1897J MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL 63 



of a small grain, concave on one side and convex on the 

 other, having- a little resemblance to the body of an insect. 

 It colors purple naturally but when mixed with nitro- 

 muriatic acid g-ives a beautiful scarlet. 



New deposits of Infusorial Earth found in Europe. 

 — Some larg-e deposits of kieselgfuhr (infusoral earth) have 

 been discovered at Kissatib, near Achalzich, in the Cau- 

 casus. It occurs in strata which altog^ether are about 40ft. 

 in thickness. Some of the strata are of a snowy white, 

 while others are beautifully striped in various ways by 

 layers of oxide of iron, etc., thus resembling- marble. 

 Efforts are being- made to find a process for hardening- this 

 material, for its variety of beautiful desig-ns combined with 

 extreme lig^htness would make it a precious stone for 

 architectural purposes. White kieselg-uhr is used for a 

 variety of purposes, as in the manufacture of dynamite, 

 colours (ultramarine), matches, for isolating- purposes, etc. 

 The Kissatib, kieselg-uhr is remarkable for its purifv (3 

 percent of sand ) and whiteness. 



MICROSCOPICAL APPARATUS. 



The Microscope in Pharmacy. — The pharmacist of to- 

 day finds considerable use for the microscope; the phar- 

 macist of to-morrow will find it an indispensable accessory 

 in his business. Already a limited knovvledg-e of the use 

 of the instrument is required in the examination room, 

 and as time passes the requirements in this direction are 

 likely to be g-reatly extended. According-ly, it seems de- 

 sirable to ])oint out that the microscopical examination of- 

 substances is simply an essential step in the complete vis- 

 ual examination of those substances. Everyone realises 

 that the nearer, within certain limits, an object is broug-ht 

 to the normal eye, the larg-e r it appears and the more dis- 

 tinctly its details are apparent. When broug^ht within a 

 distance of two or three inches, however, the imag-e be- 

 comes blurred and indistinct, whilst an object held close 

 to the eye cannot be seen atall, and simply obstructs lig-ht. 



