Mr. G. L. Murdock revealed them, showing not comparison with those of the amphibian, showed only their spores and capsules, but also those of human blood corpuscles. the liverwort. With Mr. J. A. Langstroth we felt With Mr. J. H. Wythe we were still in minute more amongst familiar matters. From his pretty anatomy; one slide was the curious insect eating bouquet he picked the pollen of arbutus, snap-organ of the plant utricularia purpurea; another dragon, fuschia, tritonia and pansy, and showed the aye of a cuttle-fish, and another the lung in these little globules to be as varied in their struc- pneumonia. ture as ivory carvings. Leaves breathe, too, it At Dr. J. P. Whitney's microscope we found ourseems, for his microscope magnified a begonia leaf, selves investigating the minute structure of our and there we saw innumerable little gaping own body; here were nerve tissues, healthy and mouths. Mr. W. H. Lent set before us the most diseased, and the villi of the stomach, of the mouse, minute plants, marine and fresh water algae and to be sure, but very much like our own, and passdesmidiaceae, whilst Mr. Bleasdale, next at hand, ing to Dr. S. W. Dennis, the beautiful canal, lakeled us first to fossil botany, exhibiting petrified like system of cavities in human and bird bones wood, and then magnified some of those minute were kindly explained to us. Mr. John Hewston, photographs of which we hear the Declaration Jr., displayed with his speccialty, the polarizer, of Independence in the space of a pin's head, etc.

It was evident at Mr. Xenas Clark's table that we had passed from the vegetable to the animal kingdom; for beneath his instrument were seen polycistina, the finely shaped glass shells of microscopic animals; sections across sea urchin spines which reminded us of crocheted mats in their texture; and the many toothed tongue of the snail. We had heard of the deep sea dredging expeditions, and found to our pleasure that Mr. J. Z. Davis had secured a specimen from the Challenger's last soundings at 1950 fathoms. With this were also to be seen foraminifera shells and the skin and scales of the sole.

No department of zoology is more popular than entomology, and it was gratifying to find it so well represented here. In insect anatomy Mr. William Ashburner had the mouth of the honey bee, a blow-fly's proboscis, and the head of culex pipiens— literally singing gnat-that musical vagabond, the mosquito. After seeing the fierce cutlery of his mouth and the bushy plumes that are his ears, we wonder neither at his cunning surgery or his love of melodies.

From the more chivalric parasite of the air, Mr. W. F. Myers led us to the more permanent feeders on our bodies, the itch insects, the face insects, and then the cheese mite, showing adult and larval forms of all. Mr. C. H. Williams attracted much attention with his living mosquito larva, showing an adult, also, and Mr. S. B. Boswell gave us a brilliant finale in the insect department, with his butterfly scales, beetle wings, and the down of the

moth.

the usual gorgeous colors given by that piece of apparatus, showing magnesium, silver and nitre crystals. Minerals and rocks were now the predominating slides, and from Mr. J. R. Soupham we heard much about his crystals of carbonate of copper, Egyptian porphyry and fossil bearing limestone, whilst Mr. C. H. Denison caught the eyes of all interested in mining with the resplendent crystals of gold, silver and cinnabar.

Thus, with the primeval rock stuff of nature, the round of display was ended, and with a parting glance at the bright audience we passed out into the starlight, to think what an overpowering vision of a world to which we are ordinarily so blind, this evening had brought us; to think, perhaps, with George Eliot, that "If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary life, it would be like hearing the grass grow, and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side, of silence," and that “As it is, the quickest of us walk about well wadded with stupidity."

The San Francisco Microscopical Society.— A regular meeting of the San Francisco Microscopical Society was held at the Society's rooms, June 6th, President H. C. Hyde in the chair. In the absence of Secretary Clark, Mr. Wickson acted as Secretary pro tempore. There was a good attendance of members, and Mr. Frank Kennedy as a visitor.

Besides the usual acquisitions to the library, in the form of recent scientific periodicals, there was, by purchase, Mr. Andrew Murray's work on "Economic Entomology," which is especially valuable, for its descriptions of animal parasites and acari generally. There was also received from Germany the first of a series of exceedingly valuable charts, entitled "Zoologischen Wandtafeln." These are large, accurately drawn, and beautifully colored Dr. S. M. Mouser led us to the matters of physi- plates, suitable for mounting and hanging upon ology with the circulating blood in the frog's the walls of the Society's rooms. The plates thus mesentery, a subject he has brought to perfection far received include the coral polyp, rhizopods and with apparatus of his own invention, and then, for crustacea. These were examined with much care,

Every one missed the face of Mr. Kinne, who, after a long journey and elaborate preparation, had been unfortunately prevented from showing the circulation of blood in the living fish's gill, oyster embryos, and many unique things.

Subscribers who have a surplus of interesting microscopic material, or objects in any department of natural science, which they wish to exchange, may announce it, without charge, in this column. The following rules must be observed: 1. The privilege Sole skin and single and double stainings in exof announcing an exchange is confined to sub-change for other well mounted objects, anatomical scribers. 2. EXCHANGES only will be admitted. preferred. John Walker, corner Eighth street and Sales must be relegated to the advertising de- Twelfth avenue, Minneapolis, Minn. partment. 3. Each exchange will be limited to three lines, and must be legibly written on a separate slip of paper (not embodied in a letter). Be careful about the address.

Sections of mauzanita, Calif. laurel, chapparal, Yerba lauta, mountain mahogany, cedar, etc.; copper and silver ores from Comstock lode, opaque: and rare chemicals for polariscope, for any good Three Wenham compressoriums for a Cox's self-mounted objects. F. H. Engels, M. D., Virginia, centering turn-table complete. Geo. A. Mitchell, Hanover, N. H.