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^be flDicroecopee of 1894. 



DURING the past year considerable activity has been shown 

 by opticians in the manufacture of new forms of micro- 

 scopes ; indeed, we cannot remember any recent year in 

 which so many radical innovations have been adopted. Of course, 

 it is needless to say that that which is novel may not always be 

 good j but we venture to predict, regarding the new microscopes 

 and apparatus of last year which are both novel and good, that, 

 in popular parlance, they have come to stay, and as with certain 

 articles of universal consumption, no microscopist will be complete 

 without some of them. Another further source of congratulation 

 is that most of the instruments and apparatus in question are 

 within the reach of those of moderate means, and we are afraid 

 that that includes the majority of us. 



Messrs. J. Swift & Son's Four-Legged Microscope. 



The first instrument to which we would direct attention is 

 Messrs. Swift's four-legged tripod. One by one our cherished 

 ideals are being exploded, and now Messrs. Swift have killed ano- 

 ther by proving that a tripod may have four legs. 



The microscope referred to (Figs, i and 2) has a diagonal rack 

 and pinion coarse adjustment, the fine adjustment being by micro- 

 meter screw ; at the back of the fine adjustment is a small milled- 

 head screw, by means of which any wear in the adjustment may 

 be taken up. The length of the body-tube from the ocular to 

 the nose-piece is 6 inches, and can be extended to 9 inches by 

 means of the draw-tube, which has a millimetre graduation. The 

 stage, of the horse-shoe shape, is provided with spring clips, or a 

 movable object-stage can be attached. I'he sub-stage can be had 

 in two forms, one being an ordinary fitting taking the condenser, 

 the other being the regular rack-and-pinion sub-stage. The body 

 of the instrument is supported on an horse-shoe platform, from 

 which the four legs spring ; the two front legs are fixed, but the 

 hind legs are pivoted to the platform. This arrangement of pivot- 

 ing the hind legs enables the microscope to adapt itself to any 

 uneven surface, thus keeping the instrument very steady ; it also 

 reduces the likelihood of the instrument being upset by any lateral 



