161 



NOTICES OF RECENT BOOKS. 



The Microscope and its Revelations. By the late William 

 B. Carpenter, C.B., M.D., LL.D., F.R.S. Eighth Edition, 

 revised by the Rev. W. H. Dallinger, D.Sc, D.C.L., LL.D., 

 F.R.S., 8| X 5| in., xx + 1181 pages, 22 plates, 817 figures 

 in the text. London, 1901 : J. and A. Churchill. Price 28s. 



If the microscopist were compelled to limit himself to a single 

 book on microscopical matters, the selected work should, of course, 

 be Dallinger's "Carpenter." This has been true any time this 

 last ten years — that is, since the publication of the seventh 

 edition; and now that this new edition has appeared, it will 

 remain true, we firmly believe, for at least another decade. This 

 is not because of the infallible accuracy or superlative excellence 

 of every part of the book, but because, as a whole, it contains such 

 a mass of valuable information, both theoretical and practical, 

 upon such a variety of topics, that it is impossible to imagine 

 that there can exist any worker with the microscope who could 

 not learn something to his advantage from its pages. 



It would be extremely difficult in a short notice to attempt 

 to give even a general outline of the contents of such a heavily 

 freighted book as "Carpenter" has noAv become. Fortunately 

 this is scarcely necessary, because the present issue follows 

 exactly upon the lines of the widely-known seventh edition. It 

 will be sufB-cient, therefore, if a few of the additions and altera- 

 tions only are referred to. 



As might have been anticipated, the chapter which has 

 received the greatest amount of revision is the extremely import- 

 ant one dealing with the history and development of the micro- 

 scope. In the earlier part of this chapter several new figures 

 of old microscopes have been introduced, notably one by Bonannus 

 (1691), showing a sub-stage compound condenser with focussing 

 arrangements. We notice also that Dr. Dallinger has now 

 added the weight of his own testimony to that of Mr. 

 Mayall that the famous lenticular piece of rock crystal from 



