186 CORRESPONDENCE. 



Dr. Pigott seems not to have seen or recognized such fragments, 

 and, perhaps, never can do so, as they must overturn his long-cherished 

 bead theory, a fallacy in the Podura caused by broken refraction ob- 

 tained by an illumination that obscures the ribs and substitutes a bost 

 of false beaded appearances in their stead ; and it is thus attempted to 

 be shown that the so-termed spines are spurious. In the Seira Buslcii 

 only three or four of these, with sharp cut outlines, occupy the whole 

 length of the scale, more like the " Irishman's shillelah " r that Dr. 

 Pigott once tried to floor me with. Against his numerous articles on 

 this one subject I have recently said nothing, as, whatever leisure he 

 may find to pen them, I could not well spare the time to reply ; for 

 with noteworthy perseverance be has for years past written the same 

 thing again and again on this scale, with every variety of paraphrase, 

 to keep alive his darling idea. When all the permutations are at 

 length exhausted, I may perhaps come forward with the evidence. 

 At present I am indifferent, because out of all my numerous micro- 

 scopical friends, I cannot call to mind one that will uphold his views 

 in this particular. But after I called his optics in question, and con- 

 troverted his statement concerning the admission through immersion 

 lenses of larger apertures than those due to recognized theory, an 

 advocate from over the Atlantic has taken up the argument in such 

 a style, that Dr. Pigott might well exclaim, " Save me from my 

 friends ! " 



The Lepisma saccliarina was investigated by my esteemed friend, 

 the late Richard Beck, many years ago, who showed that in this object 

 spurious markings (something similar in appearance to those on Podura) 

 were formed by the crossing of oblique striae, but he never believed, 

 in consequence, that the Podura spines arose from a similar cause. 

 This oblique refractive phenomenon has been very palpably shown 

 by Mr. Hennah's experiments with glass rods. Dr. Pigott seems to 

 claim these investigations as his own. My name having been called 

 in again, I enter an appearance, lest silence should be construed into 

 acquiescence. I bide my time, till then, whether Dr. Pigott stands 

 forward either prophet-like to warn us betimes, assuming a keenness 

 of vision and discrimination far beyond his purblind fellow-mortals, 

 or, as a more congenial character, in " discharging a duty as a retired 

 physician in boldly denouncing " that which may involve a verdict of 

 human life ! I shall still trust to my own eyesight for my guidance. 



Yours very truly, 



F. H. Wenham. 



Mr. Stodder's Piemarks on Eupodisctjs Argus. 



To the Editor of the ' Monthly Microscopical Journal? 



Sir, — I am glad to find that my paper on Eupodiscus Argus has 

 excited the attention of American observers, and beg to make a few 

 remarks on Mr. Stodder's paper in the ' Lens.' 



I have already explained that my remarks had no pretensions to 

 be exhaustive of the structure of E. Argus, but I still think them 



