114 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [April, 



avoided by pasting a piece of paper on the upper surface of the 

 second slide, and using that as a handle. As a killing liquid 

 Mr. Stiles generally uses a solution of corrosive sublimate 

 plus 70 per cent, alcohol plus a few drops of acetic acid^heated to 

 50° ; this passes througli the cuticle very rapidly. 



Preserving Fluid and Fixing Material. — Dr. F. Krasser 

 recommends as a preserving fluid for vegetable substances a 

 mixture of i vol. acetic acid, 3 vols, glycerin, and 10 vols, of a 

 50 per cent, solution of sodium chloride. In this solution sec- 

 tions of beet and of etiolated potato-shoots retained their struc- 

 ture and their color for nearly a year. 



Salicyl-aldehyde is a a good fixing material for chromatophores, 

 as e. g. the pigment of iiolaniim lycopersicum. For this pur- 

 pose Dr. Krasser uses a i per cent, alcoholic solution. — jfou?-. 

 Royal Micr. Soc.^ Feb.^ ^^93- 



To Cement Pieces of Cast-iron. — Take 3 oz. sal ammo- 

 niac, I oz. sublimated sulphur, i lb. cast-iron filings. Mix in a 

 mortar and keep the powder perfectly dry. When desired for 

 use mix it with 20 times its weight of clean iron filings, grind the 

 whole in a mortar, wet with water until it becomes a paste. Ap- 

 ply to the parts to be mended. It will harden after a time and 

 cement the parts firmly. 



Preparation of Larvae ofAsterias vulgaris. — Mr. G. W. 

 Field found that Kleinenlierg's picric salt gave the most satisfac- 

 tory results for killing these larv^. Flemming's, followed by 

 Merkel's fluid, gave excellent results, as did also Perenyi's fluid. Oil 

 of cedar or of origanum proved most satisfactory for clearing. — 

 Jour. Royal Micr. Soc, Red., jSpj. 



To Whiten Hands. — 5 or 6 grains of chlorinated lime dis- 

 solved in a pint of lukewarm water will whiten the hands more 

 than any other application. — j\/d. Med. jfr.^Jafi. 28, 'pj". 



BIOLOGICAL NOTES. 



Diminution of Life. — Life is believed to be a constituent of 

 matter, not a foreign force injected into it. In the carbonaceous 

 period a far greater quantity of matter was in the living condi- 

 tion than at present, say twenty times more than now. 



A Marine Biological Laboratory. — It is proposed to es- 

 tablish a Marine Biological Laboratory at Galveston, to be under 

 the control and supervision of the board of regents of the Texas 

 State University, and to be in charge of and conducted by the 

 professor of biology of the University faculty. Prof Chas. L. 

 Edwards, and Prof Allen J. Smith, of the Medical Department, 

 professor of bacteriology, pathology and microscopy. Tlie 

 quarantine buildings at the east end of the island, we understand, 

 are to be appropriated for this purpose, and remodelled and 



