| L V, PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOl MTV. 



m on the subject, and iii say whether the; ; would give t] 

 0] ii iei signed on their behalf by the President ami Secre- 





.Mr. Hopkinson then proposed the adoption of the Memorial by the 

 . and thai it In' formally signed by the President and Secretaries. 

 Ali'. Heron A 1 1< n seconded the proposal, and the motion was carried 

 by general consent. 



Mr. T. J. Smith, on behalf of .Mr. F. W. Watson Baker, said he 

 had been desired to bring to the notice of the Society models of micro- 

 scopic fields <>!' bacteria, which had been carefully prepared by Dr. <'has. 

 Leo Birmingham, of Westport, Ireland. The models had been made 

 with a view io their value when microscopic specimens "f bacteria ■• 

 lid available. 



Mr. E. Niemeyer said that, at the invitation of the Royal Microscopi- 

 cal Society, he wished to bring to their notice Mr, C. Reichert's " Dark 

 Ground Illuminator with Arrangement for Centring on a Plain Stage" ; 

 In' would not lake ii]> time by explaining all the advantages of this con- 

 denser, bin would limit himself to making a few remarks only. The 

 condenser is centred by means of a sliding clamp arrangement which 

 liis into holes in the stage, and can be taken away and laid on one side 

 oi' he replaced on the stage without having to be re-centred. It is pro- 

 vided with a circular diaphragm with several apertures and dark stops. 

 The advantage is that it can be used with any kind of lamp, and be 

 centred in a few minutes, and take no longer to exhibit a specimen 

 under dark ground illumination than an ordinary microscopic demon- 

 stration. 



The President accorded the thanks of the Society to Mr. Watson 

 Baker and to Mr. Niemeyer for their communications. 



Mr. Barnard described an apparatus for disintegrating bacteria and 

 other organic cells. 



The President remarked that it was a most ingenious instrument, 

 hut he would like to ask what really was the advantage of such an 

 apparatus over the very old and simple method of grinding up one's 

 material with sand ? It seemed to him that so simple and efficacious a 

 method might be preferable to the use of what appeared to be a some- 

 what complicated instrument. 



Mr. Barnard replied that in the full communication which would 



appear in the Transactions of the Society he had attempted to explain 



• of his disintegrating apparatus overanv method in which 



sand.or any similar material is used. The chief advantages are that 



' "} temperature is entirely obviated, as the process of disintegra- 

 tion is practically frictionless. Secondly, in his experience there was no 

 apparatus in which sand was used where it was possible to avoid serious 

 disintegration of the containing vessel itself, resulting in contamination 

 "I 'he cell-juice. Then, finally, the sand had to he removed, which 



