1886.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURJ^AL. 



157 



method, as I did not separate any part 

 of the fat before sohition. 



'Then came Taylor and improved 

 the old process by pouring the melted 

 fat into a porous receptacle, whereby 

 some of the free olein was taken up, 

 and his next step of cooling it slowly 

 before draining was another advance, 

 inasmuch as it allowed the readilv 

 crystallizable stearic part to separate 

 first and to hold the slower acting 

 element in mixture, which in the 

 porous receptacle was quickly de- 

 prived of its free uncrystalized olein. 



' By this means every fat, if so 

 treated, will yield a result correspond- 

 ing to the proportion of its olein to 

 its stearin and to the j^resence of other 

 fatt}' acids which afi'ect the combina- 

 tion of the olein and stearin. 



' My last modification is to combine 

 my old process of solution with Tay- 

 lor's process of draining. I first boil, 

 cool, and drain, then dissolve the 

 drained fat (now strongly crystal- 

 line) in a given proportion by weight 

 of the solvent, then allow crytalliza- 

 tion to proceed for a given time at a 

 specific temperature, and note the 

 resulting crystals. This combina- 

 tion of methods I do not know to be 

 new, but supjDose it to be. It has been 

 called Vorce's method. I think it is 

 of value in connection with Taylor's 

 methods.' 



Jottings by the Way. — Perhaps 

 it is for nothing else than the sentiment 

 of it. that we joen a few words to our 

 readers from oft' the bold eastern coast 

 of the green island of Cuba. It is 

 writing under difficulties, leaning on 

 the quarter rail just after dinner on the 

 steamer ' Colon,' about the time of 

 sunset, within plain sight of the white 

 spray thrown up here and there along 

 the shore, indeed almost within 

 sound of the breakers, and the ship 

 rolling and tossing about in the heavy 

 swell. The island is like a huge, 

 broad, spreading mountain, with bold 

 cliffs like terraces, trending away to 

 the southwest, shrouded in a heavy 

 blue mist that destroys the detail, only 



showing the contour where it joins 

 the overhanging, torn and jagged, 

 slaty clouds. The sun is setting be- 

 hind the hills, but a thickly overcast 

 sky shuts out the radiance and color 

 so often seen from the deck of an ocean 

 steamer over a quiet sea in southern 

 latitudes. 



Two evenings since there w'as a sun- 

 set scene that would inspire an artist 

 with a desire for the strongest colors 

 of Nature's laboratory, that he might 

 put them on his canvas in all their 

 brightness and transparency and gra- 

 dation of tint, with all the truth and 

 beauty of a Ruskin and Turner. 



The sun went down behind a low, 

 level bank of cloud, above which a 

 perfect flood of glorious, golden light 

 shone from the misty sky, and radi- 

 ated from the invisible source in great 

 broad bands to right and left, fading 

 away into the purple and blue above. 

 Sinking down lower and lower we 

 then saw the great red ball dip be- 

 neath the cloud just raised above the 

 horizon, and sink into the sea. Sud- 

 denly the last faint line of light dis- 

 appeared. Every eye watched it as 

 it passed away, and for many minutes 

 more was turned to the brilliant col- 

 ors in the sky above. 



All this is not microscopical in the 

 strictest sense, but the Editor is away 

 from home and he may be allowed 

 some liberties in writing. Moreover, 

 our readers may find some interest in 

 a few jottings by the way in the course 

 of our travels to and in distant lands. 

 We had almost completed arrange- 

 ments for a journey across the covui- 

 try by rail, and anticipated much 

 pleasure in meeting a number of mi- 

 croscopists on the way from New 

 York to San Francisco, as we pro- 

 posed to stop over at various points. 

 A sudden change in plans, however, 

 resulted in engaging passage by way 

 of the Isthmus of Panama. 



The change in our programme was 

 made so suddenly, and final prepara- 

 tions were so hurried, that no time 

 remained to write letters to those 

 whom we had promised to visit, in- 



