178 



PROCEEDINGS. 



December 23rd, 1870 — Chairman, Dr. Lionel S. Beale, F.R.S. 



President. 



The following donations to the Club were announced :• — 



" Land and Water" (weekly) from the Editor. 



the Publisher. 



Mr. Bennett. 

 Mr.M. C.Cooke. 

 Mr. Jackson. 



" The Monthly Microscopical Journal" 

 <c Science Gossip," 



X ollQO ... . • . . * . ... 



50 Slides . . ... ... ... •» 



— OilUL'S * * ... ••• ••• ••• 



The thanks of the Club were returned to the donors. 



The following gentlemen wereballotted for and duly elected members of the 

 Club :— Mr. Eobert William Atkinson, Mr. John Childers Crisp, Mr. George 

 M. Dawson, Mr. William Alfred Duck, Mr. John Charles Goldsmith, Mr. 

 Edward Histed, .Mr. Eobert King, Dr. G. W. Royston Pigott, M.A., and Mr. 

 Joseph Alfred Smith. 



Mr. T. C. White read a paper upon "Making Sections of Hard Tissues." 

 The thanks of the Club were unanimously offered to Mr. White for his paper. 

 Mr. James Smith inquired whether Mr. White obtained the sections suffi- 

 ciently fine to enable them to be mounted without polishing, also whether the 

 sections were ground on both sides at once. 



Mr. White said, in reply, that he placed the sections loose between the plates 

 of ground glass, and both sides were ground at the same time ; by using plates 

 of glass which had been much worn, a beautiful polish could be given to the 

 sections, which could be transferred to a slide and mounted in Canada balsam. 

 If, however, the balsam was too hot there was great danger of the specimen 

 being cracked by the heat. 



Dr. Lionel Beale said that Mr. White's process was certainly a great im- 

 provement upon the ordinary method of making sections of bone and other hard 

 tissues. He could recollect the time when sections used to be ground down 

 upon the slate, and the finger was employed for the purpose of holding the 

 specimen. When a portion of the cuticle had been ground away your own 

 sensations told you that the process was completed. There was one part of the 

 plan, besides that which had been mentioned, which needed to be considered ; 

 for, in addition to ascertaining the character of the hard texture, it was very 

 desirable to find out also the anatomy of the soft tissues which were found 

 immediately in contact with the hard structure. To prepare sections which 

 would properly show both together was a problem of some difficulty, but it 



