140 



THE AMERICAN MONTHLY 



[July. 



latest work of the foremost investigators 

 is as yet generally inaccessible, not hav- 

 ing been published in English. Any one 

 who will read Koch's latest publications 

 must be convinced of the truth of his 

 reasoning. If I can inoculate mice and 

 predict death in a given time, and there 

 is nothing in the inoculation fluid but 

 germs, then it is logical to assume that the 

 germs are the cause of the disease. The 

 speaker said that when he began his work 

 in this line he was in a state of doubt as to 

 the truth of the theory, but his own work 

 during the past few years, and his knowl- 

 edge of the work of others, had convinced 

 him of its truth, and he was confident that 

 this would be the case with any one else 

 who would take pains to carefully look 

 into the matter. 



Prof. Seaman said that the alga shown 

 by him at the last meeting, had been 

 pronounced, by the Rev. Mr. Wolle, to 

 be Pahnella Brimii. 



Dr. Caldwell alluded to some specimens 

 of urinary crystals shown by him at the 

 thirty-fifth meeting in December last, and 

 concerning which he was in doubt at the 

 time. He said that he had recently had 

 occasion to examine a specimen of urine 

 containing phosphates in excess. He 

 had acidulated the specimen by nitric 

 acid, and added excess of ammonia, and 

 produced crystals identical with those 

 shown in December. The use of acetic 

 acid and potassic hydrate produced the 

 same result. He therefore concluded that 

 the specimens exhibited in December 

 were crystalline forms of phosphates. 

 E. A. Balloch, Sccr. 



San Francisco, Cal. 



The regular semi-monthly meeting was 

 held Wednesday evening, May 26th, Dr. 

 S. M. Mouser presiding. 



Dr. Stallard exhibited some fine slides 

 illustrative of arteritis, or inflammation 

 of the arterial blood vessels. He also 

 explained at some length his method of 

 preparing the specimens. 



A letter was received from J. C. Rinn- 

 bock, of Vienna, a well-known preparer 

 of diatom mounts, inclosing two exquisite 

 specimens of his work. The first slide 

 was composed of selections from various 

 American diatomaceous deposits, and 

 the other contained over two hundred 

 selected and systematically-arranged 

 diatoms, each of a different species, from 

 the fossil deposit at Brunn, Moravia. 

 Included therein were specimens of one 

 genus and of several species which are 

 comparatively new to science, they hav- 



ing been described only very recently by 

 Cleve, and almost without exception the 

 forms on the slide were those of rare 

 and little-known diatoms. The mount 

 was, therefore, not only a fine specimen 

 of manipulative skill, but was also of 

 high scientific value. 



Prof. Hanks offered the following pre- 

 amble and resolution : — 



Whereas, It is desirable to call the 

 attention of scientific men to the new 

 field of California and to make the re- 

 sources of our State known to the world ; 

 and 



Whereas, The American Association 

 for the Advancement of Science and the 

 American Institute of Mining Engineers 

 will meet in Buffalo on the 3d of August 

 next, at which meeting it will be decided 

 where the following one shall be held; 

 and 



Whereas, It has been intimated that 

 the members of the associations men- 

 tioned would be pleased to hold a meet- 

 ing on the Pacific Coast ; therefore be it 



Resolved, That the San Francisco Mi- 

 croscopical Society appoint a committee 

 of three, and extend an invitation to all 

 scientific societies in the State to appoint 

 similar committees to meet in conference 

 and consider the propriety of extending 

 an invitation to the above-mentioned 

 associations to hold their annual meet- 

 ing of 1887 in the city of San Francisco. 



The resolutions were unanimously 

 adopted, and a committee was appointed 

 to take the matter in charge. 



A long discussion ensued regarding the 

 advisability of giving a soiree, to be de- 

 voted exclusively to the demonstration 

 of pathological subjects. The matter was 

 finally laid over for future consideration. 

 A. H. Breckenfeld, Rec. Seer. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Notes on Histological Methods, including 

 a brief consideration of the methods of 

 Pathological and Vegetable Histology, 

 and the application of the microscope 

 to Jurisprudence. By Simon H. Gage, 

 Assistant Professor of Physiology and 

 Lecturer on Microscopical Technology. 

 Ithaca, N. Y.: Andrus & Church. 

 1885-6. (Pamphlet, 8vo, pp. 56.) 

 An instructive pamphlet, comprising in 

 a small space information that every stu- 

 dent requires. It was prepared for the use 

 of students in the anatomical department 

 of Cornell University. The title fully ex- 

 presses its scope. 



