1891.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 251 



ture make it very individual. Can any reader inform me wiiat the ob- 

 ject described really is, and how to obtain specimens the coming spring? 

 This larva was foinid in a potato in Illinois. 



As to the physiology of these last- mentioned bodies there is assumed 

 to be none, except as marks distinguishing the species. 



The adult is believed to be a beetle of the tribe Elateridce, but this is 

 not an established fact. 



The attention of microscopists, and particularly entomologists, is in- 

 vited to the subject here so imperfectly presented. 



A Course in Microscopical Technology for Colleges of Pharmacy. 



By Dr. H. M. WHELPLEY, F. R. M. S.. 



ST. LOUIS, MO. 



The past few years have witnessed an appreciable growth in the use 

 of the microscope in drug stores. The colleges of pharmacy have not 

 been slow to realize the situation, for we find that microscopy consti- 

 tutes a part of the curriculum in nearly all of the teaching colleges of 

 pharmacy. ■ Juuging from the information given in the various annual 

 catalogues, there exists quite a diversity of plans for instructing phar- 

 maceutical students in the use of the microscope. The following out- 

 line is given, not as the only serviceable plan, but as one which has 

 proven of value in the past. Like all systems for education in special 

 branches of study, it is not perfect, and I hope that discussion may fol- 

 low this paper and result in adding to the efficiency of the plan. I 

 believe that the instructions in microscopy at a college of pharmacy 

 should not be confined to stiictly pharmaceutical microscopy, but 

 should give such, information as will enable the student to manipulate 

 the instrument in any other vocation of life. 



Li order to base the knowledge of microscopy on a solid scientific 

 foundation, it is essential that tlie students have an understanding of the 

 principles of optics that apply to microscopy. A special lecture on 

 this subject, illustrated with black-board drawings or stereopticon 

 \ievvs, is tai more valuable than book study. In fact, I find but little 

 use for text-books in teaching microscopy. 



Following the lecture on optics should come one of practice with the 

 simple microscope. This will initiate the students into the mysteries 

 of magnified objects, and teach them to appreciate the relation between 

 objects as seen by aid of the naked eye and those that ai-e magnified. 

 Several kinds of simple microscopes should be used. 



Next comes the compound microscope. As a physician studies the 

 anatomv and physiology of the human body, so should the student be 

 taught the anatomy and physiology of the microscope. The stand, with 

 a consideration of its various parts, is first in order. Then follows the 

 optical apparatus. 



It is essential to teach the students how to sit at the table, and how 

 to place the instrument so that the most work can be accomplished with 

 the least discomfort. Habits must be formed early in the practice. 



Only low powers are suitable for the first lessons. The use of trans- 

 mitted light can be followed by reflected light. 



Never give the students very small or unfamiliar objects until they 



