1887.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 205 
analytical results, as above stated, we are of opinion that the two samples of 
ice water are unfit for drinking purposes on account of the large quantities 
of organic suspended matter they contain.’ One of the samples was from 
Hakodate ice, the other from Tientsin, China ; but the examiners did not know 
that ! 
Japan is a country that is advancing in many ways, but much of the pro- 
gress we hear of is notreal. This is not the place to consider the subject at 
length, but the analyses referred to above may be taken as fair samples of 
much that is done here, and the unwillingness to acknowledge a mistake, or 
change a decision made in error, has led to many amusing, but sometimes 
very annoying, incidents. The occasional persistence of Japanese govern- 
ment officers in maintaining what they know to be wrong, even in trivial 
matters, is almost incredible. The matter of the Kobe ice is a case in point. 
The writer’s examinations led to results that were unquestionable, and the 
Japanese examinations were utterly valueless, as shown by their own report. 
There was not a single indication of contamination discovered by them. 
The microscopical examination, made ina few moments (if, indeed, it was 
made at all), was a farce, and unworthy of serious attention. Yet the native 
results of twenty minutes’ work cannot be overthrown. Thus we see the 
high estimation in which scientific work is held here, and also an indication 
of the character of the native analytical work in two important cities. 
Yoxouama, SeZt. 7¢h, 1887. 
Reminiscences and notes on recent progress. 
By ROMYN HITCHCOCK. 
Our last letter was written in Yokohama. Since then we have returned 
to Osaka, and find two numbers of the JouRNAL, some numbers of the 
Journ. Royal Micr. Soc., and a lot of other reading matter of various kinds. 
Prof. Osborn is certainly giving a great deal of time and labor to the prep- 
aration of articles that should be highly valued by many readers. The His- 
tological Studies of the Cray-fish, for example, will serve as an admirable 
guide to the student. Dr. L. C. Stevens seems to have compiled his Key to 
the Rotifera with intelligence and care, and it will be a welcome aid to many 
a beginner in a field of study as yet but little cultivated in the United States. 
On the whole there seems to be considerable and constantly increasing activ- 
ity in microscopical work at home, of which the JourNAL is a fair index. 
Looking at the subject from afar, where no paper can reach one in less than 
about a month after it is printed, it is some satisfaction to think that at least 
a portion of the interest and advancement we see is due to the establishment 
of this JOURNAL eight years ago. 
Probably there are not many who have observed the recent gradual but 
steady progress, or have had as good opportunities to do so as the writer has 
done. Eight years ago Mr. Zentmayer was almost the only American maker 
of microscopes with wide and well-established reputation. The establish- 
ment of the Amer. Journ. Micr. d} Pop. Science aroused the interest of 
a large number of amateurs, some of whom have since become famous for 
their skill in microscopical manipulation. At this time Mr. Bulloch, who 
has since taken a high position for his ingenuity and skill in devising stands 
and accessories, was scarcely known outside of Chicago, and his abilities 
were first generally recognized when the present writer, then having recently 
removed from Chicago to New York, took up the pen in Mr. Bulloch’s be- 
half in the columns of the journal referred to. Mr. Gundlach, an optician 
of acknowledged ability, was better known through his photograph lenses 
