330 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1397 



continued bright at least in the !N'W. till 3 :45 

 A.M., and probably later till the dawn blotted 

 it out. Auroral pencils and sharp streamers 

 being notably absent there was nothing to 

 detract from the splendor of the great cur- 

 tains. 



On the following two nights there may 

 have been auroras behind the clouds. On that 

 of the 4th a moderate display with some 

 pretty streamer action at about 3 a.m. was 

 visible all night from Mt. Washington. The 

 following two nights were cloudy. Then an- 

 other display occurred. At 7:42 p.m. on the 

 7th a smooth auroral arch covered most of the 

 sky up to the pole-star (45°) at Carter Notch, 

 but by 7:57 there was but a low arch. The 

 maximum with some streamers occurred ap- 

 parently at about 10:30 p.m. The aurora was 

 visible at other times throughout the night. 

 On the evening of the 8th a faint arch broken 

 by streamers in the NNW. was visible ; and on 

 the following evening there seemed to be a 

 faint arch. 



Charles F. Brooks 



Silver Lake, N. H. 



THE COCCID.ffi OF CEYLON 



Entomologists are indebted to Mr. E. E. 

 Green for by far the most ambitiously con- 

 ceived and most admirably executed contri- 

 bution to the knowledge of the Coccidae or 

 scale insects that has ever been made — the 

 " Coccidae of Ceylon." This work, which is 

 still incomplete, has been issued in parts and 

 the final part would have appeared long ago 

 but for the interference of the war. I am 

 informed by Mr. Green that as matters now 

 stand the long-hoped-for appearance of this 

 final volume seems indefinitely postponed be- 

 cause of the enormously increased costs of 

 printing. The only hope that he may be able 

 to proceed with its publication at all lies in 

 the possibility of obtaining adequate assur- 

 ance that the entire issue can be sold. 



It may at first appear that a work which 

 deals with but a limited aspect of the fauna 

 of a comparatively remote island such as Cey- 

 lon can have but little interest for Americans. 

 Yet such is decidedly not the case with this 



work. Many of the species included are prac- 

 tically cosmopolitan and the ever present pos- 

 sibility of the spread of others through the 

 agencies of commerce makes desirable any 

 information that can be obtained concerning 

 them. The Coccidse of Ceylon is indispensable 

 to any one who is at all seriously interested in 

 the scale insects. Its completion is a matter 

 in which all students of the Coccidae should 

 take a personal interest. 



The price of the final part has been set at 

 3 pounds, which is the actual cost of publi- 

 cation, and of the entire series of five parts 

 at 8 pounds. To those who are familiar with 

 the work the price will not seem in the slightest 

 degree excessive. Mr. Green says: 



If I could get definite promises of support from 

 a considerable number of prospective purchasers, 

 I should feel justified in going ahead at once. 



It is sincerely to be hoped that these prom- 

 ises may be forthcoming. Correspondence 

 should be addressed to Mr. E. E. Green, Way's 

 End, Camberley, Surrey, England. 



G. F. Ferris 



Stanford University, Calip. 



a method of protecting microscopic 

 sections from mechanical injury 



Those who have to deal with classes using 

 chiefly microscopic slides, especially of em- 

 bryos, will appreciate the fact that most of 

 the damage to sections comes not from break- 

 ing of the slide but as the result of pressure 

 on the cover glass. Such damage would not 

 be possible but for the fact that most of the 

 balsam remains fluid, even after many years, 

 and consequently offers no firm support to 

 delicate structures. If only some firm trans- 

 parent substance could be found in which the 

 sections might be imbedded the defect result- 

 ing from the fluid nature of the balsam might 

 be counteracted and the tissues kept in per- 

 fect condition for successive classes. 



Celloidin sections fulfill most if not all of 

 the mechanical requirements, but are unsuit- 

 able because of the great amount of time re- 

 quired for cutting and mounting serially. 

 However, these considerations led to the de- 

 velopment of the following process which com- 

 bines all of the advantages of the paraffine 



