THE MICROSCOPE. 89 



are brought about by ofificiousness of the surgeon and his injurious 

 remedies, I firmly believe." 



Concerning lesions of the cornea I fully concur with Dr. S,; 

 sins against poor inflamed eyes are oftenest those of commission; 

 would they were of omission, nature would have a better chance. — 

 Cincinnati Lancet and Clinic, April ly. 



The San Francisco Microscopical Society is discussing the 

 value of a test for the genuineness ot signatures by microscopic 

 examinations, which has been proposed by Dr. J. H. Wythe. Dr, 

 Wythe maintains that every man's hand-writing is infallibly distin- 

 guished by three characteristics, that may be detected by the micro- 

 scope while they escape the eye, which he calls the rhythm of form, 

 dependent on habit or organization; the rhythm of progress, or the 

 involuntary rhythm, seen as a wavy line or irregular margin of the 

 letters; and the rhythm of pressure, or alternation of light and dark 

 strokes. The proper microscopic examination of these three 

 rhythms, under a sufficient illumination of the letters, cannot fail, he 

 believes, to demonstrate the difference between a genuine and an 

 imitated signature. The correctness of his conclusions having been 

 disputed, Dr. Wythe made an address on the subject at a special 

 meeting of the society, and exhibited specimens of writing in sup- 

 port of his views. 



The Detection of Coffee Adulterants. — It is said that 

 over three million pounds of chicory are imported into the United 

 States annually, to be used in the adulteration of coffee. Dandelion 

 root is also largely used. A British chemist states that these sub- 

 stances are readily deprived of color by a weak solution of chloride 

 of lime (hypochlorite), and that this agent has very little action on 

 the coffee. When this method is adopted, a portion of the coffee 

 should be gently boiled a short time in water, with a little carbonate 

 of soda, so as to remove extractives as much as possible; after sub- 

 sidence the liquor should be poured off and the residue washed with 

 distilled water. When this has been sufficiently done, a weak solu- 

 tion of the hypochlorite of lime is to be added and allowed to re- 

 main, with occasional stirring, until decoloration has token place, 

 which will probably be in two or three hours. The coffee will then 

 form a dark stratum at the bottom of Uie glass, and the chicory a 

 light and almost white stratum floating above it, and showing a clear 

 and sharp line of separation. — Med. and Surg. Reporter. 



