656 



SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Fig. 180. 



three 3/4 in. square cover-glasses being very suitable for this purpose. The 

 siphon may now be started, the current being regulated to about one drop 

 per minute by means of a linen thread, unravelled, soaked in water to get 

 rid of air-bubbles, and pushed up the shorter limb of the siphon. The 



water is drawn off at the other end of the 

 slide by three strips of blotting-paper, one 

 broad and the other two less than half the 

 width, placed under the broad slip, thus 

 forming a kind of channel for the water to 

 flow through. 



After a time the blotting-paper is liable 

 to get clogged, and will not allow the water 

 to filter through ; it must therefore be 

 changed. To enable this to be done the part used on the slide is cut in 

 pieces in the manner indicated in fig. 179. 



The form of the lid of the trough B is shown in fig. 180. It is provided 

 with three holes drilled 1 in. apart, in order that, when desired, three 

 separate slides can be kept under treatment at the same time. 



Apparatus for examining^ living Myriopoda.* — M. J. Chalande em- 

 ployed the following simple apparatus for microscopical observation of living 

 Myriopoda : — 



Two glass slides are fixed, one over the other, by sealing-wax along the 

 two sides, leaving a space of 1-2 mm. between the two slides to allow the 

 myriopod to be introduced. One end of the apparatus is closed by means 

 of a small piece of cardboard. The space between the two slides must vary 

 according to the size of the specimens to be examined, and for very small 

 forms the author substituted a cover-glass (32 by 12 mm. and 1/5 mm. in 

 thickness) for the upper glass slide. 



In order to give the myriopod foothold, he gummed some particles of 

 sand to the lower slide at various distances apart. If this is not done, the 

 animal continues to struggle, as it endeavours to find something to hold 

 on to. 



Griffith's Mechanical Finger.f — Mr. E. H. Griffith says that a cheap 

 mechanical finger, for those who cannot afford to purchase a better one, may 



Fig. 181. 



Fig. 182. 



O 



be quickly made as follows : — Procure a strip of sheet brass or other metal, 

 and cut it like fig. 181. Make the aperture just large enough to fit over the 



* Bull. Soc. d'Hist. Nat. Toulouse, 1886. See this Journal, ante, p. 385. 

 t Proc. Amer. Soc. Micr. 9tli Ann. Meeting, 1886, p. 150 (3 figs.). 



