PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 3 



mind ; the various modes of assimilation of food and reactions of 

 substances used in microscopy interest the chemist ; the marvel- 

 lous adaptations of means to an end, and countless varieties of 

 forms are of great interest to the scientist ; the wonderful play of 

 colour under the polariscope, the scales of butterflies, the great 

 beauty of the forms of lower life, the varieties of small insects, 

 and, if I may be permitted the word, their various expressions (I 

 have never forgotten the expression of cruel ferocity of the head 

 of a spider — a diamond spider, I think — sent round mounted dry 

 and uncrushed in one of the boxes some years back), and many 

 other points too numerous to mention, are a source of endless 

 enjoyment to the artist ; as for him of a speculative turn of mind, 

 the curious metamorphoses and various developments of life, the 

 strange world of microscopical life, the curious effects their micro- 

 scopical eyes must give, with a thousand other points, enables him 

 to imagine worlds more strange than any fairy tale, and to weave 

 romances wilder, yet possible, than any of Jules Verne's works. 



Yet all this while time is not being wasted, for knowledge is 

 being increased and the mind is being strengthened. With advan- 

 tages like these I have so cursorily glanced at, is it to be won- 

 dered at that microscopists very soon become enthusiasts in their 

 work, for they find that the microscope has practically given them 

 a new sense with all the delights attached thereto, and none of 

 the disadvantages ? 



All this pleasure can now be obtained at a much lower price 

 than was possible some years back. English opticians have also 

 awakened to the fact that there are many inherent advantages in 

 the short foreign tube of five or six inches, especially when the 

 instrument has to be used upright, as it must be when there are 

 liquids on the stage. Everyone is not a diatomist, and for many 

 purposes low-angled lenses are as good as wide-angled ones, 

 besides being more convenient in use, and of course cheaper. 

 All this is an undoubted advantage to those who want a micro- 

 scope for use and not for show. 



If, however, the intending purchaser would take the advice of 

 a competent friend and be more careful about getting good eye- 

 pieces, and also remember that a good low power is better than a 

 bad high power — in fact, that good lenses are pleasanter in use, 



