PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 175 



balsam, which obliterated all the soft and delicate parts, was looked 

 upon by most microscopists as ' simply perfect.' I did not think so, 

 and I used then, as I do now for most preparations, an exceedingly 

 weak spirit, and I have found my account in it, seeing that I have 

 choice dissections, which I made more than twenty years ago, which 

 are practically unchanged. If I arrange a fly's tongue fresh, or look 

 at one in a former preparation, of course I can see more detail now 

 with my fine ToUes homogeneous 1/10 than I could in 1874 with 

 Powell and Lealand's or Eoss's best objectives ; but I am pleased to 

 find that when I do look with the fine modern glasses I recognize the 

 description I gave in my paper to be substantially correct, though if 

 the matter were ' brought up to date ' it might naturally need some 

 small alterations and corrections." 



Mr. Cheshire exhibited and explained four preparations — three of 

 spermatozoa and one of the muscles of the valve of the receptaculum 

 seminis of the queen bee, which he had recently succeeded in dis- 

 secting, and of which he gave an interpretation at a previous meeting. 



Dr. J. D. Cox's letter was read as follows : — 



" I differ but little from Dr. Flogel, and the proofs on which I 

 rely were gathered without any knowledge of what was being done in 

 section-cutting. So far as the latter method is constructive, I find 

 great interest in it ; but as a method, I cannot think it superior to 

 the faithful use of the ordinary means of observation. 



The points on which I find myself differing from Flogel are 

 these : — 



1. I find a thin but indisputably present film covering the outer 

 surface of the hexagons in Triceratium favus, as well as the heavier 

 dotted film on the inner surface. 



2. I think there should be no doubt of the existence of a film on 

 the outer (convex) surface of Coscmodiscus of all the species named 

 by him. The real dispute has been in regard to the eye-spot film, 

 which is the inner one, on the concave surface of the disk. Flogel 

 seems to reverse the relative positions of the two films. 



The point on which scepticism will continue to hang doubts is 

 the thinness of the sections ; and those who are experienced in the 

 photography of diatoms will think they can judge (to some extent) of 

 this by the parts of the print in or out of focus. I shall have some 

 examples illustrating this, which I shall send hereafter. That the 

 ' solid spherule ' theory must go, and be reckoned among things 

 exploded, seems demonstrable from either method of examination." 



Mr. A. D. Michael read a paper, " Notes on the Life-histories of 

 some little-known Tyroglypliidoe " (supra, p. 19). 



The President said that this was another of the series of very 

 interesting communications which Mr. Michael had made to the 

 Society. He had made this subject so entirely his own, that unfor- 

 tunately none of them were able usefully to discuss it with him. 



