ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
801 
even more than his scientific labours, the charms of his ingenuous 
enthusiasm and the warmth of his scientific ardour. For many years a 
great sufferer, he had been much shaken by the recent death of his wife, 
but his health did not appear worse than usual when ho suddenly expired 
at the house of his second son, Professor W. Newton Parker, of the 
South Wales University College, Cardiff, at the age of 67.” 
B. Technique.* 
Cl) Collecting- Objects, including- Culture Processes. 
A Homely Zoophyte-trough.f — Dr. J. Anderson Smith remarks, 
“ The constant trouble I had with the usual glass zoophyte-troughs, either 
from leakage, too great depth, or too large size, led me to try something 
else. And first I tried cork rings of various diameters and depths, but the 
difficulty of cutting evenly, and the occasional perfoiation in the cork 
allowing air-bubbles to get into the cell, soon caused me to abandon 
these. I now use indiarubber rings, which give me perfect satisfaction. 
I take an ordinary glass slide, find the centre, and then fix on to it by 
means of Canada balsam, an indiarubber ring, 5/8 in, diameter, 1/8 in. 
deep, and 1/8 in. thick. Rings of any required size or depth may be 
used. Filling the inclosed space with the water and weed to be ex- 
amined until the surface of the water is slightly convex above the plane 
of the upper surface of the rings, I then place a cover-glass of the 
requisite size on the top, and the trough is ready for examination. 
Capillary cohesion holds the cover-slip perfectly tight, so that the 
trough may be turned upside down without spilling the contents. 
The advantages I claim for this little trough are : — First, its cheap- 
ness ; second, the facility and rapidity with which it can be made. 
Moreover, by choosing various sized rings, troughs of any depth and size 
can be made, and such a trough may be readily used at the pond-side 
for rapid examination of small portions of the material collected. 
Lastly, it is less cumbrous than the glass trough and more useful in my 
experience. The rings I have chiefly used are such as one gets from 
certain mineral water bottles ; the dimensions given are those of a ring 
labelled “ Matlock Mineral Water Co.” 
A New Collecting Net.J — Mr. Charles S. Fellows has recently 
devised a collecting net for small organisms, consisting of a silk mull 
(or bolting cloth) funnel whose largest diameter is about 12 in., kept 
open by a stiff brass ring. It is 15 in. deep and tapers off to 3/4 in. 
at the smallest end. In this (the apex of the cone) is fixed a brass 
ferrule about 3/4 in. in diameter and 2 in. long, made with a shoulder 
on each end, one to prevent it from slipping off the net and the other to 
prevent a silk bottle from becoming detached. 
This silk bottle can be made of any size, but is most convenient 
for use about 3/4 in. in diameter by 2 in. in height, and made of the 
* This subdivision contains (1) Collecting Objects, including Culture Pro- 
cesses ; (2) Preparing Objects ; (3) Cutting, including Imbedding and Microtomes ; 
(4) Staining and Injecting; (5) Mounting, including slides, preservative fluids, &c. ; 
(6) Miscellaneous. t Journ. of Microscopy and Nat. Sci., iii. (1890) pp. 251-5. 
J The Microscope, x. (1890) pp. 247-8. 
