46 THE MICROSCOPE. March 



the itch insect operator must examine carefully the parts sur- 

 rounding each pustule, when a red line or spot communicating 

 with it will be seen ; this part and not the pustule must be 

 probed with a fine pointed instrument. The operator must 

 not be disappointed by repeated failures. 



Demodex Folliculorum. — This is a parasite generally de- 

 scribed as being found in the sebaceous follicles of human 

 beings. However, it may generally be very easily found in the 

 cerumen of the ear. To see the parasite alive place a little of 

 of the cerumen on a slide, cover with castor oil and examine 

 with a quarter inch objective. Nothing answers as well as 

 castor oil for the examination of the little parasites. Glycerine 

 shrinks and kills them and some media render them too 

 transparent. 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Desmida. — One of the peculiarities of desmids is their ex- 

 ceeding symmetry, each half of the cell (for though apparently 

 double, it is really single, as is shown if a puncture is made, the 

 whole cell-contents being emptied) being identical, the same 

 number of starch-grains, if they exist, being shared equally in 

 the same relative places (the same with chlorophyll, etc.) ; 

 this bilateral arrangement is, if I may use the term, very animal- 

 like. 



These organisms are best examined in their fresh state. On 

 the slide, the cell-walls show most distinctly the interior con- 

 tei)ts, however, are not so clear. This, perhaps, is unavoidable in 

 mounted specimens. — The International Journal oj Microscopy. 



Fowls and Infection. — The transmission of diphtheria to 

 human beings from fowls is affirmed l)y Gerhardt, Debrie 

 Menard, Schrevens, and other writers. Cole reports a case in 

 Jacksonville, 111., where a sick chicken was taken into the house 

 and fondled by a child two and one-half years old. Four days 

 later the child was taken with diphtheria and died. There were 

 no other cases of the disease in the neighborhood, and the 

 affected chicken was the only source of infection. 



It is evident from the limited investigations made that diph- 



