ru';L'i',%'frhT?m] ^^OTES AND MEMORAKDA. 165 



The Soiree of the Old Change MicroscoDical Society, which was 

 held in the City Terminus Hotel, Cannon Street, on the 14th ult., 

 was an immense success. The programme giving a list of the objects 

 exhibited, reflects great credit on the Society, and shows how indc- 

 fatigably the Secretary and other oificers of the Society must have 

 worked in organizing tlie conversazione. 



A New Method of Adjusting the Focus of Microscopes. — At the 



meeting of the Birmingham Natural History Society on the 8th of 

 February, Mr. Thos. Fiddian, whose excellent microscoi)e lamp was 

 described in one of our early numbers, read an interesting paper on 

 the above subject. It w^ould be impossible without the aid of the 

 lithographs which accompanied Mr. Fiddian's paper to give an accu- 

 rate idea of the method of focussing which he suggests. But as the 

 pajier has been printed for circulation, any of our readers can obtain 

 it for themselves by writing to the author. 



A New Vaginicola. — Mr. F. J. Warner, of Winchester, contri- 

 butes to ' Science-Gossip ' for February an account of a species of 

 Vaginicola, which he considers to be new to science. Referring to 

 the V. valvata described and figured by Mr. Slack,* and which he 

 believes to be the only fresh-water valved vaginicola hitherto de- 

 scribed, he says that it diflers materially from the species he has 

 recently observed, in which the lorica is urceolate or vase-shaped, 

 hyaline, and terminating at the foot nearly in a point. The valve, 

 which is very delicate, and in some instances requires careful illumi- 

 nation in order to distinguish it, is attached to the side of the lorica 

 about one-third of its length from the top, and moves freely on its 

 point of attachment, moving up on the protrusion of the animal, and ' 

 immediately closing again on its withdrawing itself, which it does 

 very rapidly on being alarmed, as for instance, by a tap on the glass 

 stage or trough. The body when expanded is about /^jth of an inch 

 long, and gradually tapers from the head, which is crowned, to the 

 foot. When retracted it is pear-shaped, a slight tuft of cilia being 

 generally apparent at the broader end. The body is nearly filled 

 with gi-een graniiles, and several well-marked vacuoles are to be seen. 

 Ml". Warner gives the following as the technical description : — • 



Vaginicola (?) ; tube or lorica crystalline, urceolate about 



y^th of an inch in length, witli a valve appai'cntly formed of the same 

 substance, affixed to the side about one-third of its length from the top, 

 and moving freely on its point of attachment, closing in an inclined 

 position over the animal on its withdrawing itself into the lorica. 

 Body about ^jjth. of an inch in length, with many vacuoles, and nearly 

 filled with bright green granules. 



Hab. fresh-water on Chara, &c. 



Microscopic Teratology. — A paper on this subject was read at the 

 last meeting of the Reading Microscopical Society. It is full of novel 

 points of interest. We shall reproduce it in our next number. 



* 'Intellectual Observer," vol. ix , p. 'lOrt. 



