NOTES AND QUERIES. 203 
illumination, could be made at a cost of 13d., and the light would 
be much purer than from any oil lamp. At the close of the paper 
Mr. Braham exhibited numerous objects; coloured backgrounds, 
illuminated from an ordinary lamp, greatly assisted in the observa- 
tion of details and markings. 
CHAR#aAS GRAMINIS.—The Clitheroe catterpillars, which were 
sent us by Mr. Pilling, of Blackburn, arrived as we were going to 
press with our last number. They were without doubt specimens 
of the Chareas graminis, or the Cerapterix graminis of Curtis. 
We placed them in our vivarium with products from the garden, 
lettuce leaves, bean, pea, currant, gooseberry, and cabbage leaves, 
but the next day not one was attacked ; when, however, for these 
delicacies we substituted a freshly cut turf of grass, the creatures 
“set to” as if they had been kept without food for a month, soon 
demolishing the whole of the green portion. 
Upon this subject Mr. W. E. Axon read a paper before the 
United Field Naturalists, at Greenfield, on June roth, which was 
published in the AZanchester City News for June 25th. 
Insect DissEcTIoNs.—Will any of your correspondents tell me 
if there is any work specially treating on this subject, and on their 
preparation for examination under the microscope? I wish to 
know what are the instruments to be used, say to dissect and 
mount a crane-fly, and what powers to employ, whether a compound 
or simple microscope.—G. 7. /. 
Desy’s IMPROVED GROWING SLIDE.—M. Deby has found that 
some operators have made a difficulty of constructing slides on his 
former pattern, he therefore publishes a much more simple device, 
a description of which we extract from the Journal of the Royal 
Microscopical Society. Take an ordinary glass slip, with a circular 
hole (say half an inch or more in diameter) in its centre, lay this 
slip on an ordinary glass slide, not perforated. ‘Then grease the 
top of the perforated slide just a little way round the circular hole, 
and join the two slips of glass by means of two small rubber rings. 
The object is placed on a thin cover glass somewhat larger than 
the hole in the slide; it is then covered with a thin glass cover one- 
fourth of an inch in diameter, and the whole turned down and 
fastened to the slide by the adherence of the grease. When not 
under observation the slide is laid flat in a shallow plate with water 
just above the junction line of the two slips of glass. 
