The MiCRosCot'ii;. 45 



Now, as I have already said, the cell is the ultimate consti' 

 tuent of every living organism, and a knowledge of the cell is 

 the foundation of all biological science; it is, therefore, unneces- 

 sary for me to insist any longer upon the necessity of Cytology 

 as a foundation for all ulterial biological study. 



But I must also call attention to the fact that organisms pel''- 

 form their functions under two conditions, one normal and the 

 other abnormal or pathological. Now as the functions of an 

 organ or of the whole living being are merely the resultant of 

 the combined functions of the constituents of that organ or being, 

 and these constituents are ultimately the cells, it becomes ap- 

 parent that Cytology is as necessary to the pathologist as it is to 

 the biologist. If medicine is ever to be organized upon a scien- 

 tific basis, it certainly must be founded on Cytology, for the 

 pathological state of an organ results from the pathological state 

 of the cells that compose the organ. Cytology, therefore, is 

 above all necessary to the student of medicine. 



Let us no\V see what should be required of our candidates for 

 the study of medicine or of general biology. It would require 

 two years of preparation, and in the first year the student should 

 pursue: 1. A course of experimental physics, two sessions. 2. 

 A course of general chemistry, two sessions. 3. The elements 

 of botany, one session. 4. The elements of Zoology, one session. 



In the second year the programme should be as follows: 1. 

 Cytology and general histology. 2. Comparative morphology 

 of animals. 3. Anatomy consisting of: a. Human anatomy, 

 two sessions, b. Human physiology, two sessions. c. Bio- 

 chemistry of man, one session, d. Psychology, one session. 



NOTE ON CAJEPUT BALSAM. 



* 1)R EDWARD GRAY. 



CAJEPUT-BALSAM is a new thing in the armament of the 

 microscopist, and its object is to curtail the process of 

 mounting by doing away with the use of absolute alcohol 

 and oil of cloves. Its origin is due to Dr A. C. Stokes the 

 lEditor of The Microscope, who suggested to the writer to make 

 trial of the article. As a clearing agent the oil of cajeput has 

 deserved a wider use than it has obtained. Davis, in his " Prac- 

 tical Microscopy," states that one volume of it absorbs eleven 



