1884.] 



MICROSCOPICAi: JOURNAL. 



175 



not, as a whole, characterized by 

 very profound treatment of the sub- 

 jects, and it is to be hoped that the 

 next annual volume of Proceedings 

 will not be regarded as representing 

 the results of American microscopi- 

 cal investigation and discovery during 

 the past year. The society undoubt- 

 edly has a place to fill, and as an as- 

 sociation of amateurs, which it essen- 

 tially is, it may exert an influence that 

 will lead to truly scientific research 

 with the microscope in the many 

 paths open to the observer. 



The society has our best wishes, 

 and will have in future, as in the 

 past, such assistance and encourage- 

 ment as it mav be within our power 

 to give. The mere fact that its meet- 

 ings and its publications tend to 

 spread abroad among people of all 

 classes a knowledge of the micro- 

 scope and its revelations, thereby 

 contributing more or less to the dis- 

 semination of knowledge, ensures our 

 earnest support. 



o 



The American Association. — 

 The meeting of this Association was 

 held in Philadelphia from the 4th to 

 the nth of September, with an at- 

 tendance of 1 ,350 registered members, 

 including a large number of members 

 of foreign scientific societies, some 

 of whom were present as delegates. 

 Among the latter were the Rev. Mr. 

 Dallinger and the venerable James 

 Glaisher, from the Royal Microscop- 

 ical Society, London, and Mr. J. C. 

 Thompson, of Liverpool, who at- 

 tended some of the meetings of Sec- 

 tion G. 



The American Association includes 

 in its membership many of the lead- 

 ing thinkers and investigators of the 

 country. It has a lai-ge membership 

 of persons who make not the slight- 

 est pretensions of scientific knowl- 

 edge, but among its Fellows, and es- 

 pecially among those who have held 

 ofiicial positions at its various meet- 

 ings, will be found some of the lead- 

 ing sclents of the country. 



The meeting which adjourned but 



a few days ago in Philadelphia was 

 characterized, as usual, by an abun- 

 dance of social recreation, but the 

 scientific papers received due atten- 

 tion. Section G, the section of his- 

 tology and microscopy, held very in- 

 teresting meetings, which will be 

 fully reported in this Journal next 

 month. So much space has already 

 been taken up with the report of the 

 Rochester meeting that it has seemed 

 best to defer more than this brief no- 

 tice of the meeting of the Association 

 until the next issue of the Journal. 

 It may be said, however, that the 

 papers presented before the Micro- 

 scopical Section, although fcM^, v\^ere 

 carefully prepared and some of them 

 of unusual interest and value. They 

 will be published in this Journal. 



It is well known to those who have 

 taken an active interest in the Asso- 

 ciation that the advisability of estab- 

 lishing a microscopical section was 

 questioned from the time the propo- 

 sition vs^as first made. Experience 

 seems to have shown very clearly 

 that by far the greater number of pa- 

 pers brought before the section of 

 Histology and Microscopy are of a 

 nature to interest the biologists, and 

 while a comparatively small number 

 seem properly to belong strictly to a 

 microscopical section, it appeal's that 

 even these w^ould find appropriate 

 places in other sections. In view of 

 these facts the question of changing 

 the section, and making it subordi- 

 nate to one of the other sections, was 

 brought forward at one of the meet- 

 ings of the section and freely dis- 

 cussed . While a few members 

 strongly favored the present arrange- 

 ment, which, indeed, possesses cer- 

 tain features to commend it, a larger 

 number were of the opinion that in an 

 association representing all branches 

 of scientific study the microscope finds 

 so many applications that it is not 

 desirable to maintain a special sec- 

 tion for purely microscopical papers. 



It is probable, therefore, that after 

 next year the present microscopical 

 section w^ill either be made a sub- 



