest, I thought my own experience and way of 

 mounting may perhaps be useful to him and other 

 microscopists. The class Arachnida, to which the 

 Spiders belong (the name Arachnida being taken from 

 the Greek dpaxv>7f, a spider), have certain well- 

 known characteristics which it may be well to note. 

 Firstly, the body is not formed of three sections, as 

 those of insects : it consists only of two ; the head 

 and thorax are not separated, but form together the 

 part called the cephalo-thorax. Secondly, they have 

 always eight legs. Thirdly, they do not undergo 

 changes. Fourthly, their eyes are never compound, 

 though they vary in number and position. These, 

 then, may be termed the chief characteristics of this 

 order. As regards those spiders which most concern 

 the microscopist, I may mention three groups : I. 

 The House Spider ; 2. the Garden Spider ; 3. the 

 Wandering Spider. The latter two species, which 

 are to be found in our gardens, though well adapted 

 for mounting purposes, are not so easily obtained as 

 our friends that take up their board and lodging with 

 us in the house. It is no difficult matter to find the 

 house spider ; any old cupboard, or disused room, 

 will furnish plenty. If one keeps his eyes about 

 him of a wet day, he is sure to see some 

 large specimens crawling either on ceiling, wall, or 

 floor. Having found your spider, the next thing is 

 to catch him, and then kill him. A pair of curved 

 forceps is what I generally use to catch specimens 

 with. The best way of killing them is with the 

 poison-bottle, which, I presume, eveiy microscopist 

 has ready at a moment's notice for use. Those who 

 do not know of this contrivance may like to know 

 the way to prepare it. Get, then, from your garden 

 a lot of laurel-leaves ; chop them up fine, dry them 

 in the oven a short time, and then put them in a 

 small glass jar (there should be enough to half fill 

 the bottle or jar) ; next cut a circular piece of card- 

 board, the size of the inside of the bottle ; punch 

 this all over with small holes of the size of a pin's 

 point, then place it on the laurels, and your engine 

 of destruction is complete. Laurel is well known to 

 contain prussic acid, and this kills in a short time all 

 insects, and small animals of any kind, placed inside 

 the bottle or jar, always providing the stopper is 

 firmly in its place, which it always should be, whether 

 the bottle be in or out of use. A very strange case 

 is under my notice while writing this paper, a case in 

 which, for the first time, I have found this poison- 

 bottle to fail. I mention it here because it is con- 



