1897 THE MICROSCOPE. 29 
forms of plant life, suchas lichens, protococcus, and various 
kinds of fungus and mosses all of which are interesting 
and instructive. 
At the London Institute on Dec. 4, Mr. F. Enoch, F. L.S., 
delivered a most interesting lecture on ‘‘The Wonders 
and Romances of Insect Life’’ as portrayed in the life 
histories of some of the insects common in every London 
back garden. The fifty illustrations shown upon the 
screen were the handiwork of Mr. Enoch, each onea study 
from nature, showing the metamorphoses of the various 
insects. Many of the marvellous insect egg parasites 
have been discovered by the jecturer, who isengaged upon 
a monograph of this most interesting but neglected family. 
Excellent Paste.—This can be produced as follows: 
four parts of glueare soaked a few hours in fifteen parts 
of cold water, and moderately heated until the solution be- 
comes perfectly clear, when sixty-five parts boiling water 
are added while stirring. In another vessel thirty parts 
boiled starch are previously stirred together with twenty 
parts cold water, so that a thin, milky liquid without lumps 
results. The boiling glue solution is pored into this while 
stirring constantly and the whole is kept boiling another 
ten minutes. 
Bacteriology of the Hair.—Dr. L. Brocq (Journal of 
Cutaneous and Genito-Urinary Diseases) says that when 
the bacteriology of the hair is taken up various microbes 
are found in it. Six are, however, discovered quite con- 
stantly. These are: (1) a white fungus; (2) a yellow fun- 
gus; (3) a bacillus subtiliformis; (4) a bacillus in the form 
. of a boat, staining with difficulty; (5) aspecial micrococus, 
which Sabourand designates provisionally under the name 
of Micrococcus cutis communis; (6) the spore of malasses, 
the flask bacillus of Unna, which he calls the bacillus asci- 
formis. ‘These two microbes, which appear to bethe most 
important, are found in seborrhoics who are not attacked 
with alopecia areata. No one of these microbes would 
have the importance of a casual agent in the disease. 
