JOURNAL 
OF THE 
ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 
APRIL 1897. 
■ - - MAY 14 1897 
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 
IY . — Presidential Address : 
Suggestions as to Points connected with the Microscope and 
its Accessories still needing Improvement. 
Resume of the Anatomy of Bdella. 
By A. D. Michael, F.L.S., &c. 
{Read 20 th January , 1897.) 
When, a year ago, your Council did me the entirely unexpected 
honour of asking me to he your President for a fourth year, I 
explained to them that, not having in any way anticipated such a 
request, I had undertaken about as much scientific work as I could 
manage to get through during the then coming twelve months ; and 
that therefore I was only able to accept the honour upon condition 
that they, and the Society, would be very indulgent to me in the 
matter of the Annual Address, for it would be impossible for me to 
devote as much time to its preparation as I had done in former 
years. Work of this class is apt to turn out more, not less, than we 
anticipate ; I fear, therefore, that what little I have to offer you 
to-night may be somewhat disjointed and less carefully worked up 
than the addresses of earlier years. Another reason for its being 
rather disconnected is, that this is the last occasion on which I 
shall occupy this chair as your President, and there are a few 
things which I should like to say to you before I leave it. The 
first of these is to thank you all for the unvarying kindness and 
courtesy which I have received from Council, Officers, and Fellows 
alike, from the first day of my presidency to the last. I shall always 
look back to the past four years with the greatest pleasure, and with 
gratitude to my fellow Members of this Society who have combined to 
render it pleasant. 
Next, I wish to make a few observations, which I hope may be of 
some little practical service, as to the Microscope itself and one or 
two of the articles which are frequently used in connection with it. 
These remarks will be directed entirely from the point of view of a 
constant worker with the instrument who feels the want of certain 
1897 n 
