2 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [January, 



A Cheap Box for Slides.* 



By W. p. HAMILTON, 



SHREWSBURY, ENGLAND. 



The slide cases sold by dealers being often expensive, many persons 

 will prefer the one shown in the frontispiece, Figures i and 2. 



Make a pine box, of which the inside measurements are 7^ by 8, and 



3 in. deep. If deeper, the box becomes too large to grasp comfortably 

 in the hand. The lid should hinge on one of the 7J in. sides, and the 

 opposite side of the box should let down flat by means of a pair of hinges 

 at the bottom. Cut a number of squares of cardboard for trays, 7i by 

 7J. Then for each tray cut two half-inch strips of stoutest pasteboard, 

 71^ in. long ; three strips of the same width, 6^ in. long. With glue or 

 thick gum affix the two long and two of the short strips to the card- 

 board close to the edge, and use the remaining short piece to divide the 

 central space equally into two. The size of the spaces will be 6J by 

 3!^, and each tray will hold a dozen slides. My own box, 3 in. deep, 

 holds 24 of these trays, capable of accommodating 288 slides, and the 

 cost of the whole is a little over one dollar, or less than one-fifth for the 

 same amount of accommodation in boxes sold for the purpose. 



The cardboard and pasteboard must be cut with a knife, not with 

 scissors ; if gum is used it must be well dissolved, strained, and very 

 thick, and each tray as it is made must be placed under a weight, one 

 on the top of another. If the thickness of the pasteboard is not enough 

 to furnish depth for the slides containing objects mounted in raised cells, 

 it can be increased by adding a thickness of cardboard, or even another 

 of pasteboard. 



An Inexpensive Reagent Block. 



By Prof. J. H. PILLSBURY, 



NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 



A frequently expressed need of some convenient and inexpensive 

 block or case in which to place the reagents and apparatus used in the 

 biological laboratories, leads me to describe the form I have used for 

 some time. (Frontispiece, figure 3.) 



It is a plain whitewood block, 15 c. m. square and 4 c. m. thick. On 

 the upper side of this three grooves are cut, each 15 c. m. deep. The 

 first is I c. m. from the edge and i c. m, wide. The second is i c. m. 

 from it and 3.5 c. m. wide. The third is 1 c. m. from it and 2 c. m. 

 wide. Into one end there is glued a closely-fitted block i c. m. long, 

 and in the other end one 5 c. m. long, leaving a trough for slides about 

 90 c. m. long. In the place where these last blocks is glued is bored a 

 hole 1.5 c. m. in diameter and i c. m. deep, into which tightly fits a 

 paper pill box for covers. The remainder of the block is provided with 

 two rows of 5 holes, each 2 c. m. in diameter and 3.5 c. m. deep, for 

 reagent phials. The first groove is used for razor, and the second for 

 pencils, pipette, forceps, etc. The block is easily made ; costs very 

 little ; is very neat in appearance, and convenient in work. 



* Science Gossip, Nov., 1889, p. 244. 



