170 THE MICROSCOPE. Nov. 



purpose and is more satisfactory on account of being 

 home made and in costing but a trifle, than those for 

 sale in the shops. The body is a tobacco box of the size 

 holding six pounds of plug; it is about 4 by 5 and 13 

 inches long, made of sycamore with neatly dove-tailed 

 corners. All particles of paper are carefully removed, 

 the surface sandpapered and varnished, the inside is 

 blackened with a mixture of lampblack and turpentine 

 with suflBcient varnish to prevent its rubbing oiF. This 

 gives a dull black which is absorptive and non-reflective. 

 Lay the box on its side with the bottom toward you 

 and remove a section about three inches wide from the 

 middle of what is now the top, cut away along the sides 

 of this hole enough to let a piece of window glass in, 

 flush with the surface of the box. The stage is now com- 

 j)lete. Taking another piece of glass, or mirror if you 

 prefer, a little larger than the stage glass, paste a strip 

 of heavy paper, one inch wide, along one of the wider 

 sides allowing it to project half an inch, the projecting 

 part is then pasted to the back of the box, inside, at the 

 upper angle, thus forming a hinge so that this piece of 

 glass may be raised or lowered. This is accomplished by 

 a string attached to the right hand edge by means of a 

 piece of court plaster, passed through a small wire staple 

 driven into the edge of the box near the stage and passed 

 to the extreme right hand end. 



When in use the open side of the box is turned toward 

 the light and the glass reflector raised to the proper 

 angle and retained by fastening the string. The stage 

 and reflector are shown in figure one. 



Next, unscrew the legs from the tripod and remove the 

 band which carried them, make a neat loop with stout 

 brass wire sufficiently large to encircle the body of the 

 lens (fig. 2) and replace the lower band to hold the wire 

 in place. Then, holding the lens perfectly horizontal, 



