A useful cement for fixing minute objects, diatoms, &c., temporarily to thin glass covers, before permanently mounting them in Canada balsam, is made as follows:--Dissolve, without heat, two or three grains of gum arabic in one ounce of distilled water, then add glacial acetic acid, three minims, and the least trace of sugar. Filter carefully through filter paper, and repeat this in the course of three or four weeks. This cement will be unaffected by the balsam. _Mounting Chara._--It is often found difficult to preserve and mount the fruit of chara, but this can be successfully accomplished in glycerine jelly, by taking the following precautions. After cleaning the specimen place it in 92 per cent. of alcohol for several hours, then transfer it to a mixture of equal parts of spirit and glycerine for several hours longer, pour off nearly all the mixture, and add pure glycerine at intervals till the glycerine becomes concentrated. The specimen is then mounted in glycerine jelly in a cell just deep enough to take it without pressure. There are some objects much more difficult to prepare than others, and which tax the patience of the beginner in a manner which can hardly be imagined by any one who has never made the attempt. The structure of many creatures is so delicate as to require the very greatest care to prevent mutilation, and consequent spoliation, of the specimen. The beginner, therefore, must not be discouraged by a few failures in commencing, but should persevere in his attempts, and constant practice will soon teach him the best way of managing intricate and difficult objects. The room in which he operates should be free from dust, smoke, and intrusion, and everything used should be kept scrupulously clean, since a very small speck of dirt, which may be almost invisible to the naked eye, will assume unpleasant proportions under the microscope, and not only mar, but possibly spoil a fine and delicate preparation. Few students on commencing to work with the microscope will fully realise the fact that under medium or high powers the natural appearance of almost all objects is changed by the refractive nature of the fluid medium in which they are immersed and which enters more or less into their composition. The remarkable changes effected by the law of diffusion, when alkaloid substances enter into their composition, show the necessity of taking every precaution in the employment of preservative fluids. Glycerine affords an example of the chemical change induced, should the preparation have been passed through an alkaline solution. _Air Bubbles_ are a constant source of annoyance both in preparing and mounting. These may be removed from the specimen by gently warming the under part of the slide over a spirit lamp, or placing the slide in the warm chamber, when the bubbles will move towards the edge of the cover-glass and ultimately disappear. The air-pump is preferred by many microscopists. Collection of Objects.