1890.] MICROSCOnCAL JOURNAL. 199 



microscope. In Chicago recently the court refused to probate the al- 

 leged will of Louisa A. Jerome because the signature was shown to be 

 a forgery beyond a doubt. Bromide enlargements made of an actual 

 signature and the forgery were shown, and the differences in style and 

 writing were plain. Prof. Ewell exhibited these enlargements, and the 

 unnatural stops of the pen and shading to fill out the letters were easily 

 distinguished. 



Mr. G. S. Hopkins, of Cornell University, read a paper on " The 

 Structure of the Stomach oi Amla calva." 



The last paper of the forenoon was read by W. W. Rowlee, of Ithaca, 

 N. Y. , on " Imbedding and Septioning Mature Seeds by the Paraffin 

 Method." 



The following members signed the roll as present: George E. Fell, 

 of Buffalo; T. J. Burrill, of Champaign, 111. ; C. C. Mellor, of Pitts- 

 burg ; W. P. Manton, F. W. Mann, Albert Landsbery, George W. 

 Rice, and E. L. Shurly, all of Detroit. A. C. Gruhlke and Edward 

 Bausch, of Rochester; A. F. Bartges and V. A. Latham, of Ann 

 Arbor; G. S. Woolman, of New 'York; W. H. Seaman, of Wash- 

 ington; J. D. Cox, of Cincinnati ; W. J. Prentice, J. O. Stillson, of 

 Indianapolis, Ind. ; John A. Miller, of Buffalo ; M. B. Thomas, of 

 Ithaca ; Stuart H. Perry, of Pontiac ; W. W. Rowlee, of Ithaca ; 

 Simon H. Gage, of Ithaca ; J. J. B. Hatfield, of Indianapolis ; Ira 

 W. Lewis, of Dixon, 111. ; A. C. Mercer, of Syracuse ; E. W. Claypole, 

 of Akron, Ohio ; Grant S. Hopkins, of Ithaca ; D. wS. Kellicott, of 

 Columbus: F. W. Kuhne and wife, of Fort Wayne; Lyman Deck, of 

 Salamanca', N. Y. ; H. G. Wales, of Philadelphia, and E. H. Griffith, 

 of Fairport, N. Y. 



tup:sday afternoon. 



The session was opened with a discussion on the "Proposed Stand- 

 ing Committee on Medico-Legal Microscopy," by Prof. Ewell, of 

 Chicago. The Professor began the discussion by declaring that the 

 microscope was by no means the simple instrument usually imagined. 

 On the contrary he stated that it was an exceedingly difficult instru- 

 ment to handle. Some of the pointed stories about the microscope are 

 the strongest points in favor of a medico-legal committee, as this would 

 have a tendency to stop the circulation of stories exaggerating the pow- 

 ers of the microscope. He called attention to an article in a scientific 

 paper telling how the brain-matter found in a Chicago sewer was iden- 

 tified as coming from Dr. Cronin's head. No one had previously heard 

 of Dr. Cronin's brains being exposed until the autopsy. This Dr. 

 Ewell deprecated in the highest degree. To assume for the micro- 

 scope a position of infallibility, from a medical stand-point, is an ab- 

 surdity, and goes a long way toward injuring the general standard of 

 the profession. 



Dr. Frank L. James, Prof. Seaman, Mr. H. L. Tolnian, Dr. Still- 

 son, and Prof. Claypole were in favor of such a committee to correct 

 these wrongs. Newspapers have often spoken about the identification 

 of blood by aid of the microscope, but the best microscopistsknow that 

 they cannot positively tell human blood. They can tell the difierence be- 

 tween the blood of amphibians, mammalia, and fowls. They were of 

 the opinion that the committee would do a very great work, if it could 

 curb the enthusiasm of those who over-estimate the field of the micro- 



