96 THE MICROSCOPE. [July 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



FARRANT'S MEDIUM. 



I found Carpenter's recipe in Thomas Davies' "Preparation 

 and Mounting of Microscopic Objects" about thirteen years 

 ago, and a druggist prepared for me about a pint of the solu- 

 tion. I work with it yet, though I am sometimes troubled 

 with air bubbles, but it is not my favorite medium. I find 

 that when it is overcharged with camphor, crystals will form 

 in the mounts. These are very troublesome with polarized 

 light. At that time fluids could not be sent by mail, and, not 

 wishing to pay express charges on the solution, I had it made 

 at home. I do not think that there is ground for complain- 

 ing about the prices of microscopical appliances. The instru- 

 ments will last for a lifetime, and an ounce of any solution 

 lasts, also, a long time. Then, the sale of these things must 

 be very slow ; if salt and sugar were used as sparingly as 

 microscopical apparatus, I think they would be quite as ex- 

 pensive. — P. W. G. 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS, 



Ihe Birds of Montreal. By Ernest D. Wintle. Montreal, 1893 



" Price. $1.00. 



This is a special study of the birds frequenting the island of 

 Montreal. The list is believed to be a correct and complete 

 one of all the species of birds occurring in the district. The 

 work describes 251 species and subspecies of birds, with notes 

 on each as to whether they are'" permanent residents," or those 

 that are found regularly throughout the year ; " winter visit- 

 ants" or those that occur only during the winter season, pass- 

 ing north in the spring ; " transient visitants," or those that 

 occur only during the migrations in spring and autumn ; " sum- 

 mer residents," or those that are known to breed, but which 

 depart southward before winter, and " accidental visitors" or 

 stragglers from remote districts; giving their relative abund- 

 ance, as to whether they are rare, scarce, common or abundant, 

 data of nests and eggs when found, and especially noting the 

 species that breed in the city and Mount Royal Park ; also, 

 data of migratory arrivals and departures, and other notes, all 

 of which are deduced from original observations made during 

 the past ten years. Orders may be sent to us. 



