1897.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 47 



easily construct any other form which his fancy may de- 

 vise, or in combination with window conservatories, etc., 

 by the use of a little brains. If the simple form of tank 

 is used you will require a stand for it. This may have a 

 top of its own, or the bottom of the tank may form the 

 top. Anyhow, it is hardly necessary to say that it 

 must, before all things, be firm and steady, as a collapse 

 would be about as unpleasant a reverse of fortune as could 

 befall the tyro aquarium keeper. It is preferable to use 

 a table or stand with side bars between the legs nbout 

 half way down. 



When you are perfectly satisfied that the tank is quite 

 dry, the cement hard, and that no smell is issuing from 

 it, you can proceed to stock it, the method of which will 

 be considered in the next chapter. But before placing 

 anything in it, it should be most thoroughly cleansed by 

 washing, and then rinsed with fresh water. After this, 

 it must undergo a further process of purification by fill- 

 ing it with fresh water every few hours at first and letting 

 it soak, then fresh water at intervals of a day, until the 

 water is perfectly free from any smell, and especially 

 from any prismatic scum on the surface, which is a sure 

 indication of danger. — English Mechanic. 



We learn from the French newspapers that M. Etienne 

 will shortly introduce in the Chamber of Deputies a bill 

 introducing- the decimal subdivison of time. 



Mr. C. G. Pring-le has just returned from another botan- 

 ical journey in Mexico, where, during the past season, he 

 has secured about 20,000 herbarium specimens in the val- 

 ley of Mexico and in Cuernavaca. 



On account of his important work on Blood Test for cat- 

 tle tuberculois, which has been published in many scienti- 

 fic papers at home and abroad, Dr. Ephraim Cutter, LL. 

 D., has been invited to go to Africa to study the cattle Rin- 

 derpest, under the English government. 



