188i.] 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



13 



As these articles are intended to as- 

 sist the younger or less experienced 

 workers ^vith the microscope, the Edi- 

 tor -would be pleased to receive re- 

 quests for information I'elating to 

 mounting or manipulation from any 

 readers who may desire it. Replies 

 will be embodied in the articles in their 

 proper place, and will no doubt en- 

 hance the value of the latter. The 

 sequence of the articles on preparing 

 and mounting objects will be as fol- 

 lows : — 



I. The Apparatus and Materials 

 requii'ed for mounting. 

 II. General discussion of the dif- 

 ferent kinds of Mounting — 

 Effects of mounting media. 



III. Mounting Dry. 



IV. Mounting in Balsam. 

 V. Mounting in Fluid. 



VI. Mounting in Special Media. 



VII. The Cutting of Thin Sections. 



VIII. The Grinding of Thin Sections. 



IX. Coloring, Staining, Double 

 Staining. 



X. Capture, Killing, and Preser- 

 vation of Minute Organisms. 



Other articles ^vill be interpolated 

 in the series, as they are prepared, so 

 that there will be ample opportunity 

 to cover an extended field under the 

 general topic Microscopical Technic. 



Articles from numerous corres- 

 pondents have been promised or al- 

 ready offered for publication, and if 

 we may judge from present prospects 

 there will be no dearth of interesting 

 matter this year. 



The removal of the office of publi- 

 cation to Washington cannot but 

 prove beneficial. Washington is one 

 of the great centres of scientific work 

 in the country. It offers facilities for 

 original research, at least in some 

 directions, superior to what can be 

 found in any other city. The vast 

 collections in the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion and National Museum are al- 

 ways available for inspection and 

 critical study. The Department of 

 Agriculture affords an inexhaustible 

 source of material for the botanist 

 and entomologist ; the Army Medi- 



cal Museum contains numerous and 

 vahiable specimens and a justly cele- 

 brated library. The Library of Con- 

 gress, which now includes the library 

 of the Smithsonian Institution, is also 

 of great value. 



The opportunities for research, the 

 fine collections, and the comprehen- 

 sive libraries, have drawn many scien- 

 tific students to this city, where much 

 original and valuable work is con- 

 stantly being done. 



o . 



Important Business Change. — 

 Mr. W. H. Walmsley, for six years 

 the business manager for Messrs. R. 

 & J. Beck, in Philadelphia, has issued 

 a circular, dated January ist, in which 

 he informs the public that the Ameri- 

 can branch of the Messrs. Beck's busi- 

 ness has been purchased by the new 

 firm of W. H. Walmsley & Co., and 

 will hereafter be conducted by the 

 new firin at the same place as here- 

 tofore. 



Messrs. W. H. Walmsley & Co. 

 possess the sole and exclusive agency 

 for all the manufactures of Messrs. R. 

 & J. Beck in the United States, but 

 orders for instruments of all makers 

 will hereafter receive prompt atten- 

 tion. 



Mr. Walmsley promises his per- 

 sonal attention to all orders, as here- 

 tofore ; and, having ample capital 

 invested, he asks for the ncAv firm a 

 continuance of the liberal patronage 

 hitherto enjoyed by himself. 



The members of the new firm are 

 W. H. Walmsley, Isaac Collins, and 

 Morris Earle. The address of the 

 new firm can always be found in our 

 advertising pages. 



o 



Cutting Sections of Hairs. — 

 It is a matter of no little difficulty to 

 'obtain perfect, thin sections of hair, 

 as inany skilful operators can testify. 

 The following method, which is de- 

 scribed by Dr. P. Latteux, in his 

 "Manuel de Technique Microscopi- 

 que," seems to remove many of the 

 difficulties ordinarily met with : — 



It should be borne in mind that it 



