Miscellaneous. 143 



seemed, after a while, to undergo coagulation, and appeared often 

 as beautifully and finely granulated as any real "cell." 



When this mixture of myeline and serum was spread very thinly 

 over the glass slide, there often started into existence, on the addition 

 of water, small primary globules, round each of which an irregular mass 

 of granular material became gradually detached from the glass slide. 

 It at last shaped itself into a secondary globule, enclosing the primary 

 one, and constituting with it, down to the minutest details, the most 

 perfect typical " cell." In many instances the nucleolus did not fail ; 

 and the narrow white margin, so often mistaken for a cell-wall, was 

 always present. Beautiful ** mother cells " were formed in the same 

 manner. 



The next endeavour was to form ** cells " according to the second 

 mode. 



If the amorphous myeline be very thinly spread on the glass 

 slide, instead of tubes there will form bodies looking like rings. 

 They are actually double globules, the inner globule being more 

 transparent than the outer. They correspond to the inner and 

 outer substance of the above-mentioned tubes. When these are 

 left to dry, and then again acted upon with water, one portion will 

 swell out into a clear globule, enclosing the rest as " nucleus." 

 These "nuclei" are either large and single, like those of granulation- 

 corpuscles, or they are multiple, exactly like those of pus-cells. 

 Whole layers of perfect pus-corpuscles are thus formed. But, of 

 course, more comphcated shapes occur as well — among these, for in- 

 stance, many such pus-cell-like bodies enclosed within one large sphere. 



If, instead of water, serum be added to the thinly spread myeline, 

 biconcave disks will form, only generally much larger than blood- 

 corpuscles. 



** Cells " being thus merely the physical result of chemical changes, 

 they can no longer afford a last retreat to those specific forces 

 called vital. Physiology must aim at being something more than 

 the study of the functions of a variety of ultimate organic units ; 

 and pathology will gain new hope in considering that it is not really 

 condemned to be the interpreter of the many abnormities to which 

 the mysterious life of myriads of microscopical individuals seemed to 

 be liable. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



The late Mr. Joshua Alder. 



We regret to announce the death, on the 21st of January, of 

 Mr. Joshua Alder, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, at a somewhat advanced 

 age. He was a true naturalist — working diligently and carefully 

 himself in the field of marine zoology, and encouraging his fellow- 

 labourers (by all of whom he was much beloved), without any petty 

 feeling of jealousy or affectation of superiority. Mr. Alder was 

 frequently a contributor to this periodical. His departure from the 

 ranks of British naturalists was not long preceded by that of a still 



