1891.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 117 



and touch it to the drop of fresh blood, and immediately breathe upon 

 the other cover-glass and lightly place it upon the first. Just enough 

 moisture should adhere to the cover-glasses so that the blood will dift'use 

 itself over the entire surface of both. Separate the two glasses by a 

 sliding and circular motion. Allow them a few minutes to dry ; then 

 pass two or three times througii an alcohol flame, and lay them with 

 the coated side up upon a sheet of blotting-paper. With a drop-tube 

 place two or three drops of eosin solution upon each glass, spreading it 

 carefully over the whole surface ; let it remain five minutes, then wash 

 the glass by waving it in water. Place the glass again upon the blot- 

 ting-paper, with the coated side uppermost, and with a hand bulb, such 

 as dentists use to dry the cavity of the tooth, blow all the water from the 

 surface. If the water is not removed at once, it will dissolve and difl'use 

 the coloring matter and render the specimen worthless. Proceed in the 

 same way with aniline blue. Let it remain five minutes, wash and diy 

 in the same manner, and finally moimt in balsam. If properly prepared, 

 the specimen will show the red corpuscles colored a beautiful pink, and 

 the white a pale blue or light purple with several dark-blue nuclei in 

 each. — F. A. Rogers^ M. /?. , in the Microscope for Marc//, iHgi. 



Reports of the Postal Club Boxes —XII. 



By (^TEEN MAB. 



The publication of the Cole Studies having been discontinued, the 

 managers of the American Postal Microscopical Club have invited the 

 expert members of the Club to contribute a sul)stitute, in the form of 

 special boxes, accompanied by notes and illustrations of their own 

 work. Already the responses received have been generous and attest 

 the wisdom of the new departure. It was their availability which in- 

 fluenced the selection of the Cole Studies for circulation, and while the 

 high character of work done in America will doubtless maintain the 

 former standard, the fact that many of the new contributors are per- 

 sonally known to the members may add to the interest of their work 

 and increase the usefulness of the Club. A copy of the last edition of 

 Carpenter's work on the microscope will be cut up to accompany some 

 of the slides, so that contributors can select the objects contributed with 

 reference to illustrating any of the cuts or descriptions of that work. 



Box D. — Among the objects of interest recently examined was a 

 slide of ground black pepper adulterated with potato starch, which 

 latter the polariscope brings out finely, by Mr. F. T. Aschman, of Sha- 

 ron, Pa. The pepper was simply soaked in turpentine and mounted 

 in balsam, and should be viewed with a ^-inch objective, thus being a 

 very simple object to prepare for examination. Indeed, this is one of 

 the numerous objects whose study will profitably occupy any chance 

 leisure moments. Mr. Aschman says that adulteration among the spices 

 seems to be most common in black pepper, fully three-fourths of the 

 samples which lie has examined having been adulterated. The fre- 

 ([uency of adulteration is shown by the fact that ground black pepjjer 

 is cheaper than the whole grains of the same article. Potato starch, 

 however, is rather of an unusual adulterant, ground crackers, beans, 

 etc., being more frequently used. Mr. Aschman continues: " In this 



