1900J MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 15 



wax and tallow darkened with lamp-black can be used 

 instead. 



The dissecting-dishes themselves can be obtained in 

 many different forms from the opticians. A very useful 

 one can be manufactured at home from a piece of gutta- 

 percha, as suggested by Dr. Carpenter. A piece of gutta- 

 percha of suitable size and thickness is warmed until it 

 it sufficiently flexible, and then the four sides are turned 

 up to make a dish somewhat similar in appearance to, but 

 of course muchsmaller, than an ordinary photographer's 

 developing-dish. One corner can be shaped into a spout 

 for emptying. 



Very useful for small dissections are the flat glass cap- 

 sules sold at from $1.00 to $1.50 the dozen. These are 

 hollow cells ground in square solid blocks of glass, with 

 a piece of plain glass lying on the top as a cover. They 

 are not only useful for dissecting, but form convenient 

 receptacles for stains, clearing solutions, &c, as a thin 

 film forms between the capsule and the cover when the 

 latter is in place, and keeps the contents from evaporat- 

 ing. For staining sections, however, we have found an 

 ordinary artist's porcelain palette, with welled divisions, 

 as useful as anything, and the white back-ground is often 

 of service. 



BIOLOGICAL NOTES. 



L. H. PAMMEL. 



An Interesting Soil Organism. — Dr. W. C. Sturgis 

 (Trans. Royal Phil, Soc. 191: 147-169 pi. 14-16) gives 

 an interesting account of a soil bacillus, the B. hortulensis 

 Sturg. which is closely allied to B. megatherium. It is 

 characterized by its large size and its marked predilection 

 for acid saccharine culture media. The cheesy growth 

 on agar becomes gelatinous when transferred to saccha- 

 rosc-gelatino ard the viscus slime on potato produces 



