48 The West American Scientist. 
HOURS £OR VISTTORS. LO THE DIG. 
SHR VA OKs 
The Observatory buildings will be open to visitors during 
office hours, every day in the year. Upon their arrival, visitors 
will please go at once to the visitor's room and register their — 
names. 
An hour or so can be profitably occupied in viewing the vari- 
ous instruments, and the rest of the stay can be well spent in 
walks to the various reservoirs, from which magnificent views of 
the surround.ng country can be had. At least an hour anda 
half of daylight should be allowed for the drive from the Summit 
to Smith Creek. There are no hotel-accomodations at the Summit. 
For the present, visitors will be received at the Observatory 
to look through the great telescope every Saturday night, be- 
tween the hours of 7 and zo, and at these times only. 
Whenever the work of the Observator will allow, other tele- 
scopes will also be put at the disposition of visitors on Saturdays 
between the same hours (only). 
At zo p. M. the Observatory will be closed to visitors, who 
should provide their own conveyance to Smith Creek, as there 
is no way of lodging them on the mountain. 
It is expected by setting apart these times for visitors (which 
allow freer access to the Lick Observatory than is allowed to 
any other observatory in the world) that all interested may be 
able to arrange their visits in conformity to them; and that the 
remaining hours of the week will be kept entirely uninterrupted, 
in order that the Astronomers may do the work upon which the 
reputation and the good name of the Observatory entirely de- 
pends.— Edward S. Holden, Director. 
PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC, SOGE IES 
SAN FRANCISCO MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY-—APRIL 10, 1889. 
Mr. A. B. Leckenby spoke briefly of the difficulties often experi- 
enced by the tyro in manipulating the numerous forms of insect 
life for slide-mounting and lantern projection, and described the 
method pursued by him as embodying the result of many years 
of patient application to the subject. Starting with the coleop- 
tera, or beetle family, the first step is to devitalize them quickly 
and while they are in flight, which the gentleman accomplishes 
by dropping them through a long glass tube into boiling water. 
The elytra and wings are by this means immovably fixed in the 
extended position, and remain unaltered during the subsequent 
operations. The body of the insect is then injected hypoder- 
mically with a strong solution of caustic potash and allowed to 
remain three or four hours, then transferred to a glass slip and 
gentle pressure applied, when the vicera and other tissues form- 
