102 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
me some time ago by Dr. Thos. Taylor, of the Department of Agriculture. 
This cell is very easily made, and can be built up very quickly to any de- 
sired height The substance used for this purpose is common beeswax. 
To make the cell harder, and to raise the melting-point, a slight amount 
of powdered resin is added. Both materials are heated together in a small 
porcelain dish, so as to thoroughly combine them into a homogeneous 
mass. If required for use, the dish is simply heated, and the cell is made 
in the usual way upon a turn-table. Since both turn-table and slide are 
colder than the wax, the cell becomes visible at once, and, by repeated ap- 
plications with the brush, it can be made of any required depth. If too 
high, or if too sloping towards the centre, the wax can be readily re- 
moved upon the turn-table by the application of a knife; a groove for the 
reception of the cover-glass is also very readily made. The cell is now 
ready for most purposes, and is an excellent one for mounting with 
glycerine jelly and Canada balsam. If another material oil, for instance 
is to be used which would dissolve the wax, the inside of the cell should 
first be coated with any of the usual varnishes, such as Brunswick black. 
The same varnish should also be used from the outside to seal the com- 
pleted and filled cell. I have found such cells of great utility in enclosing 
aquatic larvae. To do so satisfactorily, I make with a knife a shallow cut 
across the cell and fill the latter with water in which the larva to be pre- 
served has been placed. By gently pressing down with a cover-glass I can 
secure the still living specimen in any desired position. Now I remove 
with a piece of blotting-paper a very small quantity of the water through 
one of the cuts previously made and allow at the other cut the Pyrol igne- 
ous Acid to enter. As soon as this acid has reached the larva this dies at 
once in the position occupied at the time. The cell is now sealed in the 
usual way; but previous to doing so the sides of the two cuts are pressed 
together. 
Specimens thus treated remain unchanged fora long time; for how long 
I do not know as yet, but possibly for an indefinite time, if not exposed to 
the sunlight. 
With this method of preserving transparent aquatic larvae can be com- 
bined the staining of them at the same time. For this purpose Aniline- 
blue or Fuchsine should be used, which are soluble in water. One part 
of the color, dissolved in 200 parts distilled water, is mixed with 800 parts 
of the rectified pyroligneous acid. The modus operandi is the same. In 
the course of several hours the object has become uniformly stained, and 
can be sealed after the addition of another drop of the acid. If stained 
too dark, a current of the diluted acid will soon remedy this fault. 
Mr. Lugger also showed some very peculiar Dipterous larvae, 
received by him from the vicinity of Wood's Holl, Mass. They 
were found in tide pools, fastened to some of the long-leaved 
species of Ulva. The larvae belong to a species of Ephydra. 
