108 THE MICROSCOPE. july> 



life and action and ap^jear under the scope like a lot of brown- 

 ies. 



The next interesting part is the cuticle which is composed 

 largely of silex. Cut off portions of the cuticle, of suitable size 

 for mounting : place them in a test-tube half full of water, add 

 a few drops of nitric acid and boil for a few minutes over a spirit 

 lamp. This will quickly and easily separate the siliceous cuti- 

 cle which then should be placed between two glass slips, held 

 together by a brass clip and left to dry. When perfectly dry 

 mount in balsam and examine with polariscope, A beautiful 

 slide will result. 



Starch. — Starch may easily be obtained by taking the object 

 containing it and reducing it to a pulp, or powder. For pota- 

 toes or seeds a nutmeg grater will effect the proper reduction. 



Then have at hand a proper receptacle in which to place a 

 funnel covered with a cloth. Place the pulp, or powder upon 

 the cloth and pour water upon it, the starch will settle at the 

 bottom of the recepticle. Before mounting, the starch should 

 be thoroughly dry when it may be transferred to balsam and 

 furnish an instructive object for the polariscope. 



Thin Sections of "Woods. — These may easily be prepared 

 by taking a pine board into which have been bored a series of 

 holes of suflBcient size to contain the specimens of which sections 

 are desired. Insert plugs of the woods into the holes thus 

 prepared and make the sections with sharp jointer plane. 



Fibres. — Fibres of silk, woolen, cotton, linen and other 

 fabrics should be teased with needles until they exhibit their 

 natural and original cells. Manufactured threads are composed 

 of many fibres woven or twisted together. After teasing, place 

 on a slide, moisten with a drop of water, cover, and examine 

 with a power equal to a quarter inch objective. A little exper- 

 ience will enable one to determine the nature of the fibres at a 

 glance. Fibres of different substances act differently when 

 soaked in a weak solution of sulphuric acid ; it is interesting to 

 soak the fibres in the acid and then examine them under the 

 microscope. This soaking will so differentiate different fibres 

 as to remove all difficulty in determining their nature. 



