NOTES AND QUERIES. 7/3 
Lea water furnished by the New River Company was of inferior 
quality, and contained moving organisms, while that sent out by 
the East London Company was superior to the supply in previous 
month, 
In reading the above, which has been extracted from the columns 
of a London “ daily ;” it has occurred to us that microscopists 
generally are not aware how often moving organisms are to be found in 
tap water. Mr. J. Levick, of Birmingham, has found several rare 
forms in the tap water supplied by that Corporation, notably Azurea 
longispina, Triarthra longiseta, and a long list of other species. 
The paper which Mr. Levick contributed to the ‘“ Midland 
Naturalist” concludes as follows :—‘“ Possibly some who take great 
interest in the purity of the water supply of Birmingham may feel 
alarmed by this somewhat formidable list of dreadful sounding 
names of the living organisms it contains, but, perhaps it may 
help to comfort them to suggest that the presence of these 
organisms should be taken as indicative of the general good 
quality of the water than otherwise, as some of them at least are 
at home and abroad known as inhabitants of deep clean water 
only.” 
WHITE VARNISH for ringing slides may be prepared as follows :— 
one ounce of benzine, half ounce of gum damar, and white oil 
paint q.s. ; dissolve the gum damar in the benzine, and filter ; then 
add a sufficient quantity of the paint to produce a good white. I 
have used this varnish for about fifteen months, and find that it 
answers quite as well as that which is sold by the regular dealers, 
while the cost is less than a third of the price charged by them. 
The white paint may be procurred at any artists’ colourman’s.— 
Arthur J. Doherty. 
PRIZES FOR Microscopy.—At the meeting of the Royal Micro- 
scopical Society, on January r2th last, the President said that with 
regard to the offers of microscopical and research medals generously 
made by two of the members, the question had been further dis- 
cussed by the Council, and as it was not free from considerable 
difficulty, they had decided to ask the gentlemen in question to 
withdraw their offers, 
