42 JOURNAL OF THE [July> 



mate focus to be obtained almost instantly, and to prevent the 

 accidental crushing of a slide or cover-glass by the objective, in 

 focusing. 



Mr. Norris announced that through the kindness of Mrs. Ash- 

 burner, he had come into the possession of a number of exquisite 

 slides, mounted by the late Prof. Ashburner, and comprising a 

 number of preparations of the celebrated " original Santa 

 Monica " find. No better disposition could be made of these, 

 Mr, Norris thought, than to distribute them among the members 

 of the society, and this he proceeded to do. As appropriate 

 mementoes of a departed friend, as evidences of his rare skill as 

 a microscopist, and as the last remaining examples of mounts 

 from the remarkable fragment whose history has been so closely 

 connected with that of the society, these slides will be considered 

 treasures by their fortunate possessors. 



Specimens of rich diatomaceous earths from near San Pedro, 

 and from near Santa Monica, collected by Mrs. Bush, of San 

 Jose, were also handed in by Mr. Norris. 



A. H. Breckenfeld, Recording Secretary. 



EDITORIAL. 



Although not sufficiently acquainted with the difficult, and at 

 present much examined and much disputed subject of the com- 

 pound eye, to be able to endorse all the interpretations of Mr. 

 Riederer, in his article in this number of this Journal, we never- 

 theless take great pleasure in stating that his sections of the 

 compound eye of Vanessa lo — sixty-eight sections on four slides 

 — ,exhibited before the Society, were skilfully cut and beautifully 

 stained and mounted. 



The illustrations of his article were drawn by means of the 

 prism, directly from his slides, and, it is hoped, give a moder- 

 ately fair representation of what was there seen. 



They who are acquainted with the nature of the compound 

 eye, will understand that the parts are, in life, all in juxtapo. 

 sition. And the divisions between cornea-facets and crystalline 

 cones, between the sclajra and the nerve-rods, and between the 

 separated layers of the retina, shown in the preparations, are 

 occasioned by the shrinkage, due to the methods of staining and 

 mounting. 



