66 General Notes. [ January, 
expense. The elegant preparations presented by Mr. Merriman . 
at the Buffalo meeting of the American Society of Microscopists 
were mounted in cells of wax cut by punches made r. 
Wm. Streeter, of Rochester. These instruments, as subsequently 
improved and as now made, are represented in section by, Fig. 1. 
There is a set òf four concentric tubes of iron or hard brass, of 
equal length, fitting smoothly within each other, 
and turned to a cutting edge at the lower end. 
When using the punches the cutting edges are to 
be moistened with water to prevent sticking to the 
wax, and the wax laid on some book leaves or 
writing paper to form a firm, smooth cushion. 
The smallest punch is then pushed through the 
wax sheet with a slightly rotating motion, and 
then the next one is placed over it and pushed 
down in the same manner, and so on to the largest.. o 
The inner punch is next withdrawn by a wooden : 
eg or pencil thrust into it, and the others drawn 
out one after the other by the little finger. Each 
Fic. 1.— Street- 
er’s punches. 
the top of the next smaller punch, leaving it ey 
Fic — Cons 
l, centric pet as ji 
ey may be fastened to — 
the slide by a little © 
warmthand pressure only, — 
or by some kind of cea 
ment. Before using they — 
should be coated, on the © 
turn table, with shellac or — 
other suitable cement, 
which will not only form 
a coating to the wax but 
also secure it to the slide. 
cl a aE aA Git |S lk |, Si, Come a e a A A a 
very serviceable. 
punches can be obtained 
ner 3, 4.—Vorce’s Cutter. 
