SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



217 



CONDUCTED BY J. H. COOKE, F.L.S., F.G.S. 



To whom Notes, Articles and material relating to Microscopy, 

 and intended for Science-Gossip, are, in the first instance, 

 to be sent, addressed "J. H. Cooke, Edlestone, Battenhall 

 Road, Worcester." 



Carbolic Acid a Clearing Agent. — Pure 

 carbolic acid, says the " Journal of Applied Micro- 

 scopy," has proved to be an excellent clearing 

 agent for Polyzoa, parts of insects, vegetable tissues, 

 etc. It does not render them brittle like some of 

 the other agents. It should not be used where the 

 details of very delicate tissues are sought, as the 

 tissue is apt to shrink after being put in the balsam. 



Bacteria and Dust. — A discovery that has an 

 important bearing on the question of efficient 

 disinfection has recently been made by Neisser, 

 after prolonged research, on the dispersal of patho- 

 genic organisms by means of minute currents of air 

 below that of a sensible current. According to this 

 eminent bacteriologist the bacilli of diphtheria, 

 typhoid, plague, cholera and pneumonia are incapa- 

 ble of being carried as atmospheric dust. 



A Wary Microbe. — The bacillus of whooping- 

 cough, lately captured by Dr. Henry Koplik of 

 New York, is extremely minute, the influenza germ 

 being the only other bacillus as small. The 

 whooping-cough bacillus usually resembles a club. 

 After searching for it for five years, and finding it 

 in the sputum of whooping-cough patients, the 

 discoverer at last succeeded in making a culture of 

 it by planting the sputum on human blood serum. 



Microscopical Lectures. — The Manchester 

 Microscopical Society, having decided to extend 

 its scope, has recently formed a section for the 

 purpose of giving lectures and demonstrations in 

 biology and general microscopical work. A number 

 of members have been selected as lecturers, who 

 will, for travelling and out-of-pocket expenses, be 

 prepared to give lectures, illustrated with specimens 

 and lantern slides, to any society that may care to 

 apply for their services. The list of subjects for 

 lectures is a varied one, and will be forwarded to 

 anyone interested on application to Mr. W. Stanley, 

 30, Lord Byron Street, Salford. 



The Postal Microscopical Society. — We 

 have been requested to inform our readers that the 

 Postal Microscopical Society has entered on a new 

 lease of life. A secretary has been found in the 

 person of Miss F. Phillips, 3, Green Lawn, Rock 

 Ferry, and it is expected that under her able 

 guidance the society will become as flourishing as 

 in the old days when the late Mr. Alfred Allen had 

 control of affairs. Miss Phillips starts with one 

 great advantage, she has the full confidence of the 

 members of the society, which is still numerically 

 strong, but its membership roll has somewhat 

 suffered since the death of Mr. Allen. The sec- 

 retary therefore appeals to all who are interested in 

 microscopy — ladies or gentlemen — to send in their 

 names to her for membership as soon as possible. 



Bacteriological Laboratory for London. — 

 The London County Council proposes to apply for 

 Parliamentary powers to establish a bacteriological 

 laboratory in London, where the medical officers of 

 health and the medical practitioners in London 

 could obtain, at the expense of the country, the 

 services of competent bacteriologists. A similar 

 institution was established in New York about five 

 years ago and the result has been an unqualified 

 success. It is to be hoped that the Metropolitan 

 Vestries, in whose hands the matter now rests, will 

 give the project their unanimous support and thus 

 remove the stigma that at present attaches to the 

 greatest city in the world. 



A New Microscope. — Messrs. Watson and Sons 

 of High Holborn, London, have just placed on the 

 market a high-class microscope called the " Fram," 

 which, though sold at the very moderate price 

 of ^4, possesses the advantages usually associated 

 with the most expensive instruments. It has a 



The " Fram " Microscope. 



large spread tripod of seven inches and is so fitted 

 that with the draw-tube closed it is suitable for 

 continental objectives, and with it extended objec- 

 tives corrected for the ten-inch tube can be used. 

 The fittings are of " universal " size throughout, so 

 that objectives, condensers and eyepieces of other 

 makers can be employed. The excellence of the 

 fitments and workmanship render this microscope 

 specially suitable for all, whether specialist or 

 amateur, who may require to carry on critical 

 microscopical investigations of any kind. 



Recent Research. — Dr. K. Jordan contributes 

 an article to the last number of " Novitates Zoolo- 

 gicae," the organ of the Tring Museum, in which he 

 deals somewhat exhaustively with the phylogeny 

 and classification of butterflies. His conclusions are 

 largely based on the microscopic characters of the 

 antennae scales, sense hairs, setiferous punctures 

 and sense bristles in the various families of butter- 

 flies and moths. This branch of morphology has 

 been greatly developed of late years, and the 



