24 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Jan 
the oblong torn from the web was held in position by the 
varnish. J added two or three strands of the big stays 
or cords supporting the web from the tree, and then left 
the whole to dry. A few days after I poured on the cen- 
tre a little balsam dissolved in chloroform, then dropped 
a cover-glass on it, and left itto dry. The thinnest lines 
are visible, and the dirt (soot) on them more so. The 
hawsers, as I call them, show their multiple structure 
well. The lines which compose the cross threads of the 
net are smallest, but quite clear and simple. They are 
as visible in balsam as flax fibre is, and there is no tend- 
ency so far to dissolve.—F’. W. Payne, Grove Park, 8. E. 
R. & J. Beck’s New 1-14th-INcH Orn IMMERSION OB- 
- JecTIVE.—Messrs. R. & J. Beck, Limited, have sent for 
our inspection a new 1-14-inch oil immersion objective, 
The extra magnifying power over a 1-12th inch objective 
is of service in bacteriological and malarial investigation, 
whilst the price is the same. This lens is made with 
numerical apertures of 1‘0 and 1°25, and sold at $20 and 
$25 respectively. We have tested the first of these and 
can speak favorably of its performance; the corrections 
are excellent and the working distance ample, whilst the 
aperture is sufficient for the requirements mentioned, 
which do not need great aperture. We sometimes ques- 
tion if, in the reaction against objectives of high initial 
magnification without corresponding increases of aper- 
ture, we have not overlooked the advantages that mere 
magnification will give us in certain investigations—a 
magnification in excess, at any rate, of the 1-12th inch 
immersion objectives that are the highest powers now 
genérally asked for, and to which special attention there- 
fore has been given by opticians. The working distance 
certainly becomes a difficulty with higher powers, but it 
is a mistake to suppose that an objective does not de- 
teriorate in its performance when used with a high-power 
ocular to gain the needed magnification. 
