EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 199 



In the ' Transactions ' of the Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists' 

 Club for the year 1900 (vol. i. No. Ill) the Secretary, Mr. T. Sheppard, 

 has commenced a series of articles on " Bygone Hull Naturalists," in 

 which the late George Norman (18"23-188'2) is the subject of the first 

 memoir. Mr. Norman was an old and valued contributor to ' The 

 Zoologist,' contributing no fewer than forty-seven notes between the years 

 1843 and 1864. An excellent portrait of Norman is given, and memoirs 

 are promised of other Hull naturalists, including Adrian Hardy Haworth, 

 Peter William Watson, Robert Harrison, and William Spence. 



The Transactions and Annual Report of the Sheffield Microscopical 

 Society (1899-1900) contain an abstract of a lecture delivered by Dr. H. 

 C. Sorby, on " Improved Methods of Preparing and Preserving Specimens 

 of Marine Animals." The use of glycerine was recommended. 



" He found that, in thus treating a species of Nereis worm very com- 

 mon in some of the Essex estuaries, it was possible to dry small specimens 

 and mount them in balsam without any of the minute blood-vessels being 

 obliterated by decomposition. After trying many modifications of this 

 process, the best results were obtained from the following method : — 

 Specimens of the worm, about two or three inches long, were put direct 

 from the sea-water into strong glycerine diluted with an equal volume of 

 water. Here they quickly died, and, after remaining in it for about ten 

 minutes, were seen to be much reduced in size by the transfusion of water 

 into the glycerine. They were then transferred to water, and kept in it 

 for about ten minutes so as to remove most of the glycerine, and to cause 

 them to expand to about their original size. They were then quite limp, 

 and could easily be arranged on microscopic-slide glasses, and were dried 

 as quickly as they could at the usual temperature in the open air, and 

 in doing so became thin, but shrank very little laterally. They were then 

 mounted in balsam, under thin covers, in cells made of thin glass strips. 

 When thus mounted they are not only permanently preserved, but, 

 being made comparatively thin, flat, and transparent, the structure is 

 seen far better than when the animals are alive or recently dead, and 

 the natural red colour of the blood is preserved. When worms are pre- 

 served in alcohol or formalin they are rendered opaque, and the blood 

 becomes brown." 



In preparing marine animals as museum specimens. Dr. Sorby had 

 had some beautiful results through using strong glycerine. The beautiful 

 natural colours had been, he hoped, permanently preserved. Specimens 

 of Sea-anemones and Star-fish thus preserved were shown, the natural 

 shape of the animals and their delicate tints of colour being much admired. 



