1896.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 179 



I tlien informed tlie crowd that I claimed free entry un- 

 der Schedule A, T[ (>25, which declares free of duty. — 



"Specimens of natural history, botany, and mineralog-y 

 when imported for cabinets or as objects of science and 

 not for sale." 



But, said the oracle, these are microscopic slides and 

 not specimens of natural history. I asked Politician Clag"g"- 

 ett if he doubted their being- specimens of natural history 

 and he said he doubted it. He said, however, that if I 

 would come ag-ain in a few days they would meanwhile look 

 into the matter and decide. I remarked on the inconven- 

 ience they were putting- me to on account not of mine but 

 of their ig-norance. A brilliant clerk then quoted this part 

 of the law : 



"Microscope slides with mounted specimens of anatomy 

 as N. E. manufactured articles, twenty per centum ad 

 valorem." 



If I could not pay 35 per cent perhaps to g-et away from 

 these quibbers I would pay 20 per cent? Oh ! no. I was 

 not claiming- specimen of anatomy. 



Then decisions were soug-ht for and one made in 1892, 

 was read to me at full leng-th by the Honorable Collector 

 himself who mispronounced but one word in the feat. The 

 decision was to effect that an anatomical specimen could 

 not be encased in a g-lass slide and that to claim slides as 

 anatomical specimens would not hold. 



The Collector's law clerk apologized by saying- that there 

 were later decisions but that "they had not had time to g-et 

 them tog-ether." A new oracle next appeared and said in 

 all the sincerity of ig-norance: "These slides do not con- 

 tain the real objects, but only prints or casts, as it were, of 

 the natural history objects." Hence, slides are not free 

 under the clause cited. The Collector then looked at the 

 transverse section of a stem under a microscope and de- 

 clared it his opinion that it was only a print. He thereupon 

 moistened a rubber eraser with ink, made a print with it 

 on paper and said that was the way he supposed what he 

 had seen under the microscope was made. His oracle 



