66 



THE NATURALIST. 



taken while on the wing, as I observed the wing cases of the small coleoptera 

 shut up close while the wings of the insects protruded "behind. The Lesser 

 Tern, Sterna mijiida, made its appearance about the 16fch of April, in the 

 usual haunts on our coast, around Wells, Hunstanton, &c. 

 Norwich, May mh, 1865. 



Le Microscope, et son application aux 

 itudes (T Anatomic Vegitale, par Prof. 

 Henri van Heurck. — 34 Figures. (Paris, 

 Adrien Delahaye, 1865.) 



The author of this little book states in 

 his preface, that his reasons for publishing 

 it, are, that there is no work in the French 

 language solely devoted to vegetable mi- 

 croscopy ; and that having been frequently 

 consulted by friends as to his method of 

 preparing certain organs, he was led to 

 give the result of his researches in this 

 form. The work is intended principally 

 for the use and guidance of young micros- 

 copists who desire to study vegetable 

 anatomy, and we hope it will lead many 

 young botanists who have been hitherto 

 content with simply gathering and naming 

 plants, to study their more intimate con- 

 struction with the aid of the microscope. 

 The first part of seventy pages is devoted 

 to a description of the construction of the 

 microscope, and the remaining thirty-four 

 pages to the sjtecial methods of examining 

 and mounting the various tissues, &c. We 

 should have been glad if the latter portion 

 had been somewhat more extended, even to 

 the curtailment of the former. We cannot 

 acquiesce in the author's opinion of the 

 comparative value of instruments of 

 English and foreign manufacture ; * for 



* " D'excellents microscopes sont fabri- 

 ques en Angleterre par Ross, Smith and 

 Beck, Powell and Lealand de London, and 

 Dancer de Manchester ; niais ces instru- 

 ments sont d'un prix exorbitant et d'un 

 complication excessive Lafacilite des 



although the price of English microscopes 

 is higher than that of Continental ones, 

 the former are certainly of much greater 

 value and utility — at the same time as M. 

 Ehrenberg once stated at a meeting of the 

 British Association, a comparatively infe- 

 rior instrument with " good eye" behind 

 it, may be productive of higher results, 

 than the best instrument minus the eye. 

 Amongst foreign makers the Professor con- 

 siders Messrs. Hartnack, Chevalier, and 

 Natchet, the best. 



The second portion of the work before 

 us, as before stated, treats of the method of 

 examining and mounting various vegetable 

 structures, and is divided into eleven chap- 

 ters. Each chapter treats on some parti- 

 cular branch of the vegetable economy, 

 such as, cells, cell-membranes, cell-con- 

 tents, hairs, seeds, spores, &c., &c. : under 

 each head is given a number of plants in 

 which the particular object treateil on is 

 best found, how to prepare, examine and 

 mount it, and the magnifying power best 

 adapted for the complete preparation. We 

 have no doubt the work will be of value to 

 many a young botanical microscopist and 

 lead him gradually on to such an advanced 

 stage of the study, as to fit him to peruse 

 with advantage more critical and expensive 

 works. 



relations et la proximite font que dans notre 

 pays Ton s'addressera le plus souventa 

 Paris, ou, a un prix relativement bien 

 moindre, Ton se procurera des instruments 

 aussi parfaits que ceux que Ton pourra se 

 procurer en Angleterre. "Le microscope, &c. 

 p.p. 39-40. 



