336 THE NATURALIST. 



grains " which has unperceived adhered to the cuticle of the petal, this is 

 ao-ain a fine object and well repays a careful examination. Well, what is 

 to be done with this object now we have it, can it be preserved ? Oh yes. 

 We will now proceed to describe the manner in which this may be done. 

 It is attached to the glass already, well, it has to be thoroughly dried in a 

 gentle heat, in such a position that no dust can get to it, under a glass 

 shade in a warm place for instance, we then get some thin glass used for 

 " covers," (to be bought at any optician's in London), this is made perfectly 

 clean and laid over the object, a piece of green paper is then covered on 

 one side with a smooth coating of gum water and left to dry, when dry a 

 small strip is cut, in the centre a round hole is made large enough to 

 allow the object to be seen through, the gum is now slightly moistened 

 and made to attach the thin cover neatly to the slip of glass, and after 

 writing the name on the glass (or what is better, on a paper label gummed 

 on the slip) the slide is ready for the cabinet. Slides are made three 

 inches long by one inch in width, and can be had at any shop where micro- 

 scopes are sold, or may be made by the party himself. I shall, in my 

 next paper, say more on the subject of mounting in this form, which is 

 now called by microscopists " dry mounting." 



The above plan, in which the Buttercup has been described, is now to 

 be pursued with the Pelargonium; one of light pink colour, or one of a 

 deep crimson color, or both, is suitable ; here we have a very grand 

 object to examine. Here we find a network of a crimson color, of a 

 somewhat lengthy hexagonal form, the network is formed by veins in a 

 beaded form — as if formed by a number of beads, threaded so as to form 

 elongated hexagons, through these veins no doubt the coloring matter 

 circulates, or if not possessed of the power of circulating, is deposited. 

 Well, inside each of these hexagons is seen a black insect-like-looking 

 form, with lines radiating in every direction from the centre to the edge 

 of each of these hexagonal spaces, somewhat like a spider with a hundred 

 legs, in every direction around the body. 



These two objects, although common, may serve to set an amateur to 

 work in mounting the " pigment cells " of plants, the plan here described 

 being suitable for all plants, among which the " pansy " takes a prominent 

 place. 



