1881.] 



MICROSCOPICAL joiir:nal. 



233 



another piece of apparatus too fre- 

 quently absent from our laboratories. 

 This is inexcusable, when most ad- 

 mirable instruments for this purpose 

 are now sold by several makers. 



Zeiss' binocular eye-piece and ho- 

 mogeneous-immersion lenses should 

 also be represented. One thing more. 

 The literature, either special or gen- 

 eral, in book form or in journals, is 

 seldom found in our laboratories. 

 Every new work on the subject worth 

 the buying should find its way to the 

 students through their instructors. 

 All of the best journals on the subject 

 should be at their command. 



In the foregoing hasty sketch, I 

 have endeavored fairly to represent 

 some of the defects of our present 

 system, especially as to the furnish- 

 ing of our laboratories, and in the in- 

 stituting of my work-room I have, as 

 far as time has allowed, attempted to 

 correct their defects ; my object be- 

 ing to have a laboratory furnished 

 with the latest and the best of every- 

 thing, thus enabling anyone so in- 

 clined to pursue a line of investiga- 

 tion, which limited, private resources 

 might forbid. 



Philadelphia, November, 1881. 



EDITORIAL. 



Subscriptions. — Remittances for subscrip- 

 tion should be made by post-office money-order, by 

 ■drafts payable in New York, or in registered letters. 

 Money sent in any other way will be at the sender's 

 risk. A receipt will be immediately given for money 

 received by open mail. 



— We sincerely regret the delay in 

 the publication of this number of the 

 Journal, but it has been caused by 

 an unusual pressure of work in the 

 printing office. Only on two or three 

 occasions in the history of this paper 

 has the publication been noticeably 

 delayed beyond the regular date, the 

 15th of the month, and never, so far 

 as we remember, has it been for more 

 than three or four days. 



In sending out this, the last num- 

 ber in the year, we extend to our 

 subscribers, with so many of whom 

 we have come to feel a sort of 



acquaintance through correspon- 

 dence, and with whose handwriting 

 we are as familiar as with that of in- 

 timate friends, a cordial Christmas 

 greeting. To each and all we wish a 

 prosperous and a Happy New-Year. 

 o 



Microscopical Societies. — In 

 our next issue we will have a few 

 words to say concerning the publica- 

 tion of reports from microscopical 

 societies, since we have decided to 

 make a change next year in this re- 

 gard. In order that we may fairly in- 

 dicate, in the January number, the 

 course to be followed hereafter, we 

 would request the secretaries of those 

 societies, who desire to have their 

 proceedings noticed, to send us their 

 reports promptly. 



o 



Motion of Diatoms. — The com- 

 munication from Dr. Sternberg on 

 page 227, relative to this subject, is 

 deserving of the attention of students 

 of the diatoms. Dr. Sternberg is a 

 careful observer, and his observations 

 are not to be lightly set aside. We 

 trust he, or some other competent 

 person, will take early occasion to 

 test the correctness of his conclu- 

 sions. The photograph enclosed with 

 his article represented a diatom of 

 the genus Navicula. 



o 



To Our Readers. — In preparing 

 the Index to the second volume of 

 the Journal, which accompanies this 

 number, we have felt pleasure in ob- 

 serving the large number of articles 

 printed in the course of the year, 

 which are valuable for future refer- 

 ence. We may be pardoned for ex- 

 pressing a certain degree of satisfac- 

 tion at the present condition and 

 prospects of the Journal, since such 

 a feeling is due not alone to the re- 

 sults of our personal efforts, but more 

 particularly to the cordial support and 

 cooperation of some of the most wide- 

 ly-known and most able microsco- 

 pists in the country. In the beginning 

 we stated our desire and intention to 

 establish an American journal, and to 



