1880.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



39 



NOTES. 



— " There is nothing new under the 

 sun." Here is an extract from an appli- 

 cation made by Mr. Grubb, of Dublin, 

 for a British patent, dated July 5th, 1854; 

 " My third improvement consists in the 

 addition of a graduated sectoral arc to 

 microscopes, concentric to the plane of 

 the object in situ, on which either the 

 aforesaid prism or other suitable illumina- 

 tor is made to slide, thereby producing 

 every kind of illumination required for 

 microscopic examination ; and also the 

 means of registering or applying any 

 definite angle of illumination at plea- 

 sure." The patent was not taken out. 

 We are indebted to Mr. Sidle for this 

 extract. 



— We have received a slide of kinate of 

 quinia from Mr. A. P. Brown, of Cam- 

 den, N. J., which seems to us to be one of 

 the finest polariscope objects known. 

 The crystals radiate from centers in a 

 very regular manner, and the colors are 

 brilliant. 



Kinate of quinia is a combination of 

 kinic acid and quinia, both of which are 

 constituents of Peruvian bark. The 

 name " quinate of quinia " which has 

 been applied to these crystals is, there- 

 fore, incorrect. 



— At the annual meeting of the New 

 York Microscopical Society, the following 

 officers were elected for the ensuing year: 

 President, Romyn Hitchcock ; Vice-Pres- 

 ident, John L. Wall ; Recording Secre- 

 tary, Walter H. Mead ; Corresponding 

 Secretary, Benjannin Braman ; Treasurer, 

 Walter C. Hubbard ; Librarian and Cu- 

 rator, Dr. Frank M. Deems. 



The second annual reception was held 

 on the evening of the 6th of the present 

 month, when Mr. Hyatt, the retiring Pres- 

 ident, delivered an address, and a fine 

 exhibition of microscopic objects was 

 given. 



— Pharmacists are slowly learning the 

 value of the microscope in their business, 

 for the examination of powders, barks, 

 etc. The January number of The Drug- 

 gist and Paint and Oil Review, of 

 Chicago, gives three wood-cuts, repre- 

 senting the appearance, under the micro- 

 scope, of sections of Alstofiia constricta 

 and A. scholaris. 



— There has been considerable discus- 

 sion in the English Medical Press and 



Circular, regarding the paraboloid. Dr. 

 James Edmunds claims to have invented 

 a new kind of a paraboloid which he has 

 named the " immersion paraboloid." It 

 was described before the Quekett Club 

 about two years ago, and Dr. Edmunds' 

 name has been attached to it by Dr. 

 Beale, in his work on the microscope. 

 So far as we can understand the matter, 

 the so-called Edmunds paraboloid is pre- 

 cisely the same in principle as one which 

 was made by Mr. Wenham over twenty 

 years ago, and it is to be hoped that Dr. 

 Edmunds will not sacrifice his reputation 

 by permitting his name to be attached to 

 the instrument hereafter. 



—Mr. W. H. Bulloch, of Chicago, who 

 is well known to our readers as a manu- 

 facturer of microscopes, has received the 

 Medal of Superiority from the American 

 Institute, of this city, for his " Congress " 

 stand, exhibited at the Annual Exhibition 

 of 1879. 



— New Yorkers, and those who visit the 

 city, will be pleased to learn that Mr. Wm. 

 Wales, the maker of objectives, has open- 

 ed an office in this city, where he can be 

 seen at any time. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



[This column is freely open to all who desire in- 

 formation upon any subject connected with micros- 

 copy. It is hoped that the readers will reply promptly 

 to the questions which are asked.] 



QUESTIONS. 



3. What is a " duplex " objective, so- 

 called } A. L. W. 



4. What is the advantage, if any, in a 

 wide body-tube on the microscope over a 

 narrow one, each having the standard size 

 opening at the bottom ? If the light comes 

 up in a conical pencil from the objective 

 to the eye-piece, must not the base of the 

 cone be of the same diameter in each ? 



A. L. W. 



ANSWERS. 



(i.) W. M. inquires "what is the highest 

 magnifying power that has been obtained 

 with a microscope ? " I do not know, but 

 I have obtained 80.000 X v\-ith Tolles' J-. 

 inch and ^-inch solid eye-piece, with 

 Tolles' amplifier. If any one has obtained 

 more, let him reply. 



Of course, I have nothing to say of the 

 utility of such magnification. 



Carl Reddott. 



