92 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XIX. No 471 



that the scheme of studies proposed by the State superinten- 

 dent is accepted, in which two terms are assigned to botany, 

 beginning in the winter term. It is also presupposed that 

 the School Board will be willing to supply the pupils with a 

 proper room and a small amount of apparatus. I consider 

 the providing of these quite as indispensable for the study of 

 botany as furnishing a recitation room for mathematics with 

 a blackboard and its accessories. 



The room should be furnished with a sufficient number of 



cost should not exceed $1.75 If preferred, they may be pro- 

 cured of Mr. L. S. Cheney, Madison, Wis., at $1.75 for 

 single stands, with a discount of ten per cent on orders for 

 ten or more. 



A deep individual butter dish is necessary for examining 

 specimens in water. Each student should have a pair of 

 needles (No. 6, " sharps ") with the eye-end driven into soft 

 pine handles. This can be done by holding the needle with 

 a pair of pliers and forcing it in. The pupil should be re- 



10 lachM. 



DISSECTING MICROSCOPE. 



The body is a solid block of clear pine, cut as shown in A, front view ; B, end view ; 

 C median cross section ; D, top view. Ih, lens holder, which slides in brass tube driven 

 into a hole in block (sec. C); st, stage, a movable glass plate ; m, mirror, fastened with 

 small screws or tacks. 



common kitchen tables (those with unfinished tops are best), 

 at which two students can work comfortably, and even four 

 if crowded. The more windows the better. 



The apparatus required is simple. Simple lenses with some 

 device for supporting them while the hands are used in dis- 

 secting are needed The figures annexed show a most effec- 

 tive and low-priced dissecting stand which is in use in the 

 University of Wisconsin and is to be preferred to more ex- 

 pensive ones. The block can be made by a carpenter for a 

 few cents; the plain and mirror glass can be procured at the 

 glazier's; the lenses and lens holders can be procured from 

 the Bausch & Lomb Optical Co., Rochester, N.Y. The total 



quired to provide himself with a sharp bladed pen-knife, a 

 rarer article than might be supposed. 



How to Get Material. 

 I should begin with a study of the flowering plants. There 

 will be room for the exercise of some ingenuity in getting 

 pupils to provide proper material for study by raising some 

 and collecting some. Lima beans, sunflowers, and corn can 

 be grown in pots or boxes; window gardens, greenhouses, 

 and provision stores can be levied on until the spring opens. 

 But it is better to have material collected in the summer and 

 preserved in alcohol. Such material should be studied in 

 water to prevent drying and to remove brittleness. 



