Microscopical Societies. 327 



cal Society were present, and other distinguished friends of science and 

 education. 



The exhibits, under fifty microscopes, were mostly specimens of the 

 work done by members of the Society, and many of the objects were illus- 

 trated by drawings. 



Miss Brown exhibited the anatomy of the cricket, under nine micro- 

 scopes, showing the trachea, nervous system, digestive tract, inside of 

 proventriculus, labrum, maxilla and mandibles, cornea, and a vertical sec- 

 tion of the eye. 



Miss Drury exhibited papilla; of the skin with taste-bulbs, touch-cor- 

 puscules, skin of frog, hair follicle with oil and sweat gland ; Miss Nunn, 

 section of retina, showing seven layers ; also several very interesting 

 preparations from the cray-fish, illustrating some original work not yet 

 completed. 



Miss Cummins exhibited bread and cheese mould, showing the mycelium 

 and sporangia ; Miss Whipple a section of Nuphce advena, showing stellate 

 tissue ; also interesting double-stained specimens. 



Miss Beattie showed the peristome and operculum of a moss, cells of 

 the petal of pelargonium ; Miss Cook, blood-corpuscles of newt and the 

 circulation in the stamins of Tradescaniia, also circulation in arteries and 

 capillaries of the frog's mesentery. 



Living specimens of Hydroids and Bryozoa occupied another table. 

 Two microscopes were devoted to rock-sections. The Sorby-Browning 

 micro-spectroscope, with bright line micrometer, showing absorption 

 bands in blood, attracted much attention. There were also shown micro- 

 photographs, multiple images in the beetle's eye, starch-grains of tous- 

 les-mois, with the polariscope, and a method of drawing with the camera 

 lucida. 



A table was devoted to mounting materials, and the processes of 

 preparing objects were illustrated. 



Another table was filled with specimens of the elegant illustrated vol- 

 umes from the Microscopical Library, and the journals of reference, Amer- 

 ican and Foreign. 



With this exhibition a ver\- pleasant season of microscopical work 



closed. ^ 



Marion Metcalf, Cor. Sec. 



STATE MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF ILLINOIS. 



The annual meeting was held Friday evening, April 26th ; President H. 

 W. Fuller in the chair. 



A paper on " Tactile Hairs " was read by Prof. Lester Curtis, which 

 may be summarized as follows : 



The tactile hairs, commonly called whiskers, are peculiar to carnivorous 

 animals. The growth of an ordinary hair takes place by the multiplica- 

 tion of the cells which surround the papilla, and the follicle possesses no 

 muscles of volition, or special arrangement of nerve fibers. 



