12 



THE AMERICAN MONTHLY 



[January, 



beautiful, and the shortness of focus 

 gave it a steadiness and convenience 

 in use that the merest tyro could ap- 

 preciate. The few possessors of the ^- 

 inch pocket glasses esteem them be- 

 yond prize. 



Samuel Wells. 



After a life of constant activity .and 

 conscientious devotion to his work, 

 Mr. Tolles has left behind him noth- 

 ing but •well-earned fame. His mem- 

 ory will live fresh in the thoughts of 

 all who kne^v him, and after the pres- 

 ent generation has passed away there 

 w^ill still be the results of his earnest, 

 thoughtful life to make his fame en- 

 dure. His has been a life worth liv- 

 ing, and we trust his reward is great. 



EDITORIAL. 



Expanding the Blow Fly's Tongue. 



If the head of a living fly be cut oft' 

 the tongue will usually retract ; pres- 

 sure on the head will expand the 

 tongue, but unless it be secured by 

 some means before the pressure on 

 the head is released it is apt to wholly 

 or partly retract again. If only the 

 tip is wanted, it is easily secured by 

 placing the severed head on a clean 

 slip and pressing it with a needle till 

 the tongue is fully expanded, when a 

 drop of turpentine is applied, a cover 

 laid on the tongue, and a clip applied 

 before the pressure is removed from 

 the tongue. To secure the whole 

 tongue, split one end of a small stick 

 for an inch or so, and holding the 

 split open by a knife-blade, place the 

 severed head in the cleft with the top 

 down\vard, and, "withdrawing the 

 knife-blade, allow the stick to close 

 upon the head, when it will fully dis- 

 tend the tongue. Now^ dip the head 

 and tongue in turpentine and leave it 

 immersed for a few days, when it 

 \vill be found well cleaned, still per- 

 fectly distended, and can be released 

 from the stick or cut from the head 

 without danger of its collapsing. 

 Mounted in a cell in balsam it "is a 

 truly beautiful object. 



C. M. VORCE. 



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 Editor, P. O. Box 630, Washington, D. C. 



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 advance. All subscriptions begin with the January 

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Special Notice. — Attention is 

 particularly called to the conditions 

 of subscription for the current year, 

 which, as already announced, must 

 be paid in advance. Also to the 

 change in price after the ist of April 

 from $1 to $1.50. We trust that 

 none of our former subscribers -will 

 defer payment and then complain 

 that they do not, as heretofore, re- 

 ceive the Journal. Having estab- 

 lished a rule it must act impartially, 

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The Journal for the Year. — 

 During the year a series of articles 

 will be published, the first of which 

 will appear in the February number, 

 on Microscopical Technic, which will 

 doubtless be of no little value to many 

 readers. They will embrace full in- 

 structions for preparing and mounting 

 specimens of all kinds, directions for 

 using the microscope in ordinary 

 work and also for purposes of exhibi- 

 tion and display, an explanation of 

 the more useful accessories and the 

 methods of using them, together with 

 many hints useful not only to the be- 

 ginner, but also to others. These 

 articles taken together will almost 

 constitute a text-book on the micro- 

 scope. While elementary they v^dll 

 be concise, and the Editor will per- 

 sonally vouch for the reliability of 

 every method described. They will 

 not be compilations, but the result of 

 individual experience. 



