THE YOUNG 
the specimens can be suspended on lines 
of strong thread stretched across some 
cool, dry, room that is free from dust. 
For preserving the large coarse olive 
colored weeds v^ith a view to studying 
their organs under the microscope, they 
should be immersed in pure glycerine, 
in which they will retain their natural 
color and form for several years. 
One of the best portable i^resses that I 
know of consists of two bars of well 
seasoned oak or chestnut, with thumb 
screws at each end, and a few planed 
deal boards less than half an inch in thick- 
ness; these are varnished V7ith black 
asphalt varnish. The board should be 
about eighteen inches long by about a 
foot broad. The screws should be well 
finished and at least six inches long, so 
that several pairs of boards can be pressed 
at once. These thin boards and a good 
supply of clean cotton or linen rags are 
all the apparatus necessary for held work. 
The boards will be found very useful to 
lay the sheet of mounting paper on, hold- 
ing it and the end of the seaweed firmly 
on the board with the left hand, under 
water in some quiet tide pool, using the 
right hand to adjust the specimen. After 
the seaweed is in position, the board can 
be stood up till the water has run off. 
Fiff. 2. 
For indoor work a press is made as 
ehown in Fig. 2. This press any amateur 
carpenter can easily construct, it being so 
SCIENTIST. 91 
simple. The bed a, consists of a stout 
board of oak or chestnut to which is 
screwed the framework, b, b, b ; between 
these is a traveling top board, c, c, on the 
upper side of which are fastened with 
screws two inclined planes, d, d. The 
lever, r, travels on the inclined planes 
when moved by the handle, h, and can be 
prevented from sliding back by means of 
pegs inserted in the top edge of the planes, 
D, D. The traveling top board is kept 
close to the top of the frame, b, b, b, when 
not under pressure, by means of two 
elastic bands. It takes tw^o days in hot 
weather for the specimens to dry, but in 
damp weather three, four, and even five, 
when the specimens are of a gelatinous 
nature. 
When removing the rags great care 
must be taken not to tear the specimens 
from the paper. Always begin peeling 
the rag from the root or disc of the plant. 
For mounting there is no better paper 
than Watman's best drawing paper, as it 
contains a large amount of sizing, causing 
the plants to adhere very firmly. For 
fancy mounting in groups for albums, 
English or French Bristol board is best. 
Be careful in pressing the seaweeds not 
to put so much pressure that the sea- 
weeds receive an embossed impression of 
the texture of the rag dryers. Never be 
in haste to take the specimens out of the- 
pres^ before they are thoroughly dry. 
Never attempt to hasten the drying by 
ironing with a hot iron, or placing them 
in a "slow oven," unless you wish to ob- 
tain some deplorable specimens of al- 
gology. 
Our New Offices. 
WE write this in our new offices, at 
14 Dey street, to which we have just 
moved. The new rooms are much more- 
pleasant and convenient than our old 
offices, and when we get fairly settled 
we expect to remove many annoyances, 
which cramped quarters entailed on us. 
Our new offices are only a couple of 
doors from the main office of the West- 
ern Union Telegraph Company, and about 
