10 THE AMEKICAN MONTHLY [January, 



jects, while others affirm as strenuously that the refractive index of bal- 

 sam is such as to obliterate features that would be brought out by other 

 media, and not only so, but that it produces an inadmissible degree of 

 shrinkage which results in distortion. As to glycerine, everybody 

 knows its liability to exceed prescribed bounds, and the readiness with 

 which it clouds objects containing lime. In the matter of cement there 

 is ample room for improvement. Two of the most valuable prepara- 

 tions in Box B are doomed because of the fallibility of the cements 

 used. One of these cements is white zinc which has chipped ofi' the 

 outside of the mount, threatening at the same time the inundation of the 

 object. The other is ringed with asphalt, or Brunswick black. Its 

 use in this instance was a misuse. The two slides which have with- 

 stood the perils of mail transit since they started out eighteen months 

 ago are ringed with King's cement, one of them being a dry mount 

 (the class most short-lived among the Club slides). 



No. I is a "vertical section through tlie apothecium of the lichen 

 Physcia stellar is ^ prepared and contributed by Rev. A. B. Hervev, 

 Taunton, Mass. Objective to be used, \. This is a widely-distributed 

 genus of lichens, and in its spore formation repi'esents a large group of 

 genera. The spores are quite similar in their form and development to 

 those of the Discomycetous fungi. They arise from the transformation 

 of the protoplasm in the fertile filaments (asci) of the apothecium. 

 They are bilocular and occur in groups of four double spores in each 

 ascus. By a careful examination of the specimen the various stages of 

 the development of the spores may be made out." 



No. 2, by F. A. Hubbard, Taunton. Bacillus tuberculosis in sputum, 

 from 3d stage. Prepared on cover-glass with Gibbs' Double Stain, ac- 

 cording to Reeves. Objectives, \ to -^^ (600 to 3,000 dia.) " The 

 tubercle bacilli are stained dark and stand out prominently, while the 

 epithelial scales, pus cells, and other microbes, such as bacilli and mi- 

 crococci have taken the violet stain." The tubercle bacillus is from ^ 

 to ^ the diameter of the red blood corpuscle. 



No. 3, prepared by W. H. Pratt, Taunton (Diatoms from Buzzard's 

 Bay) , is characterized as a very fine mount. 



No. 4, prepared by Dr. Leslie, of Canton, is a section of Epithelioma, 

 stained with carmine, and the amplification advised is from 50 to 600. 

 Pearl nests very nicely shown. 



No. 5 is the work of Dr. Peet. The subject is Deutzia gracilis^ 

 nine sections of which, including stem, leaf, petal, anther, stigma, and 

 receptacle, are double stained. 



No. 6 is prepared by Miss Drury, of Natick, the well-known instruc- 

 tor in microscopy at the Martha's Vineyard Summer Institute, and con- 

 sists of sections of Larix a?nerica7ia. Dark-ground illumination is 

 suggested to bring out the beauties of the preparation. The stain used 

 is haematoxylin. 



Miss V. A. Latham (F. R. M. S.) — This lady has recently been 

 elected to the chair of Demonstrator in Pathology in the University of 

 Michigan. Prof. Latham is the first lady who has held any office in 

 the Medical Department of the University, and has our congratulation 

 and best wishes for her success. 



