NovVEMBER 24, 1899. ] 
part broken up and offered in exchange for 
other materials of like nature. It will be 
known as the Allegan meteorite. 
The second meteorite to which I have re- 
ferred, is an iron, the main mass of which 
is now in the possession of Baylor Univer- 
sity, Waco, Texas. It was found early in 
1898, on Vaughn’s farm, near Mart, in Mc- 
Lennan County. The iron weighed origi- 
nally 193 pounds. The shape is an irregu- 
lar oval, some 21.5x 15x 8.5 mm. in greatest 
dimensions, with two deep pits on one side. 
It was not seen to fall and is somewhat 
oxidized exteriorly. When cut and etched 
it shows well the Widmanstatten figures, 
and the presence of numerous spots of 
troilite scarcely a millimeter in diameter. 
This will be known as the Mart iron. Both 
the iron and the Allegan stone will be ana- 
lyzed in the laboratories of the United 
States Geological Survey. 
GrorcE P. MERRILL. 
PERMANENT PREPARATIONS IN HERMETI- 
CALLY SEALED TUBES. 
THE method of keeping various animals for 
demonstration and illustration in hermetically 
sealed tubes here to be noted has been in use in 
my laboratory for several years and proven it- 
self so convenient and useful that I feel if it has 
ever been advocated before (of which I am not 
cognizant), it deserves revival, hence this 
note. 
In brief the method is as follows: Glass tub- 
ing of a size just admitting the specimen is 
selected considerably longer than the final 
sealed tube is to be. One end is closed with or 
without a foot. The tube is then filled with 
80% (or 70%) alcohol and the specimen is in- 
troduced, allowing it to drop down or carefully 
working it down the tube. Nearly all the 
alcohol is then poured off (Fig. 1). 
too delicate to admit of this must, of course, be 
kept covered with alcohol and the final tube be 
somewhat longer than necessary. The tube is 
now drawn to a point at some distance from the 
object and is broken off at the narrow neck 
SCIENCE. 
Specimens , 
771 
(Fig. 2) so as to leave as small an opening as. 
possible through which the tube can be filled up 
to or even above the shoulder of the drawn end. 
When the tube is filled the end is sealed in the 
Bunsen flame (Fig. 3). For filling the tube 
finally one needs a ‘tube-funnel’ with a long 
small end that can be inserted into the neck of’ 
the tube. 
Care must be taken to get the tube out of the 
flame before the expansion of the vapors be- 
comes too great. When quickly done the 
sealed end will often be invaginated by the 
pressure from without, thus making an end not 
liable to have the button or bead broken off. 
In heating the tube after it has contained 
alcohol inflammable vapors will, of course, be 
formed. These are usually driven off with an 
explosion that one soon learns is not at all 
dangerous. 
The secret of success lies in as small a neck 
as will admit filling anda strong heat applied 
quickly at the very end. 
I have found Flemming’s mixture of alcohol, 
glycerine and water usually better than pure 
alcohol. This mixture vaporizes less rapidly 
and as is well known keeps objects in excellent 
consistency. 
