198 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [August, 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Editor American Monthly Microscopical Jotirnal : 



Allow me to warn your readers that the slide-box figured and 

 described in July Journal, p. i66, invented by Mr. Mosely, will 

 prove a delusion and a snare to whoever tries to use it. I devised 

 and made that precise thing over twelve years ago and discarded 

 it in disgust after some months of use. The box is indeed co7n- 

 pact^ but has the important disadvantage of great liability to spill 

 the slides. One who tries it will be surprised to find how slight 

 an inclination will cause the slides to slip from their compart- 

 ments. If the box be held open in one hand while the owner 

 turns to look for something, or stoops to pick something up, it 

 will be a common experience to find a number of slides tumbling 

 about his feet. Even on a table a casual jar will start the slides, 

 and while I had mine in use I several times had a number of the 

 slides spilled out by the quick turning of a revolving table on 

 which the open box was placed. About the same time I made a 

 box with fixed compartment shelves, with the shelves stepped so 

 as to show all the labels, but this was finally discarded for the 

 same reason as the other. Then I made a box of the common 

 Piper pattern and arranged the trays to slide out in steps, like the 

 Mosely shelves ; this was easily done by fixing a pin in the top 

 and a groove in the bottom of each tray, but was not practicable 

 with a box of more than six trays, unless the trays be adjusted in 

 series of six each, and as six of the Piper trays can be readily 

 lifted at one edge by the thumb enough to let the slides in each 

 tray be seen, seriatim, without taking the trays from the box, this 

 too was abandoned as useless. If any one cares, however, to 

 make the sliding tray-box, I will send him the drawings which I 

 made to work from when I made mine. C. M. Vorce. 



MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETIES. 



Lincoln Microscope Club, Lincoln, Nebr. — Roscoe I. 

 Pound, Secretary. 



The Lincoln Microscope Club was founded December 31 , 1S91 , 

 and now has a membership of thirty, not including honorary and 

 non-resident members. Among the active members are Dr. C. E. 

 Bessey and Prof. Laurence Bruner, of the University of Nebraska. 

 Prof. Leighton, the well-known microscopist of Omaha, and 

 Dr. F. S. Billings, of the University Patho-Biological laboratory, 

 are among the honorary members. 



