60 



donor states in his letter that "the English thrush, starling, skylark, 

 goldfinch, and sparrow are as common around Melbourne as some of the 

 native birds, and, in fact, measures are being taken for the destruction of 

 the latter in some of tlie fruit-growing districts. Foxes are also becoming 

 numerous, and every holiday sportsmen may be seen at the railway 

 stations with either foxes strung on their backs or a brush in their hats. 

 We do not venerate Eeynard here, but shoot every one we get a chance at. 

 They are destroying too many of our ground birds, and dearly love a nice 

 young lamb. Hares and rabbits are also too numerous in some parts." 

 Mr. Keartlaud, a stranger to the Club, according to his letter, had presented 

 this collection entirely through reading the interesting accounts of these 

 meetings which have been generously accorded an important amount of 

 space in the pages of the Leeds Mercury Weekly Supplement from a very 

 early period of the Club's career. This act speaks volumes also for the 

 way in which our hon. secretaries have conveyed to the outside natural 

 history world the essence and core of the work, valuable as it is, which 

 has from time to time been accomplished. But few would be stirred 

 (with no other than the common tie of a love for nature, which knows 

 not the limits of citizenship or nationality) to present from a distant 

 land so marked a proof of the appreciation in which he held the working 

 of the Club. 



Mr. J. Phillips showed a fine specimen of a large dragon fly, taken 

 near Halifax ; also tropical beetle {Buprestis canose), from the West 

 Indies, which showed remarkably fine metallic hues. 



Meeting held in the Municipal Buildings, October 13th, 1890, Harold 

 Wager in the chair. 



THE PREPARATION OF BONE STRUCTURES FOR MICROSCOPICAL STUDY. 

 J. CHARTERS BIRCH, L.D.S. 



A brief description was given first of tooth structure, the diiference 

 between the enamel dentine and bone and the connection between them. 

 To obtain sections the tooth or bone is sawn eitlier in longitudinal or 

 transverse sections as thin as possible, using an ordinary fret saw frame, 

 with a blue steel saw. The sections are then placed between two pieces 

 of ground glass, with a little powdered pumice stone and plenty of water. 

 A rotatory motion given to the iipper glass soon reduces the sections to 

 the required thinness. They are then placed between two pieces of 

 smooth glass with a little whiting and water, and the rotatory motion 

 continued until smooth and polished. They are then immersed in a weak 

 aqueous solution of aniline dye and allowed to remain for a few 

 minutes. In the meantime clean glass sli])s and cover glasses, warm 

 them, and place on each a small quantity of Canada balsam, then taking 



