i6o 



SCIENCE. 



MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY uF 

 MICROSCOPISTS AT DETROIT. 



The third annual meeting of this society began at Detroit 

 Tuesday, August 17th. The meeting was held in the 

 Detroit Female Seminary, a building well adapted to the 

 purpose, as, besides the large hall where the regular ses- 

 sions were held, it was we 1 provided with rooms of suffi- 

 cient capacity for the accommodation of the leading manu- 

 facturers of microscopes and accessories, thus enabling 

 them to make a fine exhibit of the latest and most approved 

 forms of instruments and accessories. This, we may men- 

 tion, is an interesting feature of the meetings of this 

 society, which, if not carried too far, may be productive of 

 a great amount of value to microscopic students in enabling 

 them to examine a large variety of instruments and appa- 

 ratus, which otherwise could not be done without visiting 

 the leading centres of manufacture at considerable expense. 

 The meeting was opened by the rearing president, Dr. R. 

 H. Ward, of Trov.N.Y., introducing to the society the pres- 

 dent-eiect, Prof. H. L. Smith, of Geneva. N. Y. After the 

 applause which greeted the new president had subsided, 

 prayer was offered by the Rev. W. W. Hammond, of 

 Detroit. 



Prof. E. C. Wetmore, president of the Griffith Club of 

 Microscopy, on behalf of that club, extended to the visiting 

 society an address of welcome, and then introduced the 

 Hon. J. J. Bagley, who stated that it was with pleasure he 

 welcomed the visitors to the beautiful city of Detroit. 



Regular business was then taken up. Secretary Prof. 

 A. H.Tuttle announced that the Executive Committee had 

 recommended to membership the following gentlemen, who 

 were elected : Hiram A. Cutting, Linenburgh, Vt. ; J. W. 

 Crumbaugh, M.D., Lancaster, Pa. ; Jno. Phinn, Esq., Edi- 

 tor American Journal of Microscopy, New York City ; L. R. 

 Sexton, Rochester, N. Y ; S. O. Gleason, M.D., Elmira, 

 N. Y. ; T. S. Updegraff, M. D., Elmira, N. Y. ; Lee H. 

 Smith, M.D., Buffalo, N. Y. ; F. O. Jacobs, Newark, Ohio ; 

 W. G. Lapham, Northville, Mich. ; Nathan W. Lord, Co- 

 lumbus, Ohio ; Sydney H. Short, Denver, Colorado ; Gen. 

 Wm. Humphrey and J. F. Main, M.D., Jackson, Mich. ; O. 

 W. Owen, M.D., Prof. E. C. Wetmore, Chas. R. Ferris and 

 Fred Seymour, Detroit, Mich. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The meeting was called to order by President Smith, and 

 the proceedings commenced by Mr. George E. Fell, of Buf- 

 falo, N. Y., who gave a description of a series of plates he 

 had prepared to illustrate on a large scale the structure of 

 the human tooth. The speaker said these plates constituted 

 a series of enlarged sectional drawings (cut transversely) 

 exhibiting the structure, microscopical and general, of a 

 human molar tooth. The average size of the drawings is six 

 inches square. 



Beginning with a top view of the crown surface of the 

 tooth the student is successively introduced to the structure 

 and conformation of the enamel, cementum, dentine and 

 pulp cavity, up to the fangs of the tooth, as located in the 

 alveolus of the superior maxillary bone. Mr. Fell stated 

 that the drawings were prepared from a series of sections 

 of a tooth prepared by himself for the microcsopical study 

 of its structure. His object in preparing them was to 

 add another to the numerous aids offered to the medical 

 and dental student in becoming acquainted with the 

 structure of the human tooth. The plates were made up 

 of a series of drawings overlapping each other, and 

 finely colored, so that the various sections could be un- 

 folded and each successive layer, of the interior structure 

 of the tooth, consecutively exhibited. For the purpose of 

 locating the positions of the different sections an enlarged 

 • ide-elevation of a tooth (a modified copy of that prepared 

 by Dr. F. G.Lemercier, of Paris), was used, upon which the 

 position of the sections were defined. 



Professor D. S. Kellicott, of Buffalo, N. Y., read a 

 valuable paper upon the " I.trnescera 7'ortua" a para- 

 site harbored by the rat-fish or bull-head, and found in 

 the river water near Buffalo. The reader stated that he had 

 not found a locality where the parasite was at all abundant. 

 I le had only one specimen prepared for observation. It was 

 found on a fish of ordinary size, and was deeply 



buried in a tumor, caused by its own presence, just 

 back of the pectoral fin of the fish. After extraction 

 it remained alive for several hours. The parasite could 

 be distinguished by the naked eye, but to make out its 

 minute structure, the best lens was required. The 

 reader stated that with a Bausch and Lomb y z inch objec- 

 tive of 98° angular aperture he had obtained the best 

 results, making out structure which he was unable to see 

 satisfactorily with lenses of a lower angular aperature. A 

 very full description was given of this newly described 

 Lemeoceran, and the whole address was attentively listened 

 to by those present. A paper of this description by Prof. 

 Kellicott, is specially valuable from the fact that he is one 

 of the best authorities upon the subject of fish parasites in 

 the country, having discovered many new species on fish 

 inhabiting the inland lakes and rivers. 



The next paper was on "The Relation of Medium-Power 

 Objectives to Micro-Biology," by Mr. W. G. Lapham, of 

 Northville, Michigan. The paper was of interest to stu- 

 dents, giving the effects of the use of different objectives, 

 and was full 6f hints and statements deduced from obser- 

 vation and the speaker's experience. The author thought 

 that there ought to be a great National University, with a 

 library and professors of Microscopy, and indeed of even' 

 branch of that particular science. The deduction from the 

 essay was that with a "four-tenth objective any one could 

 see all that they wanted to in micro-biological research." 



It is quite unnecessary to state that this view was con- 

 troverted by many present. While it may be admitted that 

 with a properly constructed wide angled Vo" objective, very 

 much that is ordinarily observed in micro-biological work 

 may be seen, when eye pieces of different powers are used. 

 To confine the work of the microscope of to-day to such 

 powers as might be obtained with these combinations 

 would obliterate, to a great extent, the widest field at pres- 

 ent open to the microscopic student in original research 

 President Smith commented upon the paper and raised 

 objections to some of the views propounded. Secretary 

 Tuttle also differed with the author on some points of his 

 essay. 



Mr. C. M. Vorce, of Cleveland, Ohio, read a papei on 

 " Penetration of Objectives ; Is it a Defect or an Advant- 

 age?" This paper was a very sensible resume" of a subject 

 which has occupied the minds of microscopists for a long 

 period of time, and upon which differences of opinion 

 still exist. Mr. Vorce took the ground that there is yet 

 work for the penetrating lens as well as the lens of wide 

 angle with less penetration. Of the two series he would 

 prefer the wide angled, defining, comparatively non-pene- 

 trating lenses, if the microscopist was unable to possess 

 both series. 



Following the election of new members the Society ad- 

 journed until 10 o'clock Wednesday morning. 



The second day's session opened with a good attendance 

 of members and visitors. 



After the reading of minutes, etc., the executive commit- 

 tee reported the following as approved applicants for mem- 

 bership: The Rev. Wm. D'Orville Doty, Rochester, N. Y. ; 

 Rosa M. Redding, Newcastle, Ind. ; Chas. Shepard, M. D., 

 Grand Rapids, Mich. ; W. B. Sprague, M. D., Detroit ; Allen 

 Y. Moore, Coldwater, Mich. ; W. G. White, Buffalo, N. Y. ; 

 William A. Clapp, New Albany, Ind. ; John Sloane, New 

 Albany, Ind.; Richard J. Mohr, Fairfield, Iowa; Albert 

 McCalla, Fairfield, Iowa. The gentlemen named were ac- 

 cordingly elected members of the society. 



Prof. C. M. Vorce read the first paper of the day, which 

 was entitled " The Microscopic Examination of Writings for 

 the detection of forgery," etc. 



The speaker trented the subject at length, saying that he 

 had a great deal of interest in the matter, and directed his 

 attention both to the verification and signatures and general 

 writing. He had considered, first, the general characteris- 

 tics of writing ; second, special characteristics, modifica- 

 tions of, or departures from, general characteristics. There 

 were five elements which determined the character of a 

 person's handwriting: The paper, the pen, the ink, the 

 personal qualifications of the writer, and the conditions 

 under which the writing was done. Any one of these 

 being changed from the ordinary conditions, the micro- 

 scopic conditions of the writing were almost sure to be 

 changed also. So far as the paper is concerned, its glazed 



