46 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



and NHzschia, also slides of Biddulpliia aurita, both selected and in 

 their natural state of chain-like growth, gathered by Captain Perry at 

 Callao. Captain Perry was anxious to ascertain whether such recent 

 gatherings would yield the same forms as those found in the guano of 

 that neighbourhood, and it is therefore worthy of observation that 

 this Biddulphia aurita is a very distinct variety from that so abundant 

 in the guano, resembling rather the modern form obtained from clean- 

 ings of Haliotis shells from California. 



Dr. Shettle described a method of rubbing down needles so as to 

 produce a cutting edge, and yet retain the sharp point, by running the 

 needle edgeways through a slice of cork, allowing such portion only of 

 the pointed edge to project as it is desirable to convert into the knife- 

 blade. The cork, with the needle thus inserted, is then firmly fixed 

 in a small hand-vice, the edge of the cork being brought to the edge 

 of the vice. The needle should then be laid upon a block of metal or 

 other hard material, and rubbed carefully with an oil-stone hone, the 

 two sides of the needle-blade being easily produced by inclining the 

 vice in a particular manner. The edge of the blade should always 

 (for convenience of rubbing) be kept in one direction, and its place 

 determined by keeping the needle much nearer one side of the vice 

 than the other. The paper also referred to a form of handle, with 

 tapering ferule, by which the knife-edged needle is very firmly fixed, 

 and by the use of which a change of needle is easily effected. 



The Oldham Microscopical Society. 



[We fear the Secretary of this club can have very little idea of the 

 difficulties which beset an Editor's path, and we fancy too that he has 

 been somewhat irregular in the discharge of his duty, for he now 

 sends us together the reports of February, March, and April meetings 

 of the body which he represents. Further, he has made no attempt 

 to reduce the reports, but has sent them in full, so that, if printed, 

 they would at least occupy eight or ten pages. We must beg of him 

 to be more moderate in future, and to send us abstracted reports, and 

 to let us have them at least earlier than four months after the date of 

 the meeting.— Ed. ' M. M. J. 'J 



On Wednesday, the 12th February, the seventh conversazione of 

 the above-named Society was held in the club-room of the Lyceum. 

 The subject of the evening being a geological one, the tables were 

 spread with a large assortment of local fossils, some of them exhibit- 

 ing internal structure, and upon the walls were hung numerous dia- 

 grams illustrative of fossil plant life generally. On Wednesday, the 

 12th March, the above Society held its eighth conversazione in the 

 club-room of the Lyceum. The attendance of members on the occasion 

 was numerous. In the course of the evening a paper was read by 

 Mr. J. Butterworth, on "The Liternal Structure of Fossil Plants," 

 the subject being illustrated by numerous well-executed diagrams, 

 and by a variety of thin sections of fossil wood, to the production of 

 which Mr. Butterworth has given special attention for many years. 

 After the paper had been read, and a careful examination made of 



