1898-99. | Report of the Microscopical Section. 59 
In pursuance of this course the following work was done at 
the various meetings, somewhat in the order here given :— 
The various stages in the cleaning and mounting of diatoms, 
from the crude gathering as taken from the stones in the burn 
to the finished microscopic slide. At the following meeting 
was shown the process of taking photographic negatives of 
microscopic objects. 
Three very interesting meetings were spent in watching the 
various processes in the staining and mounting of sections. 
The plant chosen for the purpose by the operator was the 
liverwort. Specimens had been embedded in paraffin and 
then cut into sections. The sections so cut were brought to 
the meetings, when the process of putting them on the glass 
slide so as to get them to adhere, of freeing them from the 
surrounding paraffin, the staining of them, and finally the 
mounting in balsam so as to be fit objects for examination 
under the microscope, were fully shown. 
At following meetings the life-history of mosses was de- 
monstrated by diagrams, by specimens shown under the micro- 
scope, and by prints from photographic negatives. The life- 
history of ferns and their allies was in like manner intended 
to have been taken up, but from want of time this subject 
had to be left over. 
It will be seen that the work of the Section during the 
session has been confined to the vegetable kingdom. Such 
work was not only profitable in affording a little knowledge 
of some of the lowly organisms of nature, but in the highest 
degree interesting. The only regret is that more of the 
members of the Society did not join in it. I cannot think 
that in a Society whose members number upwards of two 
hundred there are not more than a dozen who take an interest 
in the microscope. To all who do take such an interest I 
would appeal to assist: to the skilful and experienced to place 
some of their rich stores of knowledge at the disposal of their 
less favoured brethren, and to the unskilled and inexperienced 
to come that they may share in these stores of knowledge, 
assured of'a kindly welcome. 
The field of microscopy is large enough to admit all 
workers. I would wish, however, not to be misunderstood in 
my use of the term “field of microscopy.” I do not use it in 
