290 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Oct 



kept thousands, had been fed on both bananas and blood. 

 They certainly wintered in the South of England in cellars 

 and outhouses, and he believed that they lived for a year. 

 The females only bite, and their favorite dining-hour was 

 at night, though they would bite at any hour if one gave 

 any encouragement. Men might be bitten by Anopheles 

 without being conscious of the fact at the moment, but 

 the culex gnat was more blundering, and buzzed about 

 one's ears and face. Blood appeared to be necessary to 

 the maturation of the eggs, for he had never known eggs 

 laid by a female which had been fed only on bananas. 

 The great majority of the black babies in Tropical East 

 Africa were infected in childhood by the malarial para- 

 site, and it was easy, therefore, for the infection to be car- 

 ried to any white man. In conclusion, Major Ross show- 

 ed a plan of Sierra Leone indicating with spots the places 

 in which the larvse of Anopheles had been found. The 

 method of reducing the prevalence of malaria was, of 

 course, to destroy the places for the growth of the larvae 

 of the mosquitoes by a proper system of surface drainage. 

 — Eng. Mech. and World of Science. 



The "London" Microscope. 



Messrs. R. and J. Beck, Ltd., are just introducing a 

 new microscope which they say "is the most important 

 move we have made in microscopy for 15 years." The in- 

 strument is on the accepted foreign model and equal in all 

 respects, at the same time being vastly cheaper in price. 



The base and pillar are so designed that although the 

 Continental model has been retained, the position of the 

 inclining joint has been so placed as to give greater sta- 

 bility when the instrument is in the horizontal position, 

 whilst not interfering with its vertical rigidity. The base 

 actually rests on three feet, into which are inserted cork 

 pads to prevent scratching of the table. These can be 

 removed if desired. 



