204 



Journal of Applied Microscopy. 



The stopper is tapered below to a nar- 

 row point, with an opening about one 

 millimeter in diameter, while above it lies 

 a bulbous expansion which is not perfor- 

 ated. In using this bottle, there should 

 be enough of the reagent in the bottle to 

 permit a few drops to enter the lower eni 

 of the pointed tubular stopper. When 

 the stopper is taken in the hand, it is 

 easy by a little pressure of the warm 

 hand upon the thin glass of the bulbous 

 expansion to warm the air sufficiently to 

 ■drive out the exact amount of the reagent 

 desired. 



From the fact that these bottles are not 

 given in the lists of supplies for botanical 

 laboratories, I infer that they have not 

 come into general use for this purpose. 

 They have been known to chemists for 

 some time as Acid Drop bottles. 



C. E. B. 



University of Nebraska. 



One of the chief difficulties encoun- 

 tered in demonstration work with the 

 microscope in high-school classes is the 

 uncertainty as to whether the students 

 are actually looking at the structures the 

 demonstrator is speaking about. In order 

 to insure uniformity of observation, the 

 following method suggested by a physi- 

 cian in this city has been used. The 

 upper lens of the eyepiece is removed, 

 and a piece of human hair sufficiently 

 long to project from the diaphragm in 

 the eyepiece out to the center of the open- 

 ing is attached to the upper surface of 

 the diaphragm by means of a small drop 

 of mucilage or paste. This hair does not 



interfere in any way with the eyepiece, 

 and after one is a little accustomed to it, 

 it is not noticed at all. By means of it, 

 however, objects or structures can be 

 arranged so that the hair will point ex- 

 actly to the spot which it is desired the 

 student should observe. The accompany- 

 ing diagram will serve to show what is 

 meant. E. R. 



Pittsburg, H. S. 



Everyone has had occasion to complain 

 about the common balsam bottle, which 

 is always getting its cap stuck down so 

 tightly that the efforts of the impatient 

 student result in a disagreeable break. 



Broken caps are the rule, I think, with 

 balsam bottles which have been in use 

 for a month or so. Several years ago it 

 occurred to me that there was no good 

 reason why these caps should not be 

 made of metal, and casting about I found 

 a mucilage bottle cap of about the right 

 size, and mac:e a trial of it with excellent 

 results. That metal cap has outlasted 

 ever so many glass ones, and promises to 

 continue with us for many years to come. 

 I have several times called the attention 

 of dealers to this desirable improvement, 

 but thus far they have not placed any 

 metal capped balsam bottles on the 

 market. Possibly they may not be profit- 

 able for the dealers,, because they will 

 last too long, but they will be very handy 

 for the men who work in laboratories. 



C. E. B. 

 The University of Nebraska. 



The Engleman Botanical Club is mak- 

 ing efforts to secure the city, protection 

 for the St. Louis trees, many of which 

 are dying from neglect and ill use. 



Professor L. H. Pammel, of the Iowa 

 Agricultural College, is spending a part 

 of his vacation in research work at the 

 Missouri Botanical Garden. Several 

 other specialists are expecte;! soon. 



In working on the dissemination of 

 Osuea Orbata by wind, Mr. Herman von 

 Schneck of the Shaw School of Botany 

 has devised an arrangement for securing 

 a blast of wind that can be controlled, 

 varied, and measured for testing the 

 effect on plants. The machine is a fan 

 blower run by steam, and can produce a 

 current of hurricane velocity. It will 

 soon be further described by von 

 Schneck. 



The method of perserving notes on 

 cards arranged alphabetically or system- 

 atically in drawers is more cumbersome 

 than some are willing to employ; while 

 to preserve them in note books following 

 only the sequence of time in which they 

 are made is not convenient. Some work- 

 ers scratch down notes upon whatever 

 paper happens to be at hand, and then 

 cannot preserve them in any satisfactory 

 shape. A good way is to paste such notes 

 upon sheets of convenient size, say, for 

 an octavo or quarto volume, in one side 

 of which two holes have been punched. 

 The sheets can then be bound in a cover 

 by tying through with a small cord and 

 arranged according to any desired classi- 

 fication and put upon the library shelves 

 with other books where most convenient. 

 Other sheets can be put in at any time 

 in the proper place. A better way is to 

 have the uniform sheets of paper at hand, 

 and make the notes upon them directly. 



J. N. 



Missouri Botanical Gardens. 



