40 



SCIEXCE-GOSSIP. 



"plenty weigh r.ir.e ir.i ter. r ur: 

 very big hcire. :: irei .rs.: rziir 

 though enor — : z ; : r 1 : : I u l . r. ?- : 

 donbtedly sea.! ;r. rrr r:r re- 

 pounds." The r ; .r. Zur ; ^ r^r. .. .r 

 five or six pounds v,eight. The :e— r 

 liberally from Mr. Macpherscr. s hs.: 

 for he is in his best anecd::;.^ h: 

 indeed, passing pleasant to reii- 

 forbear. This is in all, a mcs: ;h;.: 

 both country and town house Ir. 

 may watch from the windovs .r.t 

 mad hares " in the season of :hr ye; 

 poacher's song has it ; while ir. :hr 

 may pour over the pages ; I 

 Herbert, until our appetite is -e:. 

 tion and the delicate aroma ci i^e 

 when "jugged." 



Earth-Knowledge : A Tcxt-^:ch :f FhyskgrajJij. 

 By W. Jerome H.\3.pascx, F.G.S., ana H. 

 Rowland Wakefield. Part ii., sixth edition. 

 246 pp. small 8vo, illustrated by 103 figures. 

 (London: Blackie and Co.. Ltd., 1896.) Price 

 2s. 6d. 



This edition of Part iL of " Earth-Knowledge," 

 which is devoted to advanced physiography, has 

 been revised throughout and much extended to 

 meet the requirements of the syllabus for physi- 

 ography issued by the Science and Art Depart- 

 ment in 1895. The bulk of the book has been 

 increased by half, and the figures doubled in 

 number. As a teachers' aid, this and Part i., 

 which we noticed in November last, are excellent, 

 on account of their conciseness and the ease with 

 which any subject may be found and explained. 

 To the student who is coaching for the South 

 Kensington Examination they are a necessity, and 

 every reader is sure to learn something new from 

 them. 



Th£ Honey Bee : A Manual of Instruction in 

 Apiculture. By Fraxk Bentox, M.S., 118 pp. 

 crown 8vo, illustrated by 10 plates and 76 figures. 

 (Washington : Government Printing Ofice, 1895.) 



This ad m irable manual for the apicnlturist is 

 based upon scientific kno-'"!edge as well as mature 

 practice. I: :ze-s ::h :-. biological account of 

 bees, cc~~rr. ::-? v i.h :he various species of 

 honey beeE :: :he Xorth American continent, ard 

 the intrclu:ei kl-ds. This is followed by some 

 account c: .heir aza:: — - The rest of the work is 

 devoted:: .i.e e::r. : — i: =;re;: :f honey produc- 

 tion, zn-i :he rr. s: — ierr. — :lrs ti management. 

 ihe in r :r:s.r ;e ::' :.-r :riue:r; :r :he States may 

 he ea.:herei rr— . the S: -err— .er: e;:ir3ate that 



Transactions 0/ the English Arboriatltural Society. 

 Vol. iii., part i. 145 pp. medium 8vo. (Carlisle : 

 G. and T. Coward. London : Simpkin, Marshall, 

 1895-96.) Price IS. 6d. 



This part contains seven articles, by various 

 writers, upon forestry in some form. Several of 

 the communications are of importance. There 

 are also minutes of meetings and excursions, 

 with lists of menhers of the societj- and books 

 in its library. 



''.^P- 



m MICROSCOPwi 





Aqcatic Hysienoptera. — We wish to call atten- 

 tion to, and ask the assistance of, microscopists in 

 the excellent work by Mr. F. Enock in elucidating 

 the life-histories of these insects. 



Parasitic Copepoda. — The Journal of the 

 Marine Biological Association, vol. iv.. No. 2, 

 contains a list of the Parasitic Copepoda of fish 

 obtained at Plymouth, b\- Mr. P. W. Bassett- 

 Smith, F.R.M.S., on the classification of Gerslsecker, 

 vrhich is founded largely upon the minute anatomy' 

 of the animals. This paper will be useful to 

 microscopists studying the Copepoda. 



Qcekett Microscopical Club. — Mr. Edward 

 Milles Nelson, F.R.M.S., in his presidential 

 address, deUvered February 21st, reviewed the 

 work for the past year, more especiallv wdth 

 regard to improvements in instruments and anxi- 

 liary apparatus of the previous year. His remarks 

 are printed in the journal of the Club for April. 

 The report of the committee appears in the same 

 part ; from it we find that the attendance on 

 meeting nights averaged fifty-two members and 

 friends. The cabinet was enriched by seventj^-nine 

 slides, of which no less than sbity-six were from 

 Mr. Rousselet, chiefly delicately mounted rotifers. 

 An important gift was by the Misses Harman, of a 

 a cabinet containing one thousand specimens 

 prepared by their uncle, the late J. G. Tatem, of 

 Reading, a member of the club for twenty jears. 



MouxTixG Mediums. — The preserv-ation of 

 microscopic objects is a subject which cannot 

 fail to be interesting to many of the readers of 

 SciExcE-GossiP, and as there appears to be some 

 litde diSerence of opinion amongst microscopists 

 as to which medium is the most durable, a little 

 friendly discussion in these columns might prove 

 beneficial in arriving at a decision. So far as mj' 

 own experience goes, I have come to the conclusion 

 — after many trials — that there is no mounting 

 medium equal to Canada-balsam, glycerine or 

 glycerine-jelly. Objects preser%-ed in these seem 

 to improv-e with age, especially in the case of 

 Canada-balsam ; whilst those mounted in other 

 media deteriorate, as I proved to my cost only a 

 few weeks back, when I had the disappointment 

 to find a valuable slide, prepared b}- an eminent 

 mounter, absolutely worthless, owing to the 

 preserving substance havTng perished. As some 

 proof of the trustworthiness of Canada-balsam, 

 I may mention that I have some slides in my 

 collection prepared by the elder Topping quite 

 forty years ago, which are as good now as the daj' 

 they were purchased ; and the accompanjing photo- 

 graph of the ovipositor of the green saw-fly, which 

 was taken from a slide (likewise mounted in 

 balsam) prepared upwards of 15 years, will also 

 ftumsh ocular demonstration as to its value as a 

 preservative. Perhaps some of my brother micro- 

 scopists will give us the benefit of their experience. 

 — /. C. Welb, F.E.S., 32, HensU-^e Road, Duluich. 

 "The photograph shows the object to be in 

 perfect condition. Ed. S.-G. " 



