1881.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



79 



NOTES. 



— Mr. James L. English, Epping, Essex, 

 England, is soliciting subscriptions for a 

 work that he proposes to publish, entitled 

 "A Manual for the Preservation of the 

 Larger Fungi (Hymenomycetes) in their 

 Natural Condition, by a new and im- 

 proved method." The price is seven shil- 

 lings and six pence. The fungi prepared 

 by Mr. English have been greatly admired 

 by such eminent mycologists as the Rev. 

 M. J. Berkley and C. MuUer. 



— Messrs. J. W. Queen & Co.'s Illus- 

 trated Catalogue of Optical Instruments, 

 for 1881, contains over 180 pages, and is 

 a useful pamphlet for reference. Among 

 the articles recently introduced, we notice 

 Queen's " Tourist " Microscope, which 

 packs into a space about 6>^ by 3^ by 

 2^ inches. This instrument in its sim- 

 plest form sells for $15.00. 



— Papilio is the name of a new perio- 

 dical which is the organ of the New York 

 Entomological Club. It is devoted ex- 

 clusively to the Lepidoptera. The first 

 number was issued in January, and il- 

 lustrated with a fine colored plate. It is 

 to be issued monthly, except during two 

 midsummer months. The subscription 

 price is $2.00. 



MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETIES. 



NEW YORK, 



The Annual Reception of the New 

 York Microscopical Society, was held on 

 the evening of February 14th, at the 

 rooms of the New York Academy of 

 Sciences. The annual address was de- 

 livered by the President, Mr. Romyn 

 Hitchcock, who had chosen for his sub- 

 ject " The Relations of Science to Modem 

 Thought." At the conclusion of the ad- 

 dress many beautiful objects were shown 

 under microscopes, and explained by the 

 members ; the interest in the objects was 

 greatly enhanced by the descriptive pro- 

 gramme which accompanied the invita- 

 tions. Among them were to be seen the 

 well-known Trichina spiralis, the circu- 

 lation of the sap in the cells of Nitella and 

 Vallisneria, and a living spider revealed 

 more beauty than most persons were pre- 

 pared to find in that object. The ciliated 



cells from the gills of a clam, were shown 

 in the living condition ; the constant lash- 

 ing of their hair-like projections produced 

 currents in the water, and in the living 

 animal they thus maintain a circulation of 

 water through the gills. A fine specimen 

 of the " globigerina ooze " that was col- 

 lected from the bottom of the sea, by the 

 Challenger expedition, in 1876, was also 

 exhibited. Perhaps the most beautiful 

 objects of all, were the group of insect- 

 eggs and the slide of insect-scales and 

 diatoms, which had been arranged to 

 represent a vase of flowers with insects 

 hovering about it — a striking specimen of 

 artistic skill and patience. The circula- 

 tion of the blood through the web of a 

 frog's foot was also shown. 



At the meeting of March 4th, the Presi- 

 dent made the following report : At a 

 meeting of this Society last December, 

 Mr. H. S. Woodman exhibited some 

 peculiar objects that he had found 

 attached to stones, hoping that some 

 member might be able to give some infor- 

 mation as to its nature. Feeling an 

 interest in the subject, I requested Mr. 

 Woodman to let me have the speci- 

 mens for examination. He did so, but it 

 was only last week that I found a con- 

 venient time to study them, and I now 

 bring the subject before you. 



Viewed upon their face, as they natur- 

 ally stand upon the stones, the objects 

 appear very much like discoid diatoms 

 with coarse radiating markings, but much 

 larger than diatoms. A cluster of them 

 would make a beautiful object for the 

 cabinet. A careful examination shows 

 that their form is cup- or bowl-shaped 

 with a short pedicel. Within the white 

 outer shell, there is a spherical body of a 

 fine red color, which I take to be an ^g'g. 

 When this was examined in water and a 

 slight pressure applied on the cover-glass 

 the red contents, consisting of a granular 

 fluid and red corpuscles, somewhat larger 

 than human blood-cells, slowly exuded, 

 but as it seemed to be of an oily nature 

 it did not mix with the surrounding water. 

 The shell is granular chitinous, and not 

 very brittle. I conclude that the objects 

 are eggs, probab'.y of some insect. 



Oneida County (Utica, N. Y). 



The regular monthly meeting of this 

 Society was held at its rooms Monday 

 evening, February 28th. Dr. Smith Baker 

 read a paper on the " Microscopical Uses 

 of the Cat." The paper was a plea for 



