PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 1067 



portions being entirely out of focus ; or if the outer portion was focused 

 the centre was entirely indistinct. Of course the advantages of a large 

 field were obvious in a Microscope of that kind, but with only a partial 

 achromatism the eye-piece was neither one thing nor another. 



Mr. Ahrens' erecting Microscope for dissecting was also exhibited, 

 the chief improvement consisting of the incurved form of the hand-rests. 



Mr. Michael did not think there was anything particularly new 

 about this : practically he had been using the same thing for some time 

 past. 



Dr. Bate exhibited and described a small case for holding a number of 

 cover-glasses, intended especially for the use of persons engaged in 

 bacteriological studies. The interior was arranged as a series of racks 

 to take 3/4 in. covers, each one sufSciently separated from the others to 

 prevent them from touching, and every tenth groove being indicated by 

 an engraved number to facilitate reference. Being made entirely of 

 metal, screwed together and without solder, it could be readily taken to 

 pieces for sterilization by heat or for cleaning. There were places for 

 forceps, and a card for memoranda was fitted inside the cover. He 

 thought it would be found extremely useful by medical men, who could, 

 in the course of their professional visits, transfer small portions of sputa 

 or pus to glass covers and carry them home in this way for examination. 



A Fellow asked if any provision had been made for preventing 

 the mixing of various germs, as he thought that in the event of the covers 

 becoming dry, portions of what had been placed upon them might get 

 detached ; also it seemed likely that the places where the glasses fitted 

 in might get coated with the matter, and cause it to get mixed. 



Dr. Bate said he had made no provision against the possibility of the 

 germs falling about, but there would be no difficulty whatever as to 

 cleaning. The box might, he thought, be found useful in drying sputum, 

 &c., in a sulphuric acid chamber. 



^ Mr. Crisp called attention to a new foreign publication, ' Annales de 

 Micrographie,' an extract from the prospectus of which was read to the 

 meeting (su]pra, p. 1062). 



_ Prof. Bell read a paper " On the Large Size of the Spicules of Ads 

 orientalis" (supra, p. 921). 



Mr. William West's paper " On a List of Desmids from Massachusetts" 

 (post) was explained by Mr. Bennett. Mr. Bennett said he had looked over 

 the paper, and was somewhat doubtful if one of the species described as 

 new was really a Xanthidium. The paper would be a useful addition to 

 their knowledge of the Desmids, and was interesting as showing what a 

 large number of them were cosmopolitan. 



Mr. Crisp read a paper by Prof. Govi, the object of which was to show 

 that Galileo invented the Compound Microscope in 1610. 



