176 The Mickoscope, 



Beale, I think, claims to have some twenty -five years old and still 

 perfect; and they require a hermetical ring, which is of doubtful 

 artistic value. 



Dammar varnish has been used in place of the balsam. This 

 has the advantage of being perfectly colorless. Yet the mounts are 

 not permanent, and one is greatly troubled with air-bubbles, which, 

 unlike those in balsam, will not disappear spontaneously. 



Hints. — Centering Specimens. — As it greatly enhances the 

 beauty of a slide if the specimen be well centered on the slip, the 

 reader will find an article by Prof. Gage in the last December num- 

 ber of this jom-nal describing a method whereby this centering can 

 be done easily and with great accuracy. 



Cleaning Glass. — Balsam, when fresh, can be removed from 

 slips and covers with turpentine used liberally. Polish with a soft 

 rag. The following mixture will be found effective w^hen the balsam 

 is dry: Potassium-bichromate, four ounces; commercial sulphuric 

 acid, four ounces; water, one pint. Slips and covers can be placed 

 in this and left indefinitely. Even new glassware, apparently clean, 

 Avill be improved by treating with the above. Liquor potassse and 

 other strong alkalies cannot be recommended, as they oftentimes 

 etch the glass, thus making it worthless. 



EDITORIAL. 



MAKING A MICROSCOPIST. 



In his paper before the A. S. M., on the methods of making 

 microscopical societies successful. Dr. R. H. Ward offers some very 

 pertinent suggestions which -will prove of great value to officers who 

 have the good of their society at heart. " There are," says Dr. Ward, 

 speaking of societies in general, " sonie who feel the need of such 

 associations, but in no city in America, at least, are there yet enough 

 persons qualified for the highest duties of membership to place the 

 enterprise, where its leaders would wish, fairly high among the 

 great learned bodies of the world." The question arises, what are 

 the qualifications necessary^ to make a person fit for the highest 

 duties of membership in a local society, and to place his efforts 

 above the stigma of dilettantism ? Probably in no country in the 

 world is the microscope so generally owned and employed as in the 

 United States, but again, we believe, it w^ould be difficult to find a 

 land where its use is put to so little pui-pose as with us. To own a 

 high priced microscope and numerous accessories, does not make the 



