210 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [September, 



By W. N. Preston, " On a New Mounting Table, and a Practi- 

 cal Drying Oven ?" 



By James H. Logan, " Precious Stones as Microscopic Ob- 

 jectives." 



The society met in Rochester eight years ago, and though its 

 growth has been very large since then, a large proportion of the 

 delegates seem to have pleasant recollections of their former visit. 



The meeting was an unqualified success and it is to be hoped 

 that the sixteenth annual meeting, which is to be held at Chicago 

 in August, 1S93. will prove to be an attraction for a still larger 

 number of the devotees of the science of microscopy. 



The Leeuweiilioek Microscopical Club of Manchester, Eng. 



By CHAS. W. smiley, 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 



This club seems worthy of a brief description and perhaps of 

 some imitation in its leading features. 



It was organized in 1867 by seven men, six of whom were also 

 members of the Manchester Scientific Students' Association. 

 The Club has always limited its membership to' seven — the num- 

 ber that could be conveniently accommodated at each other's 

 houses and seated round a common table, though often a guest or 

 two have been present. Its composition has always been a mat- 

 ter of great care, and its members have been selected from a wide 

 field of possible candidates with the view to representing as 

 many sciences as possible in the pursuit of which the 

 microscope is a necessary instrument. Few papers on technique 

 have been presented, and the Club proudly declares that it 

 never has listened to a paper on the resolution of dots in 

 Pleurosigma. Zoology, Botany, Geology, Physics, Chem- 

 istry, and Medicine have each been represented in the Club. 

 When a vacancy in membership has occurred through the death 

 or removal of a member the place has been filled with the idea 

 in view of giving variety to the subjects to be presented at its 

 meetings. The inability of the Club to take all comers led to 

 the organization of the Manchester Microscopical Society, of 

 which four members of the Club have been president. Very few 

 changes in membership have occurred, so that in 25 years only 

 15 ditierent persons have been members, and two of the original 

 members are still in it. It goes without saying that all the mem- 

 bers have been microscopists and scientists of standing, or they 

 would not be so prolific as to meet each other's wants for a long 

 term of years. Meetings are held on the 3d and 4th Thursdays 

 of the winter months, the member at whose house they meet 

 being responsible for the program. The topics were at first un- 

 derstood to alternate between practical microscopy (mounting, 



