146 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [June, 



it will be fair to assign to him the liighest honor within the gift 

 of the society instead of again entrusting to him this burden 

 which he so willingly and so patiently bears. And, further, it is 

 suggested that his successor ought either to understand that he 

 will also be honored in due time as a return for his labors, or else 

 a salary of at least $500 should attach to the office. The Ameri- 

 can Association for Advancement of Science pays its secretary 

 $1,500 in addition to giving him the services of a clerk the en- 

 tire year. Let the microscopists make some return for such serv- 

 ices and not complain of delays even after having done so. 



As to still further enlarging the proceedings ancl issuing periodi- 

 cal numbers so as to bring out a part only of the papers with 

 more promptness, we shall have little to say. Probably it would 

 be inferred that whatever we might say was due to a dislike for 

 the competition of a new periodical. But before the society de- 

 cides to set up a microscopical periodical in place of its annual 

 proceedings it would do well to consider many phases of periodi- 

 cal publishing of which it is now ignorant and to listen to the 

 views of men who have actually had experience with periodicals 

 in other than microscopical lines, since the same facts and opinions 

 are applicable here. 



MICROSCOPICAL MANIPILATION. 



Poisoning Protoplasm with Quinine. — Quinine has been 

 found to destroy amceboid movement. Qiiinadine has f the poi- 

 soning power of quinine. 



To Prepare Lignite. — ^Lacerate in carbonate of potash for 

 several davs : cut thin sections, heat them in a watch-glass until 

 they turn vellow. drop them in cold water, mount in glycerine. 



Transparent Cement. — Take 10 drachms gum dammar, 6 

 of gum mastic, 6 of dried Canada balsam, 2 fluid ounces of chloro- 

 form, and the same of turpentine ; shake until dissolved, and 

 filter. 



Using Oil-immersion Objectives, — Li using these objec- 

 tives cleanliness is important. Only a small quantity of the 

 immersion fluid (specially prepared cedar oil) should be used, 

 and it should be wiped off as soon as possible when done using. 



To remove the oil. blotting-paper should be used, and then, 

 breathing on the front lens, wipe it lightly with a piece of clean, 

 soft linen. 



In order to keep the immersion fluid unchanged it should not 

 be exposed to the air for any length of time, as exposure to the 

 air will thicken it. and so alter the refractive index. — E. Pen- 

 nock. 



Preparing Sponges, — W, R, Melly reported to the British 

 Association (1S91) the following solution for killing sponges ex- 

 tended ; 



