800 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 



Dr. Hebb also read the following extracts from letters received from 

 Mr. M. J. Allan, of Geelong : " If yon thought the remaining half-dozen 

 mounts would be of interest to the members of your Society, I should be 

 glad if you would exhibit them and dispose of them in the following 

 manner, if it should meet with your approval — one slide each might be 

 given to any working member, who would undertake to send me in return 

 a slide containing an object of interest, or failing this, if your Society 

 has a cabinet in which contributions of microscopic subjects are kept, 

 I should be very pleased if you consider the mounts worthy of a place in 

 your Society's cabinet. I will leave this matter entirely in your hands. 

 I should also be pleased if any of your members could oblige me with a 

 small quantity of cleaned diatoms suitable for group mounting." 



" About four years ago I designed a variable eye-piece giving three 

 magnifying powers, it also magnifies the field in the same ratio ; this is 

 a great advantage in working with low powers, the whole of the object 

 being always in view. If you thought it would be of interest to the 

 workers in your Society I would send one, if you would kindly undertake 

 to give a demonstration at one of your meetings, and return it." 



In another letter he writes : " Will you kindly inform the Fellows 

 of your Society that I greatly appreciate their vote of thanks, and shall 

 be pleased to forward any subject that I consider would be of special 

 interest to them." 



And in reference to the slides mentioned above he says : " I would 

 be glad if you would kindly draw the attention of Members to two of 

 the mounts, as I should like to know the opinion of those interested in 

 that class of work. I refer to a mount of Moss in fluid which should be 

 viewed with a dark -ground illumination, the other a flower also mounted 

 in fluid ; these are treated by a method, so far as I know, entirely my 

 own. The flower before being treated was quite opaque, the treatment 

 not only preserves the object but makes it transparent, so that all parts 

 of interest can be examined under the Microscope. This is also a fine 

 subject for dark-ground illumination." 



In a further letter Mr. Allan says : " I am also forwarding one slide of 

 Trockodota eggs mounted in fluid ; this mount is for the Society's cabinet 

 and will complete the set. The third slide in the parcel is a mount of 

 Gorgonia spicules with sample of Gorgonia as found. I have a fairly 

 large collection of Gorgonias, but none like this, which is entirely different 

 from any I have seen, and I would be much obliged if you can have it 

 identified for me. You will notice the peculiar character of this variety 

 from the sample enclosed. It grows in large sheets, covering everything 

 in its course. I found it on an old pile of a jetty in Carlo Bay. I have 

 only found it in this one place, and so far I have not met anyone who 

 has seen this variety, and therefore I would be much obliged if you would 

 kindly make enquiry at your Meeting and inform me of the result. Should 

 it happen that it is a rare or new variety I would be pleased if your 

 Society will accept the mounts as a contribution to their Collection. Will 

 you please tell Professor Thomson I am preparing three mounts of Tro- 

 ckodota, plates and spicules, one for himself, and one each for Professor 

 R. Koehler and Professor C. Vaney, which I will forward as soon as I 

 hear of the safe arrival of the last parcel I sent." 



