and Laboratory Methods. 2407 



A Simple Improvement of the Pillsbury Slide Box. 



After several years experience with many kinds of slide trays and cabinets 

 in the Zoological department of the University of Pennsylvania, we have returned 

 to the use of Pillsbury boxes for all slides of ordinary size. Our reasons for 

 this are that slides are rarely if ever broken in these boxes, whereas many have 

 been broken by being shaken or jarred out of position while in the trays ; the 

 boxes are more compact than trays and much less expensive ; they form con- 

 venient units which can be catalogued and placed on shelves like books to be 

 receipted for when withdrawn, and, last but not least, the boxes may lie in any 

 position or be transported to any distance without injury to the slides. 





Fig. 1. 



In our experience the most serious objection to the ordinary Pillsbury box is 

 that the lids come to fit loosely after a while and when the box is standing on end 

 drop oflf on the slightest provocation ; and to make matters worse lids become 

 interchanged so that they fit badly or not at all, thus allowing dust to enter the box ; 

 furthermore, if the box should be overturned all the slides are liable to 

 fall out. 



To obviate these difficulties some Pillsbury boxes are made with brass hinges 

 and latches, but their cost is thereby considerably increased and such hinges and 

 latches could not well be applied to boxes already in one's collection. In casting 

 about for some inexpensive device by which the lid could be hinged to each box 

 in our collection, I hit upon the simple expedient here described. This has been 



