HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



43 



The Royal Society has made arrangements to 

 obtain a Photographic Atlas of the stars of the 

 southern hemisphere. It will be under the super- 

 vision of Dr. Gill, Astronomer Royal at the Cape. 



Dr. C. Callaway has shown that the views 

 recently published by Professor A. Geikie concerning 

 the extraordinary_thrust of old rocks on to newer strata 

 in Sutherlandshire were published by himself as far 

 back as the " Geological Magazine " for March 18S3. 



Mr. Wm. Tylor has brought out a simple and 

 clean method of using balsam. It is enclosed in 

 compressible metal tubes, like those containing moist 

 colours, so that the smallest quantity can be expelled 

 at will. 



MICROSCOPY. 



Clearing Fluid for Vegetable Tissues. — 

 When freshly cut, put the tissues in alcohol for a few 

 minutes. Then transfer them to a clearing fluid consist- 

 ing of absol. alcohol, and eucalyptus oil in equal parts. 

 After remaining in this fluid for ten minutes, place 

 them in pure eucalyptus oil, to remove the alcohol. 

 Then mount in glycerine jelly. — Dunley Owen, B.Sc. 



Staining Vegetable Tissues.— It seems from 

 last month's Science-Gossip that one of your 

 correspondents was under the impression that I was 

 quoting the method there mentioned as my own. I 

 therefore wish to inform him that I had no intention 

 of the sort, but unfortunately omitted to state that it 

 was quoted from Messrs. Cole's " Methods of 

 Microscopical Research," part xi. for June 18S4. It 

 is also mentioned in other papers, and one good 

 method which I thought would be of use to querists. 

 — IV. P. 



Cloudy Mounts.— The cloudiness alluded to at 

 p. 1 8 arises from a minute quantity of moisture 

 remaining in the tissue, which, as soon as mounted, 

 disperses in the form of microscopical bubbles 

 through the balsam. If W. H. L. will look at the 

 cloudiness under Jin. O.G. he will see that it is so. 

 The fault can be corrected by dehydrating the sec- 

 tion (see Cole's "Methods of Mounting"), placing it 

 first in methylated spirit, then for a few seconds in 

 pure alcohol, and then in oil of cloves, when it is 

 ready to be mounted in the balsam. I next get rid 

 of superfluous oil of cloves by placing the object on a 

 bit of clean note paper for half a minute. Blotting- 

 paper (which I have heard recommended) is the 

 worst possible for this last purpose, as it goes off its 

 fibres.— #! IV. Lett, MA, 



The Royal Microscopical Society. — The 

 Journal of this Society for December last, besides 

 the ably-condensed summary of current researches 

 relating to Zoology, Botany, Microscopy, &c, con- 



tains the following papers — " Description and Life- 

 History of a new Fungus (Milowia nivea), illustrated 

 by G. Massee " ; Notes on the Structural Character 

 of the Spines of Echinoidea," by Professor F. Jeffrey 

 Bell; and "On some ,Photographs of Broken 

 Diatom valves, taken by lamplight," by Dr. Jacob D. 

 Cox. 



Lantern Illustrations. —I fear E. W. will 

 find some difficulty in obtaining what he requires, 

 unless he is ready to pay for the oxy-hydrogen light, 

 and to put up with all its inconveniences. But, as a 

 step towards carrying out his desires, I may refer 

 him to my direct vision camera, as described in 

 the " Quekett Journal " for May last, p. 560. This 

 might be enlarged so as to show imagos fairly well 

 up to 2 feet, "according to the object. If E. W. is in 

 London, I shall be happy to see him at the Hackney 

 Society's meeting on the 4th February, when I shall 

 be repeating this demonstration. — J. D. Hardy. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Helix concinna. — In my list of Maidenhead 

 shells in the December number, I forgot to mention 

 H. concinna, of which I got one specimen. On 

 page 19, it is stated that I found H. rotundata v. 

 alba at Addington, in Kent, but on looking at my 

 map I find that Addington is just on the Surrey side 

 of the border between the two counties. — T. D. 

 Cockerell, Bedford Park, Jan. 3. 



Amalia Gagates. — A few days ago I found some 

 slugs at Acton and Bedford Park, in Middlesex, 

 which Mr. Roebuck, of Leeds, has identified as A. 

 gagates var. plumbea. This species_is, I believe, quite 

 new to the London district, the nearest records I can 

 find being Hastings and Christchurch. With the 

 gagates I found Amalia marginata, type and v. 

 mgrescens ; Limax agrestis, type and vars. tristis and 

 sylvatica, Limax flavus, L. maximus v. suhunicolor, 

 Arion hortensis, and others. — T. D. A. Cockerell, 

 51, Woodstock Road, Bedford Park. W. 



Night Heron in Scotland. — On " the 14th 

 November last, a fine specimen of the Night Heron, 

 {Nycticorax griseus, L.) was presented in the flesh to 

 the Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow. The bird, which 

 was a female in immature plumage, was caught a few- 

 days before by Mr. W. Anderson Smith, of Ledaig, at 

 Loch Creran, in Argyleshire, and was in a somewhat 

 exhausted condition, having been probably blown out 

 of its latitude by the severer storms prevalent at the 

 time. The species may be considered rare in Scotland, 

 where, since Jardine's time, there are only seven 

 examples recorded as having been taken, this being 

 the eighth and the first from the West Highlands of 

 Scotland. It is a species having a wide distribution, 

 being found in both the Old and New World : the 

 latter was said to possess a species differing from that 



