* 22 



the Secretary . — Mr. Henry Symons, Mr. Jolm W. Baiiey, Mr. Charles Si 

 Bentley, Mr. Alfred Martiuelli, Mr. George F. Smith, Dr. Adam Bealy, Mr. 

 H. B. Preston, Mr. Charles E. Osborne, Mr. Edward T. Draper, Mr. William 

 C. Chapman, Mr. Frederick Oxley. 



The names of the eight new members proposed at the last meeting, were- 

 then balloted for, and they were declared duly elected. 



Mr. Burgess then read the first part of a paper entitled '' Wools, com- 

 mercially and Microscopically considered." (Seethe next number). The paper 

 was illustrated by a large collection of samples of wool, both in its natural 

 state and manufactured. 



The thanks of the meeting, were presented ta Mr, Bm-gess^ for the first 

 part of bis paper. 



Mr. Bockett then read a paper " On a new low power object glass." (See 

 page 16), for the purpose of introducing a new 4-mch objective by Mr. 

 Thomas Boss. The performance of the instrument was exemplified on a 

 variety of objects by means of several microscopes, and was pronounced 

 by all observers to be highly satisfactory. 



The president having announced that at the next meeting Mr. Burgess 

 would take up the Microscopic portion of his dissertation on Wools, 



The proceedings terminated. 



Hock Sections for the Microscope. — The rock sections may be prepared for 

 the microscope as follows : — A fragment, from a quarter to three-quarters of 

 an inch square, and of convenient thickness, is chipped ofi' the rock specimen 

 in the direction of the required section, and gi-ound down upon an iron or 

 pewter plate in a lapidary's lathe with emery, until a perfectly flat surface 

 is obtained. This surface is then woi'ked down still finer by hand 

 on a slab of black marble with less coarse emery, then upon a Water 

 of Ayr stone with water alone, and lastly finished by hand with 

 water on a slab of black marble. By these means the surface acquires a 

 sufficient polish without being contaminated with rouge or other polishing 

 powder or oil, as is sometimes the case with purchased sections of i-ocks. 

 This side of the rock is now cemented by Canada Balsam to a small piece 

 of plate glass about I5 inch square and f in. thick, which serves as a handle 

 when grinding the other side of the emery plate as before ; this grinding is 

 continued until the section is so thin as to be in danger of breaking up from 

 the roughness of the motion, upon which it is completed by further grinding 

 with emery by hand on marble, and finished first upon Water of Ayr stone 

 with water, and afterwards ui^on black marble as above described. The 

 section is now removed from the plate glass and mounted in Canada Balsam 

 on a slide, covering its upper surface with thin glass as usual, Tiie thickness 

 to which such sections need be reduced is, of course, entirely dependent upon 

 the transparency of the rock constituents, and is commonly from 1-lOOth to 

 1-lOOOth of an inch. Thin splinters of rock and powdered fragments mounted 

 in Canada Balsam vaay also be examined with advantage, but cannot replace 

 the above described sections. — Foji?ular Science Review. 



