134 cobebspondencb. 



" Fair Play " on Dr. Pigott. 



To the Editor of the ^Monthly Microscopical Journal.^ 



224, Regent Street, Feb. 5, 1874. 



SiE, — As " Fair Play " has not ventured to appear, though directly 

 challenged, I am led to infer that his relationship to Dr. Pigott is 

 possibly too near for the legitimate assumption of the pseudonym 

 chosen by him. 



He asked for the name of " a single microscoj)ist who has seen 

 Dr. Pigott's experiments and will endorse Mr. Wenham's statements 

 concerning them?" I do not remember the precise words, but our 

 worthy President, in his anniversary address last night, laid emphatic 

 stress on his opinion that, having seen the Aplanatic Searcher in Dr. 

 Pigott's own hands, and having applied his mathematical skill to 

 investigate the principle of its construction, he had come to the con- 

 clusion that its merits were mainly, if not wholly, fictitious : a verdict 

 which the applause of the meeting seemed to cordially endorse. The 

 President not only condemned the Aplanatic Searcher, but he even 

 exposed the conceit of its pretended originality by reminding the 

 meeting that Dr. Goring had used a similar instrument forty years 

 ago, and afterwards discarded it. 



I have no wish to write another word about the Aplanatic Searcher. 

 With the greatest possible cheerfulness I say good-bye to it ; but I 

 should like to add just a line on the general question as to the value 

 of Dr. Pigott's contributions to microscopy. I have gone through 

 them with attention, and I am strongly impressed with the conclusion 

 that there has been an excess of talk about his discoveries. Had he 

 given us fewer defective diagrams, theorems, and formulae, and, above 

 all, less cause for suspecting his disingenuousness by frankly stating, 

 en passant, from whence much of his text was transcribed; — then, I 

 think, he would have better claims to that credit which " Fair Play" 

 says " will be due to him when his views are finally established." 

 I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, 



John Mayall, jun. 



The Inventor of the Water-tight Caps. 



To the Editor of the * Monthly Microscopical Journal.' 



289, Camberwell New Eoad, Feb. 17, 1874. 

 Deab Sir, — With regard to your notice in the last number of the 

 ' Monthly Microscopical Journal ' of the improvements in the water- 

 tight caps brought out by me in 1872, and exhibited before the 

 Society, I beg to inform you that I was not the inventor of them, but 

 that they were modified from Mr. Stephenson's submersion microscope 

 by a F.R.M.S., who gave the model to me to make what use of I might 

 think fit. 



Will you do me the favour of inserting this in the Journal ? 

 I am, dear Sir, obediently yours, 



E. Richards. 



