PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 
703 
represented at the Chicago Exhibition, the authorities of which had 
shown their gratitude by presenting them with a handsomely designed 
and engraved diploma, and also with a bronze medal. They had already, 
at the time when the award was announced, expressed their thanks to 
the authorities for these marks of distinction ; but the diploma and tho 
medal were now upon the table for the Fellows to examine. 
Lieut.-Col. H. G-. F. Siddons exhibited and described a new portable 
dissecting stand and lens-carrier (see ante , p. 679). 
Mr. Conrad Beck said it would be remembered that at the last meet- 
ing he had explained that the Council of the Society have in course of 
preparation new standard gauges for standardising the Society screw of 
Microscope object-glasses. It was hoped that these would have been 
ready by this time, but the unavoidable delays of manufacture have 
made this impossible. They will probably be ready next month, and 
when the new gauges have been adopted by the various makers tho 
Standard Screw will have been placed upon a thoroughly sound basis. 
Prof. Bell said that a Conversazione of the members of the Patho- 
logical Society had been held on the previous evening, and, permission 
having been given for the use of the rooms of the Royal Microscopical 
Society on the occasion, the historic and some other instruments be- 
longing to their Society had been displayed. One of the Fellows had 
remarked that he had never seen so much of the Society’s possessions 
before, and it had been suggested that the exhibition should remain 
open that evening, so that after the meeting any persons present who 
wished to do so could go upstairs and see this very interesting collec- 
tion. He thought it was very satisfactory to find that these instruments 
had been examined with much interest by those who were present at 
the Conversazione. 
Mr. J. E. Ingpen said the interest in these historic instruments was 
almost world-wide, and he only wished there were more of them, es- 
pecially as he knew there were many more which might be obtained. 
As far as they went, however, they were very interesting. 
Prof. Bell said that one of the visitors of the previous evening told 
him that thero was an old Microscope of a type which the Society did 
not possess exposed for sale for 1Z. somewhere in the slums of Padding- 
ton, but he was not able to get anything more definite than this as to 
its pattern or locality. Perhaps any Fellows who frequented that district 
would keep a look-out in the hope of discovering it. 
Mr. E. M. Nelson said that it was with great pleasure he had seen 
the capital exhibition of old Microscopes and apparatus on that occasion. 
He could not help saying how much he regretted that the Society should 
have parted with one of the three historical Microscopes that had been 
purchased in 1841. It appears that the Society exchanged the Andrew 
Ross Microscope for what in those days was considered a superior in- 
strument by the same maker. However superior in those early days the 
