294 ° THE MICROSCOPICAL NEWS. 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Att Notes and Queries should be sent to Mr. George E. Davis, 
The Willows, Fallowfield, Manchester, before the 16th of 
each month, 
CHOLERA.—Dr. Thuillet of the Pasteur Scientific Mission has 
died at Alexandria of this disease. 
Tue GINGER BEER PLant.—Mr. Thomas Bolton writes to say 
he has a good stock of this plant should any of our readers require 
it. 
MicroscopicaL LaBeLs.—We have received some labels of a 
new kind from Mr. E. P. Quinn, which promise to be of much use 
to microscopical mounters. We should like to see a little more 
information given on the labels of the slides we occasionally 
purchase. 
A STICKLEBACK’s Nest.—We have received from Mr. Bolton a 
closely-printed drochure of 11 pages upon the above subject, 
illustrated with four plates. It is a very interesting sketch of the 
habits of this little inhabitant of our ponds and rivers. 
BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HIsToRY AND MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 
—The Annual Report and Transactions of this Society has appeared 
since our last issue. It forms a volume of 133 pages and several 
beautiful plates. The President’s address is full of interest, an 
abstract of which appears in this number. 
Funci.—The following is extracted from the Manchester City 
News :— 
“ Sir,—Would some of your correspondents kindly enlighten us 
as to the best way to get rid of a troublesome pest in the shape of 
what I call fungus, which seems peculiar to a part of my garden, 
and grows rampant, penetrating through nine-inch brickwork, 
between ceiling and floor above, quite through paper on the floor, 
and through Brussels carpet, forming into a mushroom-like mass 
under the hollow part of a fender, which in the first instance of my 
wife’s discovery was quite fast to the floor by the growth of the 
vegetable. I may explain that the fungus only seems to grow in 
one particular spot of a few yards in extent. Thinking the applica- 
tion of heat in the affected part would destroy it, we had fixed in 
the cellar below a good-sized eagle range, with an iron bend leading 
into the flue of a chimney passing through the floor of the room 
where the growth was. On opening the flue the bricksetter found 
