352 
PROCEEDING-S OF THE SOCIETY. 
Meeting of the 19th of April, 1899, at 20 Hanover Square, W. 
The President (E. M. Nelson, Esq.) in the Chair. 
The Minutes of the Meeting of the 15th of March last were read 
and confirmed, and were signed by the President. 
The List of Donations to the Society — exclusive of exchanges and 
reprints — received since the last Meeting was read, and the thanks of 
the Meeting were voted to the Donors. 
Braithwaite, R., British Moss Flora, Pt. xix. (4to, London,! 
1899) / 
Bulletin de la Societe des Sciences de Bucarest. (4to, I 
Bucarest, 1898) / 
Journal of the Board of Agriculture, Vol. v. No. 4. (8vo,\ 
London, 1899) j 
An Old Microscope 
An Old Microscope by Adams 
From 
The Author. 
The Society. 
The Board of 
Agriculture. 
Dr. W. H. Dallinger. 
Mr. J. M. Offor’d. 
Special attention was called to two old Microscopes which had been 
presented to the Society. 
The first was an Adams, which was sent last month by Mr. J. M. 
Offord ; and the second, which might possibly be a Benjamin Martin, 
Dr. Dallinger had asked the President to present in his name to-night. 
They were then described by the President (see p. 324), and the 
thanks of the Society were unanimously voted to the donors of these 
interesting Microscopes. 
Dr. Hebb called attention to two slides sent for exhibition by 
Miss Y. A. Latham, M.D., F.R.M.S. The preparations showed the dif- 
ference between the reaction of normal and diabetic blood to methyien- 
blue. While normal blood stains well, the blood-film of diabetes is but 
feebly coloured, and thus an easy clinical test for diabetes is established. 
The reaction possibly depends on the reducing power of glucose, for 
glucose rapidly decolorises methylen-blue. In order to show this, it is 
only necessary to boil an alkaline solution of methylen-blue and add a 
piece of glucose. The colour almost instantly fades away, but is restored 
if the tube be shaken so as to aerate the solution. 
The President regretted to say that they had that morning heard 
that Dr. Lionel Beale had been taken ill for about the first time in his 
life, and was therefore unable to come and read the paper which they 
had hoped to hear from him that evening. 
