1 14 Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 



Preston, Hamii.iox Co.. ().. July i8, 1887. 

 Mr. JJ(77'is L. Jaim's. 



Dp:ar Sir: — The July number of the Journal is to hand. I 

 am always interested in looking the Journal over critically, and 

 seldom find anything to object to seriously. In the present num- 

 ber, however, I take decided exception to the report of the Curator 

 of Microscopy. He states without qualification that "next to 

 nothing is known of the microscopic fauna and flora of our neigh- 

 borhood." He does not in the least qualify, "by me," "by most 

 people," "so far as I am aware,"' or anything of the sort. And I 

 suppose this statement passed muster of the meeting of the Society 

 and the publishing committee, on the principle that "what is every- 

 body's business is nobody's business." 



1. In reference to the microscopic fauna: I am not so well pos- 

 ted in reference to what has been done as some of the older mem- 

 bers are, but I have understood that a former president of the 

 society gained a world-wide fame for himself as an entomologist 

 by work upon a certain class of microscopic insects. I have un- 

 derstood that there is an elegant collection of spiders in the city. 

 Very much microscopic work in a special and in a miscellaneous 

 way has been done by Dr. Hunt and by others, more than I am 

 able to name, I am sure. 



2. In reference to the microscopic flora, the statement of the 

 Curator of Microscopy is not true at all. More than 40 years ago 

 Mr. Thomas G. Lea made a Catalogue of the plants of Cincinnati, 

 which has ever since been authority among botanists the world 

 over. This Catalogue embraces a list of more than 400 species of 

 Cryptogams, comprising Mosses, Hepaticaj, Lichens, Fungi — tlic 

 characters of which are microscopic to a greater or less extent — that 

 is, these plants require the use ot a compound microscope for their 

 determination. 



I have seen it stated in the Botanical Gazette, that Governor 

 J. 1). Cox is a very high authority upon Desmids and Diatoms. 



Of the microscopic order of plants there remain only then 

 not to some extent worked up, the Fresinvater Algce exclusive of 

 Desmids and Diatoms to which I have understood all along the 

 gentleman himself was devoting his attention. If he knows "next 

 to nothing" of them it is his own fault. I myself would not like 

 to state, however, that no other person knows "next to nothing" 

 concerning them. Before making such a statement I should want 



