THE MICROSCOPE. 143 



during which time it has been employed to ring many thousands of 

 slides, and is now as "good as new." The long cork forms a very 

 convenient handle for the brush, and if care be taken to wipe it and 

 the neck of the bottle with alcohol, occasionally, they will never 

 stick together. 



It is to be noted that the flattening between glass slips, etc., is 

 only necessary in the case of objects of considerable thickness, such 

 as the fly's leg we have been preparing. All thin objects, as 

 sections of animal or vegetable tissues, etc., may be carried through 

 the alcohol and subsequent stages, in the same manner as that pur- 

 sued with the fly's wing; or, if perfectly dry, may be at once im- 

 mersed in the oil of cloves, or even mounted in the balsam, without 

 previous soaking in anything. 



And now, having brought our balsam mounts to a successful 

 completion, I must also make an ending of the present paper. In 

 future ones (if this be well received), I propose to give some practi- 

 cal hints on mounting in the dry way, both opaque and transparent 

 objects suited to that method of preparation; also on fluid mounts 

 of various sorts, and possibly others on the double staining of vege- 

 table tissues. 



Should any of my readers desire to see a balsam mount pre- 

 pared according to the foregoing directions, I shall be pleased to 

 exchange with him or her for any well prepared original slide. 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF STARCH GRAINS.* 



BY GEO. P. ANDREWS, M. D. 



IN connection with the growth of vegetation are found various 

 contrivances.for the elaboration of the nutriment required by the 

 plant. A portion have to do primarily with the immediate increase 

 in the size of the plant and the perfecting of the reproductive 

 apparatus, and are means by which the inorganic and lower organic 

 materials are carried up to higher combinations, immediately 

 available for development. Other materials are produced when 

 the pabulum supplied to the growing plant is in excess of its 

 present needs, and are stored up during the period of greatet,! 



*Read before the Griffiih Club of Microscopy. 



