der, closely set with sparkling emeralds, is
revealed. And although so transparent, so apparently simple in structure
that it does not seem possible for even the finest details to escape our
search, yet almost as we watch it mystic changes appear. We see the bright
green granules, impelled by an unseen force, separate and rearrange
themselves in new formations. Strange outgrowths from the parent filament
appear. The strange power we call "life," doubly mysterious when manifested
in an organism so simple as this, so open to our search, seems to challenge
us to discover its secret, and, armed with our glittering lenses and our
flashing stands of exquisite workmanship, we search intently, but in vain.
And yet _not_ in vain, for we are more than recompensed by the wondrous
revelations beheld and the unalloyed pleasures enjoyed, through the study
of even the unpretentious _Vaucheria_.

The amplification of the objects in the engravings is about 80 diameters.

* * * * *

JAPANESE CAMPHOR--ITS PREPARATION, EXPERIMENTS, AND ANALYSIS OF THE
CAMPHOR OIL.

[Footnote: From the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry.]

By H. OISHI. (Communicated by Kakamatsa.)

LAURUS CAMPHORA, or "kusunoki," as it is called in Japan, grows mainly in
those provinces in the islands Shikobu and Kinshin, which have the southern
sea coast. It also grows abundantly in the province of Kishu.

The amount of camphor varies according to the age of the tree. That of a
hundred years old is tolerably rich in camphor. In order to extract the
camphor, such a tree is selected; the trunk and large stems are cut into
small pieces, and subjected to distillation with steam.

An iron boiler of 3 feet in diameter is placed over a small furnace, the
boiler being provided with an iron flange at the top. Over this flange a
wooden tub is placed, which is somewhat narrowed at the top, being 1 foot 6
inches in the upper, and 2 feet 10 inches in the lower diameter, and 4 feet
in height. The tub has a false bottom for the passage of steam from the
boiler beneath. The upper part of the tub is connected with a condensing
apparatus by means of a wooden or bamboo pipe. The condenser is a flat
rectangular wooden vessel, which is surrounded with another one containing
cold water. Over the first is placed still another trough of the same
dimensions, into which water is supplied to cool the vessel at the top.
After the first trough has