46 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
and was all of four or five inches thick; there was, probably, at least a 
a foot of it gone. Three feet of it were found in a state of preservation 
sufficient to bring away, a segment of which was given by Dr. Ballard to 
Judge West, who will exhibit it at the Academy of Science—an ulna bone 
together with others presumably of the feet, we found, but were in a soft 
condition and could not be handled. Dr. B. intends making further ex¬ 
plorations in the locality the coming summer, and he predicts a rare treat 
for those interested in such matters. 
The Diaphote. —Dr. H. E. Licks of Bethlehem, Penn, has invented an 
instrument which he calls by this name from two Greek words, dia 
through, and phos, light. The instrument consists of a receiving mirror, 
the wires, a battery and a reproducing speculum. The receiving mirror 
is an amalgam of selenium and iodide of silver; the reproducing speculum 
is a compound of selenium and chromium. The wires run to a common 
galvanic battery and thus connect with the reproducing plate. When the 
circuit is closed, the rays of light are conducted through an ordinary 
camera, and the accompanying heat produces chemical changes in. the 
amalgam of the mirror, which, modifying the electric current, cause 
similar changes in the reproducing speculum. 
A correspondent to the American Monthly Microscopical Journal re¬ 
ports the following novel Aquarium for Entomostraca. He says, “ I use 
the glass balls such as sportsmen use for trap-shooting, the ones now 
hanging at my window are of blue glass and the entomostraca are doing 
well, propagating fast and of course are quite conspicuous, owing to 
the balls magnifying somewhat. Half a dozen hung at a window make 
rather a pretty appearance and I have different families in each.” This is 
quite a valuable suggestion to microscopists, as these aquaria will serve 
as a receptacle for many forms of infusorial life, thus supplying a con¬ 
venient method for keeping a stock of these ever interesting objects. 
We have just received a circular from Drury College, Springfield, Mo., 
stating the intention of opening a Summer School of Biology, under the 
direction of Prof. Edward M. Shepard and Charles H. Ford, the former 
of Drury College, the latter of the State Normal School, Kirksville, Mo. 
This is a move in the right direction and we hope to hear of more such. 
The taste for the study of Natural History is growing rapidly in this 
country and it should be a matter of congratulation to every one inter¬ 
ested in the cultivation and refinement of the race. 
The American Association for the Advancement of Science will hold 
its Twenty-ninth meeting at Boston, Mass., commencing Wednesday 
August 25, 1880, at 10 A. M., in the rooms of the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology. 
A large local committee has been appointed, Prof. W. B. Kogers is 
chairman, S. A. Scudder and E. Bnrgess secretaries. Preparations are 
in progress that will render this meeting one of the most interesting and 
instructive that have been held. The American Association of Geolo- 
