July 1, 1869.] 



HARDWlCKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



163 



MICROSCOPY. 



The Microscope. — Whether for purely scientific, 

 recreative, or educational purposes generally, the 

 microscope supplies the most effective, perhaps, and 

 certainly the most easily applied, amongst the num- 

 berless agencies of the present day. To quote the 

 eloquent words of one of the most eminent natural- 

 ists : "Great and gorgeous as is the display of Divine 

 power and wisdom in the things that are seen of all, 

 it may safely be affirmed that a far more extensive 

 prospect of these glories lay unheeded and unknown 

 until the microscope revealed it. Like the work of 

 some mighty genii of oriental fable, the brazen tube, 

 through its crystal portals, exhibits a world of won- 

 der and beauty before invisible, which one who has 

 gazed upon it can^ never forget, and never ceases to 

 admire." Nor is this all. The microscope teaches 

 us to see a world in every atom, and that every grain 

 of sand may harbour within it the tribes and the 

 families of a busy population. It tells us that in the 

 leaves of every forest, and iu the flowers of every 

 garden, and in the waters of every rivulet, there are 

 worlds teeming with life, and numberless as are the 

 glories of the firmament. It can be used without a 

 teacher. It is equally interesting to the child and 

 to the man. It can be employed alike at home and 

 abroad. Its instructions are the exhibition of facts 

 ot the most astonishing variety and beauty. It un- 

 folds, on the one hand, thg most recondite laws of 

 science; and on the other, it illustrates the com- 

 monest matters of every-day life. It fascinates the 

 more it is cultivated. And all its revelations display 

 the perfection and the glory of the works of God. — 

 Circular of the State Microscopical Society of Illinois. 



Egek, Deposit. — There is a stratum, discovered 

 by Ehrenberg at Soos, near Eger, in Bohemia, that 

 consists almost entirely of the remarkable discoid 

 forms of an oval figure, curved twice hi opposite 

 directions, and from their resemblance to a shield, 

 have been named by him Campylodiscus clypeus. 

 When the learned Professor visited this country in 

 1841, he brought with him the first specimens that 

 had been seen of this earth. The discs in almost 

 every instance are very perfect, and in addition to 

 their curious shapes, have markings worthy of notice. 

 — Quekett' s Histology. 



[The Editor has a few slides of this deposit for 

 exchange for any good mounted objects.] 



Lepisha saccharina. — " G. M." recommends a 

 good cluster of scales viewed with an inch objec- 

 tive and spot lens, as the best mode of exhibiting 

 them. 



Scale of Dace. — We have already given figures 

 of the scales of several of our common fresh-water 

 fishes, and to these we add another, that of the 

 Dace (Leuciscus vulgaris). It must always be re- 



membered that the dorsal and ventral scales will 

 differ considerably in form, and that in preparing 

 and mounting scales for the microscope it is prefer- 

 able to have scales taken from different parts of 

 the body. We -are compelled to rest content with 

 figuring the prevalent form. We should be happy 



Fig. 122. Scale of Dace. 



to receive specimens of the scales of any of the less 

 common fresh-water species, in order to continue 

 this series. Careful and accurate identification in- 

 dispensable. 



Mounting Small Insects. — 1 have adopted suc- 

 cessfully the following plan of preparing and mount- 

 ing very small insects for the microscope, such as 

 parasites and acari from birds, beetles, &c. Having 

 procured the parasite alive, I place it on the 

 inside of a sheet of tolerably good note-paper, 

 folded, and when in the act of running, I close the 

 paper and press it tightly in a book, which, for -want 

 of a better press, I put between two books hi my 

 bookcase. By this means I find the legs, antenna?, 

 &c, nicely extended, all the expressed moisture 

 absorbed by the paper, and the skin apparently un- 

 broken. I allow it to remain in the book about two 

 days, when it is carefully removed from the paper, 

 put into the turpentine bath, and afterwards 

 mounted hi balsam in the usual way. — A. A., F. 



Q. M. C. — The annual excursion dinner of the 

 Quekett Microscopical Club came off on the 23rd 

 of June, at Leatherhead, with entire satisfaction to 

 all parties concerned. Of course the toast of the 

 evening was "The Quekett Microscopical Club," 

 which was immediately succeeded by "The Royal 

 Microscopical Society," acknowledged by Dr. Miller. 

 This was one of the most successful of the social 

 gatherings of the club, and those who were absent 

 have reason to regret that they allowed the finest 

 day of the season, and an excellent opportunity for 

 enjoying themselves, to pass without recognition. 



