YsLB. 1, 1SG5.] 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



45 



finds the first traces of man iu Scotland, wliile the 

 shell mounds ^vith chipped flints lie referred to the 

 same epoch as the blown sand and beds of peat, i.e., 

 to the most recent period during -which t!ie land was 



to the most recent p 



raised to its present level 



MICHOSCOPY. 



ToLLEN Grains.— Tliese are very intorestins ob- 

 jects for tlie microscope, and offer a great variety of 

 form and markings— some are smooth, others tuber- 

 culated, spiny, or with convolute ridges. The 

 figures given are those of two climbing plants, a 

 species of Passion-flower {PassiJIora incurnata) and 

 ^Thioihergia [T.a.lata). These objecis may be ex- 

 amined with great facility, and mounted, either diy 

 or in fluid, with very little trouble. 



1. TAfSirLOEi IXr.ir.>"ATA. 2. 'JiitMJi kgia ai.atA 



h. Microscopic Object. — I have lately mounted 

 as a microscopic object a portion of the scale at- 

 i;'.chcd to the seed of the fir-tree {Pinns si/Iocstrifi). 

 Tlic spiral vessels are shown very clearly. As I 

 have never h.eard of this as a microscopic object be- 

 fore, I thought some of your readers would like to 

 make it an addition to their cabinets. — IF. Gibson. 



The A:\I(eba. — Here is one of the most degraded 

 of animal forms — the little Amoel)a— a creature to 

 be found in pools of fresh water iu the summer time, 

 but not so easily discovered as some of our natural- 

 ists would lead us to imagine. Watch him closely ! 

 He is but an irregularly-shaped mass of jelly, and 

 very minute ; moreover, he is quite transparent, and 

 is not (as our quack advertisements have it) 

 " troubled with a liver," nor indeed with any organ 

 at all. He is really, as a lady once remarked to me 

 of a snail — "all squash ;" and yet, as I said before, 

 Avatch him! Lo ! a minuie animalcule has just 

 bruslied past him. Ah, luckless animalcule, not 

 past ! for the Amoeba has thrown out a long whip- 

 like string of jelly, in which thou art entangled. 

 Struggles are unavailing. The relentless _ monster 

 has seized his quarry ; and sec ! already he is throw- 

 ing out other arms, hydra-fashion— now two, now 

 lour. In a moment a dozen hungry arms Liavc closed 

 around thee. Stay ! " What will he do with it ? " 

 Art thou to 1/6 kept " in durance vile," hapless 

 infusoriau ? 'Tis true thy cruel tyrant hath got; no 

 Bastilc in which to entomb tlice ; a far v.'orse fate is 

 being prepared. The Amceba is gradrially pushing 

 - his prey into the substance of his body. This has 

 subsequently closed over it ; and what do we behold ? 

 A transparent sphere enclosing the unfortunate ani- 

 malcule, who is now subserving the comfort of the 

 oppressor by imdergoing rapid digestion. After 

 some time, when all the nutritious materials have 

 been abstracted, the remnants are quite vjtcoii- 

 cernedbj forced out through some portion of the 

 gelatinous film. — Laicson's Popular Plnjsiology. 



The Highest Power.— Messrs. Powell & Lea- 

 land have completed an object glass of l-50th of au 

 inch locus. It was exhibited at the October meeting 

 of the _ Microscopical Society, at King's College. 

 The object shown was a Podura scale, power 4,000 

 linear, perfectly free from chromatic and spherical 

 aberration, the dcfiuition and penetration excellent. 

 It was thought a wonder when this firm produced 

 a 1-lGtb, still greater when their l-25th made its 

 appearance, but now they have reached a l-50th, the 

 greatest woudcr of all. 



Why Objects appear Larger through tiic 

 Microscope. — T. K.'s Paper on the size of objects as 

 seen nearer or farther off by the eye is not quite 

 satisfactory, as he proves the fact, but does not show 

 how it is. The reason is, that as an object ap- 

 proaches tiie eye it is seen under a larger angle 

 Thus, if at 10 inches from the eye an object is seen 

 at an angle of 50 degrees, if it be brought to 5 inclies 

 from the eye the angle is then increased to 100 de- 

 grees, M'hich being twice 50, the object is seen 

 apparently twice as large linear. And this is all a 

 lens does ; it enables us to see clearly an object at. 

 a greater or less angle th.au it can be seen distinctly 

 by the naked eye.— W. -7. >S'. 



The Patry Sihiimp {ChirocejihaU's dic/pJianus). — 

 They swim upon their back, and iu fine, warm 

 Vi'cather, when tlie sim is not too strong, they may 

 be seen balancing themselves, as it v/ere, near the 

 surface by means of their branchial feet, which are 

 in constant motion. On the least disturbanee_, how- 

 ever, they strike the water rapidly with their tail 

 from right to left, and dart away like a fish, and 

 hasten to conceal themselves by diving into the soft 

 mud, or amongst the weeds at the bottom of the 

 pool. It is certainly the most beautiful and elegant 

 of all Entomostraca. — Dr. Baird's Eutordostraca. 



Mounting in Balsam and Chloeoeork. — Take 

 a quantity of the oldest l)alsam, place it in an open 

 glass cup, pour on and mix witliit as much chloro- 

 form as will make the whole quite fluid, so that a 

 very small quantity will drop from the lip of the 

 vessel. Having thoroughly mixed, pour the pre- 

 pared balsam into long thin half-ounce phials, cork 

 and set them aside for at least one mouth, now and 

 then turning the corks to keep them loose. It sets 

 quicker than if only mixed when Avanted. I use no 

 heat either to the balsam or the glass slide, nor, in 

 fact, in any part of the process. Objects which have 

 been immersed iu turpentine need only be rinsed iu 

 clean turpentine, placed in position on the glass 

 slide, a sufficient quantity of balsam dropped from 

 the lip of the half-ounce bottle, and the cover laid on 

 gently without delay. In a few days, or at most a 

 Aveek, the slides may be safely used with care; in a 

 fortnight the balsam will be firmly set.— /r.i/. Heijs 

 in Microscopical Journal. 



A Little RirAPSODY.—The following choice sen- 

 tence, containing ti;e statement of a circumstance 

 new to botanical science, is extracted from a little 

 work entitled " Shrines of Bucks" (p. 57) :— "The 

 blush rose, climbing with loving arms around the 

 hawthorns and other shrubs, that form the boundary 

 line of the fields, and the bindweed, avdre-liued as the 

 blue sky above us, mingles its bright flowers with 

 the fragrant honevsuckle, or the thorny sweet- 

 brier, that fills the soft summer breeze with ira- 

 Ln-ance."— Z/'. 



