158 



THE AMERICAN MONTHLY 



[August, 



be willing to make — certainly not the 

 writer of that paragraph, for the thor- 

 oughly earnest worker is never hasty 

 to criticise the labor of his fellows. 



If Science did not hold itself so far 

 above some of its less pretentious co- 

 temporaries, in their more limited and 

 avowedly less profound departments 

 of scientific research, it would doubt- 

 less find information that would pre- 

 vent statements so injurious to the 

 prospects and discouraging to the pro- 

 moters of Atnerican scientific work in 

 their special departments. 



Upon microscopical subjects, this 

 Journal, in spite of its unpretentious 

 size and character, possesses some 

 claim to recognition even from its 

 superiors in other fields, and how- 

 ever humble it may be in the eyes of 

 those who despise ' microscopists ' as 

 a class of unscientific amateur observ- 

 ers, certain it is that no reader of this 

 Journal would have made the bold 

 assertion quoted above, or allowed it 

 to pass unchallenged. 



May we not look in future with 

 more confidence to a fair recognition 

 of American scientific work in the 

 columns of Science^ and trust that 

 the writers of reviews and criticisms 

 will hereafter not fail to recognize the 

 claims of their own countrymen. 

 o 



Postal Club Boxes. — Our re- 

 marks of two months ago concerning 

 the operations of the postal club have 

 met with a rejoinder from one of the 

 oflficers that is very satisfactory to 

 us. He writes vs^hat we can well 

 believe : ' I assuix you that the 

 work done is quite equal to that 

 needed to run an extensive and pi'of- 

 itable business. * * * Your re- 

 marks are timely. * * * There 

 are some who must go — they don't 

 help with their contributions, they 

 obstruct the workings of the club by 

 their disregard of the rules, etc' 



Box E reached us June 25th, con- 

 taining five slides. No. 3 missing : — 



I. Pleurosigma angulatum. L. 

 H. Noe. Mounted in mono-bromide 

 of naphthalim, with index of I'efrac- 



tion 1 .658. 'A one-half inch of max- 

 imum angle of (>^° •, made fifteen years 

 ago, will show the stride, and a one- 

 quai'ter inch, 135° dry, shows them 

 with the A eye-piece power 240 or 

 less.' 



2 . Spongilla , a Fresh-water Sponge 

 found in a small pond in the White 

 Mountains. Samuel Lockwood. An 

 excellent description is appended. 

 Such preparations and explanations 

 are just w^hat the club needs. The 

 mount has been damaged and re- 

 paired twice, but still enough of the 

 sponge remains for examination. 



4. Section of Tongue of an Infant' 

 showing Striated Muscular Fibre. R. 

 H. Chase. A very fair section and 

 an attractive object, without any de- 

 sci'iption. 



5. Section of Small Intestine of 

 Kitten, showing Muscular Structure. 

 Amos Seip. Sections not very per- 

 fect, and no description. 



6. Fungus found on the Upper Sur- 

 face of May-apple Leaves. Eugene 

 A. Rau. The fungus is v^cidmm 

 podophylli. This also is a well-de- 

 scribed preparation, as w^ell as a good 

 one for examination. 



NOTES. 



— The following notice from Prof. J. C. 

 Arthur deserves attention : — 



' Microscopists who make botanical ob- 

 servations should bear in mind that the 

 meetings of the Botanical Club of the A. 

 A. A. S. offer an admirable opportunity 

 for presentation of short papers, isolated 

 observations, and the discussion of minor 

 topics which may not be sufficiently 

 weighty to be brought before the biologi- 

 cal section of the Association. The meet- 

 ings are open to all interested in botany. 

 The place and time for each day will be 

 given upon the daily programme of the 

 Association.' 



— Microscopists will regret to learn that 

 owing to failing health Mr. L. R. Sexton 

 has been obliged to give up business. 

 Mr. Sexton has been favorably known to 

 microscopists for a number of years, and 

 has sold many of the productions of the 

 well-known optician, E. Gundlach. For 

 some time his health has been faihng, and 



