MICROSCOPY. 183. 
portant, of course, are those that served as food; for instance, 
ears of wheat and barley, and agglomerations or lumps of grains 
of these cereals. Millet was likewise found, but no rye. Even 
pieces of wheat-bread, in which the grains can be plainly seen, 
have been preserved. There are small apples cut in halves, hazel- 
nuts, beechnuts, raspberry-seeds, stones of the wild plum, and 
other eatable productions of the vegetable kingdom. Flax some- 
times occurs in fibres already prepared for spinning. 
The fauna of that period is represented by a great number of 
animals, the osseous remains of which Mr. Messikommer obtains 
in large quantities from the peat. Some of these animals differ 
from the species now existing. The bones found at Robenhausen 
are always examined and classified by Professor Riitimeyer, one of 
the best osteologists of our time. The pile-work in question be- 
longs to that remote period in which the use of metals was not yet 
known, and articles of bronze, therefore, are not found at this 
place. Mr. Messikommer, however, is in constant communication 
with the archeologists of Switzerland, and is thus enabled to 
procure by exchange the objects of bronze occurring in the Pala- 
fittes of later periods. He informed me some time ago that he is 
now prepared to furnish the typical objects of bronze, such as arrow 
and spearheads, knives, sickles, fish-hooks, ornaments, etc. His 
prices, of course, vary according to the character and condition of 
the specimens ; but I can state from personal experience that they 
are low, considering the great labor and time it requires to obtain 
these remarkable tokens of the past. Mr. Messikommer is a 
gentleman of well established character, and the objects offered by 
him may be relied upon as being perfectly genuine. I will with 
pleasure give more detailed information to collectors who wish to 
enter into communication with Mr. Messikommer.— Cuares Rav, 
New York, February, 1873. 
MICROSCOPY. 
SECTIONS or tHe Orcans or Hearinc.— The following hints, 
abstracted from the papers of Mr. H. N. Moseley and Dr. U. Prit- 
chard in the “Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science,” will 
be of use to beginners, not only in preparing the organ referred 
to, but in dealing with many cases involving some of the same 
difficulties. A guinea-pig is the most desirable subject, though 
cat, dog, rabbit, rat, or other animals may be used: The ani- 
