1882.J 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



219 



a. complete outfit, including a lantern for 

 illuminating objects, with a ruby glass 

 side which affords a light by which plates 

 may be developed, a long-bellows camera 

 with a conical tube to receive the micro- 

 scope body, a dozen plates for negatives 

 and a dozen for lantern transparencies. 

 The price of the outfit is $18.00. 



— A great deal has been written of late 

 in the English journals about softening 

 ■coal by soaking it in potash previous to 

 cutting sections with a knife, because the 

 " Micrographic Dictionary' " said it could 

 be done. It is not improbable that some 

 very soft coals can be readily cut after 

 soaking in potash, but it is astonishing 

 how many persons have tried to soften 

 lumps of pure carbon — solid anthracite, in 

 fact — by soaking it in potash ! 



— Now that the method of mounting 

 insect preparations without pressure is be- 

 coming popular — we hope it will result in 

 throwing the flattened and distorted ob- 

 jects now so common in the stores entirely 

 out of the market — a few words about 

 the illumination of such objects may be 

 of value. 



Although the objects are mounted as 

 transparent objects, there will always be 

 some parts which are more or less opaque, 

 especially in the larger specimens. We 

 have found much benefit from the use of 

 a condensing lens above, as for an opaque 

 object, at the same time throwing the 

 light in from below. We have a specimen 

 of Cimex, mounted in balsam by the car- 

 bolic acid process, which affords a good 

 illustration of the utility of this double 

 illumination, and we call attention to it 

 with confidence that others will find it as 

 useful as ourselves. 



MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETIES 



At a meeting of the New York Soci- 

 ety, held October 6th, which was the first 

 meeting after the summer vacation, there 

 was a very large attendance and a large 

 number of fine objects were exhibited. 

 The special subject of discussion was 

 summer experiences in collecting, and 

 several communications of interest were 

 made. President Braman, Mr. A. D. 

 Balen, Mr. Hyatt and others taking part 

 in the discussion. 



Mr. Hitchcock read a letter from Dr. 

 W. B. Carpenter, who was expected to be 

 present at this meeting, explaining the 

 cause of his absence. The Board of Ma- 



nagers afterward resolved to invite Dr. 

 Carpenter to address the Society at a spe- 

 cial meeting on the subject of the Eozoon 

 Canadense. 



A special meeting was accordingly held 

 on Tuesday evening, October loth, when 

 Dr. Carpenter gave a summary of his in- 

 vestigations on the structure of the 

 Eozoon, and exhibited specimens under 

 microscopes, and some photographs of 

 the structure, which were very instructive. 

 We will not attempt to give a full report 

 of this admirable presentation of a sub- 

 ject very difficult to explain without the 

 illustrative specimens. It may be said, 

 however, that Dr. Carpenter has lately 

 discarded the idea that the so-called 

 nummuline, or minutely tubular, layer is 

 part of the original structure of the shell, 

 although by others it is still held to be the 

 means of communication between the 

 cavities and the system of ramifying can- 

 als in the intermediate limestone. He is 

 more than ever convinced that the canal 

 system is not to b^ accounted for by any 

 process of mineralization. 



After adjournment the Society again 

 assembled atDelmonico's, on Fifth Avenue 

 where a dinner was given in honor of Dr. 

 Carpenter's visit, which was enjoyable in 

 every respect. 



After dinner President Braman arose 

 and with a few introductory remarks be- 

 gan the speech-making and proposed a 

 toast to the guest of the evening in the 

 following well-chosen words : — 



" To the clearest thought and truest 

 feeling, the minute is as grand and in- 

 structive as is the vast; for force and law 

 are as imperially active there as in the 

 system of planets and suns. 



" The minute is, as it were, the heart of 

 nature. A benediction, therefore, on that 

 instrument which, by disclosing the mi- 

 nute, brings us near to nature's heart ! 

 and long life to him who has shown to the 

 world the preeminent value of the micro- 

 scope in scientific investigation, and has 

 lucidly described so many of its marvel- 

 lous revelations ! The microscope and 

 its revelations : — Dr. William B. Car- 

 penter." 



Dr. Carpenter's response is printed on 

 page 203. Following this Mr. A. A. Julien 

 responded to "The Royal Microscopical 

 Society of London. The society which 

 leads the world in the branch of study 

 which it represents." Mr. J. D. Hyatt 

 proposed a toast to Prof. E. Abbe, to 

 which Mr. Hitchcock was called upon to 

 espond. Prof. Samuel Lockwood was 



