1 86 



THE AMERICAN MONTHLY 



[October, 



greatly the certainty of finding them. 

 As the result of many experiments 

 the author recommended the follow- 

 ing methods : 



" I. If the stain to be examined is 

 upon any thin cotton, linen, silk, or 

 woolen fabric, cut out a piece about 

 one-eighth inch square, lay it upon a 

 slide previously moistened with a 

 drop of water, and let it soak for half 

 an hour or so, renewing the water 

 from time to time as it evaporates. 

 Then with a pair of needles unravel 

 or fray out the threads at the corners, 

 put on the glass cover, press it down 

 firmly, and submit to the microscope." 



" 2. If the fabric is of such a thick- 

 ness or nature that it cannot be ex- 

 amined as above, fold it through the 

 center of the stain, and with a sharp 

 knife shave off the projecting edge 

 thus made, catching upon a slide 

 moistened with water the particles re- 

 moved. After soaking a few minutes 

 — say five to ten — the powdery mass 

 will sink down through the water and 

 rest upon the slide. The cover glass 

 may now be put on and the prepara- 

 tion examined." 



A paper on College Microscopical 

 Societies, by Prof. Sarah F. Whiting, 

 pointed out the usefulness and the 

 means for sustaining such societies. 

 The microscope is used in a very 

 wide range of departments of re- 

 search ; each year the incoming class 

 introduces those having no particular 

 bent, those who have been occupied 

 for years with the dry drill of mathe- 

 matics and language ; the Micro- 

 scopical Society welcomes the fresh 

 men, and its work and exhibitions 

 stimulates them to scientific studies, 

 and opens their eyes to the per- 

 fections of nature ; they encourage 

 research outside the branches of col- 

 lege instruction. The necessary con- 

 ditions of success are pretty much the 

 same as in other societies : there must 

 be workers, opportunities such as 

 time, books and apparatus, and above 

 all persistent, painstaking work and 

 forethought on the part of living in- 

 structors. 



A very practical paper, by Prof. T. 

 H. Gage, treated the subject of 

 Catalogising, Labeling, and Storing 

 Microscopical Preparations. The 

 author said, " To the investigator 

 his specimens are the most precious 

 of his possessions, for they contain 

 the facts which he tries to interpret, 

 and they remain the same while his 

 knowledge, and hence his power of 

 interpretation increases. They thus 

 form the basis of further or more per- 

 fect knowledge ; but in order to be 

 safe guides for the student, teacher or 

 investigator, every preparation should 

 possess two things, viz. : a label and 

 a catalogue or history. The label 

 should indicate all that is known of 

 the specimen at the time of its pre- 

 paration, and all of the processes by 

 which it was treated." The card form 

 of catalogue was recommended. " The 

 cards are postal-card size, and each 

 preparation has its own card. The 

 cards mav be kept in a neat box, 

 alphabetically arranged, the cards of 

 new preparations may be added, and 

 those of discarded ones removed 

 without marring the catalogue." The 

 cabinet should possess the following 

 characters: i. Allow the slides to be 

 flat, dust and light excluded. 2. Each 

 slide should be in a separate compart- 

 ment, each end of which should be 

 grooved, or labeled to faciliate re- 

 moval of the slide. 3. Each com- 

 partment should be numbered to 

 agree with that of the slide. 4. The 

 drawers should be independent, but 

 run so close that when tipped the 

 slides are not displaced ; the drawers 

 should be numbered also. 



President McCalla's annual address 

 was delivered on the evening of 

 Tuesday, in Weber Music Hall, be- 

 fore a good audience of citizens anc 

 members of the society. He an- 

 nounced as his theme the "Verification 

 of Microscopical Observation." The 

 discourse was an able one, showing 

 a wide range of reading and accurate 

 knowledge in many branches. The 

 common bond in the national society 

 he defined thus : " We are not all 



