4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



rately with the black coloured spines of the dorsal fin, and the men 

 who go out to fish with hand nets in the shallow sand are in constant 

 terror of them, a sting from one being enough to render a person 

 hors de combat for three weeks. When received on the hand, the 

 arm swells enormously to the shoulder, and a feverish state is induced 

 which prevents all work. 



There were also exhibited specimens of a small crustacean, My sis 

 chamaelepn (J. V. Thompson), a common estuarian species often 

 found far up rivers. When the river Leannan was low last summer 

 they existed in countless millions. Yarrell says in his "British 

 Fishes" that this species occasionally inhabits fresh water. 



PAPERS READ. 



I. — On a simple Method of mounting Objects for microscopic 

 Examination. 



By Mr. Peter Cameron. 



Most entomologists who have had occasion to mount dissections 

 of insect structure for microscopical examination must have felt the 

 inconvenience accruing from the ordinary method, inasmuch as it 

 necessitates the formation of two distinct collections — the dissection 

 being kept in one place, and the insect from which the dissection 

 was made in another. When it is added that, as a rule, a Codding- 

 ton lens is amply sufficient to determine the structure of the various 

 organs used in classification, or in the determination of species, — e.g., 

 the mouth organs, legs, anal appendages &c, it is obvious that a 

 method of mounting dissections which enables the dissection to be 

 placed alongside the insect, is one worthy of attention. Such a 

 method I purpose bringing under the notice of the members of our 

 Society this evening. 



Some years ago I commenced mounting the larger dissections by 

 gumming them on slips of cardboard, but this I found to be attended 

 with certain disadvantages — it could only be used with large objects, 

 and they became sooner or later obscure^l with dust, while also only 

 the under side could be seen. The last objection was the most serious, 

 but it was overcome in this way — by punching a round or square 

 hole in a slip of cardboard, then gumming a cover glass on the 

 lower side, the object being gummed on the upper side of the cover 

 glass. This process was further unproved by fixing a cover glass 

 over the object, which was thus made dust proof. For mounting 



