202 



HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



aperture of three-quarters of an inch diameter ; 

 the interval between it and the cylinder being a 

 quarter of an inch. A thinner brass disk of rather 

 smaller circumference and similar central aperture, 

 but having its edge bordered by a projecting rim 

 both above and below, is kept in close apposition to 

 the first by a coil of wire spring soldered to it, and 

 to the base of the internal circumference of the brass 

 cylinder. 



It is between these two disks that the slide is 

 lightly but firmly held, it being easy to move it with- 

 out jerk or unevenness in any direction. I must now 

 explain the necessity for the projecting rims which, 

 as I have said, border the higher disk. The shallower 

 one, which is deficient in front, should be about the 

 depth of the thickness of an ordinary slide, and is 

 intended to prevent the possible pressure of cemented 

 objects between the disks when searching far from 

 their centre. The deficiency of the rim in front 

 secures the cover glasses from injury. The other 

 rim should be much deeper, its use being to keep the 

 disk central, and working within the cylinder when 

 drawn down. Its border is arched, as will be seen in 

 the diagram, and the points between the arches are 

 bent outwards ; the centre one forming a convenient 

 catch for the thumb of the left hand when depressing 

 the disk to introduce the object, and the others 

 steadying the movement in the inside of the cylinder. 

 There is also a small pin attached to this rim which 

 works in a tube fixed to the cylinder, securing perfect 

 steadiness. 



When using the microscope for field purposes, I 

 carry it in a leather case with shoulder strap, and in a 

 little pocket case I carry three pairs of thin glass 

 slides 3x1 inches, placing any object I wish to 

 examine between two of them. 



In conclusion I will only say that these improve- 

 ments were most satisfactorily carried out by a clever 

 mechanic in this town, and that I can now use the 

 instrument with any object-glass up to an eighth, 

 hunting over the objects in my cabinet with as much 

 ease as when using a mechanical stage, while the 

 illumination is most satisfactory, admitting of all sorts 

 of beautiful modifications which practice will soon 

 suggest. 



Diss, Norfolk. T. E. Amyot. 



FROM WINCHESTER TO TORQUAY ON 

 FOOT. 



THE following plain and unvarnished account of 

 a short walking-tour may possibly interest 

 some of the readers of Science-Gossip. The 

 object in view was nominally the increase of our 

 conchological collections ; but for such a purpose 

 we could not have chosen a worse time of the year. 

 The oppressive heats, which occurred day after day, 

 served to drive the land-shells far into their lurking- 

 places, and, moreover, greatly encouraged in us a 



spirit of laziness. This being the case, we often 

 tramped along the dusty roads forgetful of our 

 object, and totally averse to a dive among brambles 

 and stinging-nettles in a search which Seemed ever 

 destined to prove fruitless. So much for the land- 

 shells. The case of the marine species, of which I 

 was especially anxious to obtain good examples, 

 seemed even worse. The calm sea had neglected to 

 furnish the shore with its usual share of the spoil, 

 and everywhere the same answer greeted our in- 

 quiries. " Shells, do you want? The winter's the 

 time for shells, but you'll get none now without a 

 dredge." Whether this remark, which we had from 

 fishermen and collectors alike, was strictly true, 

 every reader of this little sketch must judge for 

 himself. A dredge we had not got, and we did not 

 feel disposed to hire one with a boat and man to 

 look after it. 



On the morning of Wednesday, August 6th, 1884, 

 we alighted from the train at Winchester, with the 

 intention of finding our way thence to Torquay. 

 Our desire to keep the sea in sight as much as 

 possible, combined with the difficulty of finding a 

 direct route to Christchurch, made us determine to 

 take the high-road to Southampton. After visiting 

 the old cathedral, we took a short cut across the 

 fields. In the river and streams connected with it, 

 we met with the following species : Limneca peregra, 

 L. stagnalis, L. palustris, L. truncatula, Physa 

 fontinalis, Ancyhts fluviatilis, Planorbis contortus, 

 and Bythinia tentaculata, and on the banks Succinea 

 elegans and Zonitcs cellarius. About halfway to 

 Southampton we found Helix hortensis, II. cantiana y 

 II. sericea, Cochlicopa htbrica, Claiisilia rugosa, and 

 Cyclostoma elegans, but for the rest of the day, 

 owing to the extreme heat, we did not attempt to 

 find land-shells. Our search for marine species at 

 Southampton merely resulted in the capture of 

 Tellina Balthica, Mytilus edulis, Littorina rudis, 

 L. obtusata, and L. litoira. 



On Thursday, August 7th, we crossed over to 

 Hythe. The heat was even greater than on the 

 preceding day, and our captures were consequently 

 almost nil. Our journey was uneventful until we 

 neared Lymington, where we met with Anodonta 

 anatina and Bythinia tentaculata, and swarms of 

 Hydrobia ulvcc on the muddy banks of the river. 

 Finding we should not have time to walk, we took 

 the train thence to Christchurch. 



After an uneventful walk on Friday morning to 

 Bournemouth, we took the boat to Swanage, which 

 place we reached early in the afternoon. The town 

 presents a very compact appearance, all the houses 

 being built entirely of hard stone, roof included. 

 Pushing on, we came to Corfe Castle, a famous old 

 ruin of the eleventh century. On its walls we found 

 Helix virgata, H. rupestris, H. aspersa, H. lapicida, 

 Claiisilia rugosa, and Ftipa umbilicata. The same 

 evening we reached Lulworth, but as it was dusk when 



