88 General Notes. [January, 
erable to arrange the terms in alphabetical order. Nearly one 
hundred geographic names from the State of Minnesota have been 
- traced to their origin in the Dakota language in the thirteenth 
annual report of the State geologist of Minnesota, Professor N. 
H. Winchell (1884, pp. 104-112, 8vo). The author of the trea- 
tise, Professor A. W. Williamson, gives evidence of assiduous work 
in tracing the etymologies of all these village, lake and river 
names. The usual spelling of local names of Indian origin gen- 
erally differs from their pronunciation by the Indians, which is 
the correct one; this Indian mode of spelling has therefore been 
added to each name, whenever there was necessity for it. His re- 
mark, that “ most Dakotas very slightly nasalize all their vowels,” 
must be, we think modified by adding the statement, that they do 
not nasalize the vowels in every word of the language, but ina 
large number of them. Recent numbers of the Bulletin of the 
Torrey Botanical Club, New York, contains linguistic inquiries 
into the origin of plant names. Thus we find disclosures upon 
so-called Southern moss, Tillandsia, upon ginkgo (Salisburia adian- 
tiflora), Cintractia, Savoyanne, a species of Coptis; this name is 
traced by W. R. Gerard, of New York, to a term appearing in sev- 
eral of the northern Algénkin dialects. All the above will be 
found in the July number of 1885. In the August number Mr. 
Gerard has an interesting article upon the /zdian peach, which he 
states was introduced into North America both by way of Mexico 
and the Atlantic seaboard. The Indian equivalents are given at the 
close of the article-— Albert S. Gatschet. 
MICROSCOPY .! 
Tue Eve oF [nsects.—The following is a summary of some of - 
the methods employed by S. J. Hickson? in the study of the eye 
of Musca vomitoria : 
1. For making sections of the eye, it is best to dissect away the 
posterior wall of the cranium, and then expose it to the fumes of. 
an osmic acid (I p. c.) solution, 40 minutes, then to wash in 60 p. 
c. alcohol for a few minutes, and finally, to harden in absolute 
alcohol. 
2. The ribbon method of sectioning can be employed with this 
species; but with most insects, owing to the hard chitinous cra- 
nium, it is necessary to cut, with the knife set obliquely, so as to 
get a long sweep at each stroke, and to remove the sections one 
by one. i 
i The best method of depigmenting, is that of exposing the 
sections to nitrous fumes. e sections are fixed on the slide 
with P. Mayer’s albumen fixative, the paraffine removed with tur- 
pentine, the turpentine driven off by absolute alcohol, and then 
1 Edited by Dr. C. O. WHITMAN, Mus. Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. 
1 Quart. Journ. Mic. Sc., xxv, April, 1885, p. 243. * 
