374 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



MICROSCOPY 



CONDUCTED BY F. SHILLINGTON SCALES, F.R.M.S. 



Liverpool Microscopical Society. — We have 

 received the thirty-fivst annual report of the Liver- 

 pool Microscopical Society, which is an interesting 

 record of the Society's work during the past year. 

 Seven papers, including the President's Inaugural 

 Address, have been read before the Society, each 

 paper being illustrated with the lantern, and at each 

 meeting various objects were exhibited by the mem- 

 bers. Two field meetings were held during the 

 summer, which were well attended. The President's 

 (Mr. W. T. Haydon's) address is printed in the 

 report in full, the subject being "A Fresh -water Chert 

 from Asia Minor, with observations on its formation 

 and structure, together with some account of the 

 Organic Remains found therein." This is an interest- 

 ing paper, and suggests many equally interesting 

 directions in which to carry out further investigation. 

 The cherts referred to were "Worked Flints" found 

 in a cargo of horse-beans from Smyrna. "Several 

 acknowledged experts " at first pronounced these to 

 be arrow-heads and scrapers, probably of the Neolithic 

 Age ; and there are underlying ironies attaching to the 

 subsequent determination that they were really teeth 

 dropped from the old-fashioned threshing-boards still 

 used in Asia Minor to remove the beans from their 

 pods. These cherts were readily traced to their ori- 

 ginal source, and the paper above alluded to deals 

 with their chemical analysis, and more especially the 

 painstaking microscopical examination by Mr. Haydon 

 and his friends of the abundant vegetable and animal 

 remains found therein. For this, and for the con- 

 clusions drawn by the writer as to their process of 

 formation, we must refer our readers to the original 

 paper, the ultimate conclusion being that their origin 

 is mainly diatomaceous. 



Baker's New Achromatic CoNDENSER.^Mr. 

 Charles Baker has recently submitted for our examina- 

 tion his new achromatic condenser, which has a N.A. 

 of I 'O, and an aplanatic aperture of about -9, being 

 in this respect a great advance upon the one hitherto 

 listed and sold by this firm, which had an aplanatic 

 aperture of only -65. The power is slightly higher 

 than usual, but not enough to make it a high-power 

 condenser, whilst we noticed with approbation its 

 light and compact mounting. The condenser is 

 fitted with the usual iris diaphragm and ring for 

 stops, but a rotating ring within the latter would be 

 a convenience. The price is £2) I5s- complete. 



Material for Botanical Study. — The ob- 

 taining of suitable material for botanical study has 

 been a difficulty that the individual worker has had 

 to contend against equally with those in charge of 

 our laboratories, science schools, and colleges. For 

 some time past zoology has had an advantage over 

 botan)- in this respect, and we therefore note with 

 great satisfaction a new departure by Messrs. J. 

 Backhouse & Son, Limited, of the well-known 

 nurseries at Vork. This firm has for three genera- 

 tions been directed by gentlemen of high scientific 



ability, and during ihis period they have devoted 

 a large amount of their time to the study of the con- 

 ditions affecting the naturalisation and distribution of 

 plants, especially those which are not indigenous to 

 Great Britain. As a result they possess in their 

 York nurseries a larger number of species, represent- 

 ing tropical and sub-tropical as well as Arctic floras, 

 than almost any firm in the country. They have now 

 decided to undertake systematicall)' the collecting 

 and preparing of botanical material for scientific 

 purposes, and have opened a scientific department 

 under the special superintendence of Dr. Arthur H. 

 Burtt, D.Sc. , B.Sc. They have further issued an 

 extensive classified catalogue which, though only 

 meant as a preliminary list, covers the whole field 

 very completely. It comprises Myxomycetes, Schizo- 

 phyta, Diatoms, Desmids, and other Algae, both 

 fresh-water and marine, Characeae, Fungi, Lichens, 

 Hepaticae, Musci, Filicinae, Equisitinae, Lyco- 

 podinae, Gymnospermae, and most of the more 

 important orders of Angiospermae. The material 

 will be supplied either fresh or preserved ; and in the 

 latter form it is intended to keep in stock large 

 quantities of material, so that students will be inde- 

 pendent of the season for their supplies. Special 

 attention will be devoted to microscopy, and high- 

 class and guaranteed preparations illustrating the 

 more important structural features of the principal 

 types will be generally available. The scheme will 

 fill a long-felt want, and we trust it will prove as 

 satisfactory to its promoters ^as it will undoubtedly 

 prove of great service to students and teachers 

 generally. 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



W. L. W. E. (Alresford). — The use of a Camera 

 Lucida will be fully dealt with in our next (June) 

 issue in " Microscopy for Beginners," see ante, p. 249. 



B. B. (Bath). --Objects, other than crystallisations, 

 for polarised light are generally mounted in Canada 

 Balsam. The mounting of hairs is quite simple, 

 though it is advisable to give them a preparatory 

 soaking in turpentine or benzole beforehand. They 

 make striking objects when crossed or interwoven. 

 Mr. Cole recommends the following procedure in 

 mounting fish-scales: — "Scrape the fish from the 

 head towards the tail ; if scraped the other way, 

 nearly all the scales will be ifijured. Place the 

 scrapings in a bottle of water, shake well, pour oft" 

 the water, and repeat the process until quite clean. 

 Examine with a microscope ; and if you find that the 

 scales are not clean, pour off the water, add liquor 

 potassae, and soak for an hour or two. Then wash 

 away the potash with repeated changes of water, 

 dehydrate in methylated spirit, clear in clove oil, and 

 mount in Canada Balsam. Sometimes fish-scales 

 buckle up in spirit, and the)- will not lie flat. When 

 this happens, put them into water again, and soak a 

 little while; then place them on a slide, and put 

 another slide over them, press down until quite fiat, 

 and tie the two glasses together with twine, and place 

 them in a vessel of methylated spirit to dehydrate 

 under pressure. This method will answer for all 

 tissues that twist during process of dehydration." 



H. J. O. W. (Budleigh Salterton). — We have not 

 met with a mixture of stearine and naphthaline for 

 embedding, nor can we find any reference to it in 

 any text-book available, so are not able to give you 

 the relative proportions in which the mixture should 

 be made. We have made inquiry in one or two^ 

 likely quarters, without result. Can any one of our 

 readers give the necessary information ? 



