80 



THE AMEKICAN MONTHLY. 



[April. 



cessitating the constant inhalation of glass 

 dust, shortened his days. 



' The labors of such a man entitle him 

 to the lasting esteem and gratitude of all 

 lovers of the microscope, as well as of that 

 field of investigation to which this instru- 

 ment is the indispensable portal.' 



, At a regular meeting of the State Mi- 

 croscopical Society of Illinois, held 

 March 14th, 1884, Mr. C. S. Fellows read 

 a very carefully-prepared paper on the 

 Crustacea of Lake Michigan and Vicinity, 

 illustrated by a large collection of speci- 

 mens and dissections. 



At a regular meeting held February 8th 

 Dr. H. J. Detmers gave a very interesting 

 account of a case of Glanders showing 

 the bacillus of the same, which is quite 

 similar to the Bacillus tuberculosis, but 

 larger. He had examined the discharges 

 from the diseased animal and found many 

 micrococci which were formerly supposed 

 to be the cause of glanders, but he could 

 account for these in this case, as the stable 

 in which the horses were kept was very 

 dirty. The bacillus of glanders is stained 

 by methyl violet, not by ordinary staining 

 fluids. In the course of his remarks the 

 Doctor referred to,^and showed, the ba- 

 cillus found by Prof. T. J. Burrill as the 

 cause of a disease of the roots of the straw- 

 berry plant. 



Mr. B. W. Thomas showed some slides 

 prepared by Professor Hamilton Smith, 

 mounted in his own medium. 



A committee was appointed to examine 

 and report upon the medium. We have 

 not space for the full text of the report, 

 which was signed by Messrs. B. W. 

 Thomas, Lester Curtis, H. A. Johnson, 

 H. W. Fuller, and H. J. Detmers, but it 

 is stated that the ' beads ' on Amphiplcura 

 pellucida were clearly seen, using the 

 Abbe illuminator and various objectives. 

 The report continues : — 



'The slide mounted in a yellowish me- 

 dium with a refractive index said to be 2.3 

 did not seem to present any marked supe- 

 riority over the other. Your committee 

 would expect these media, particularly 

 the colorless one, to be of great value if 

 they keep well. Their advantage in the 

 study of diatoms is obvious. We would 

 also expect them to be even more useful 

 in histology if preparations can be trans- 

 ferred to them without injury. They may 

 also be of great value in the study of bac- 

 teria. By the process of staining now- 

 necessary in the study of their structures, 

 they are shrivelled and perhaps changed 

 in other ways, and we may hope to learn 



much more about them than is now 

 known if they can be studied in these 

 media in a more natural condition.' 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



The British Journal Photographic Alma- 

 nac, and Photographer's Daily Com- 

 panion, for 1884. A complete com- 

 pendium of Photographic Art-Science. 

 Edited by W. B. Bolton. London : H. 

 Greenwood, 2 York St., W. C. (Pp. 

 260.) 



A useful compendium for the photog- 

 rapher, either amateur or professional, 

 and a book that has become very popu- 

 lar. It is full of hints for work, new (per- 

 haps not always improved) formulae, and 

 information of all kinds. One article 

 seems worthy of special mention in this 

 place, for it will doubtless be of value in 

 photo-micrography. Dr. Maddox uses 

 albumen in developing with alkaline 

 pyro. One ounce of white of egg is beaten 

 and mixed with two ounces of water. One 

 drachm of the mixture is pounded into an 

 ounce of water, and the exposed plate 

 flowed with this. In three minutes it is 

 poured off and development conducted 

 as usual. A finer surface with strong 

 half-tones is said to result from the use of 

 albumen in this way. 

 Some AlgcE of Minnesota Supposed to be 

 Poisonous. By J. C. Arthur. From 

 Bulletin Minnesota Acad. Nat. Sci., 

 vol. I. (Pamphlet, pp. 12.) 

 The algae described are Rimdaria flu- 

 itans, Cohn, and Ccelosphceriuni Kurtzin- 

 gianum, neither of which are poisonous, 

 although some persons supposed they 

 caused the death of cows and other ani- 

 mals using the water in which they were 

 abundant. 



Postal Telegraphy. Address before the 

 Board of Trade, Scranton, Pa., Novem- 

 ber 20, 1882, by J. A. Price. Scranton, 

 Pa.: M. R. Walter, publisher, 1882. 

 (Pamphlet, pp. 24.) 



Exchanges. 



[Exchanges are inserted in this cohimn without charge, 

 They will be strictly limited to mounted objects, and 

 material for mounting.] 



Will exchange various mounts of crystals for other 

 slides, and material for mounting. 



JAMES E. WHITNEY, 



Rochester, N. Y. 



Wanted — Physiological and Pathological prepara- 

 tions in exchange for Gorgonias, Starches, Micro- 

 fongi. Vegetable Hairs, &c. 



W. R. MANDEVILLE, M. D., 



154 Canal St., New Orleai s. La. 



