i56 



REVIE'WS. 



of the Board of Trustees was held, at which it was deter- 

 mined to reissue the first number of ' The Lens/ with such 

 changes as might appear warranted, and to resume imme- 

 diately the scientific meetings of the society. 



" In accordance with this action, the first scientific meeting 

 was held on December 8, 1871." 



The number before us contains several original articles, 

 one or two reprints, together with the reports of the pro- 

 ceedings of the State Microscopical Society and the 

 Academy of Sciences, and a few pages of notes and mis- 

 cellanies. 



The first article, by Professor H. L. Smith, contains an 

 elaborate " Conspectus of the Families and Genera of the 

 Diatomacese,^' which we cannot, of course, pretend to criti- 

 cise now, but which bears traces of great labour, since it 

 includes " as admissible, or among the synonyms, the name 

 of every genus hitherto constituted." Mr. Babcock gives a 

 list of the pheenogamous plants found within forty miles of 

 Chicago. 



The next paper is entitled, " On the Preparation and Pre- 

 servation of Sections of Soft Tissues ;" and is by Dr. Dan- 

 forth. Its object is to recommend plain, inexpensive, and 

 simple methods of research to the notice of medical practi- 

 tioners. We must confess, with every desire to see re- 

 search simplified, that some of Dr. Danforth's methods strike 

 us as rough and ready rather than precise or trustworthy. 

 One contrivance of his for collecting and bringing specimens 

 home appears, however, ingenious and useful. He calls it a 

 compound glass cell, and it consists of a thick slab of plate 

 glass, in which six deep cells are excavated. The cover con- 

 sists of another plate of glass, of the same size, and the two 

 are fastened together by a strong india-rubber band. Speci- 

 mens of pus, of expectoration, of mucus, or of solid tissues, 

 may be easily carried without being soiled or injured. 



Another article on the same subject, the first of a series, 

 intended for medical practitioners, is signed with the well- 

 known name of Dr. J. J. Woodward, of the United States 

 army. It describes the methods of preparation used in the 

 microscopical section of the Army Medical Museum, and, 

 though we need hardly say that it is thoroughly up to the 

 mark, there is nothing in the present number which would 

 be any great novelty to our readers. A long list of the Dia- 

 tomaceffi of Lake Michigan is given by Mr. Briggs, and there 

 are other articles, on " A New Fossil Echinus," on " A New 

 Method of illuminating Opaque Objects under High Powers," 

 by Dr. Johnson ; and a reprint of " A Monad's Place in 



