THE MICROSCOPE. 



cloudy or watery appearance is either never observed at all, or else 

 in so slight a degree as to cause no annoyances. When it does occur 

 in a cell such as is usually used, and for the preparation of which 

 the books give us so many elaborate directions, the only remedy is 

 to remove it, (.broken of course,) and replace with a fresh one; the 

 latter in due time being predoomed to share a like fate. 



"Is there no remedy for this," you will ask, and I answer un- 

 hesitatingly yes, if you will sacrifice your artistic cells of wax or 

 what not, with their pretty colored rings of varnish, and be content 

 with those of humbler or far more useful qualities. Paper, from 

 which such dissimilar articles are now manufactured, as love letters 

 and car wheels, is our friend in need in this emergency. Not sized 

 or glazed or calendered, but soft, porous paper of various thick- 

 nesses, to suit our needs; a thick blotting pad being exceedingly 

 useful, for cells containing objects sufficiently thick to require such 

 a depth. If a still deeper cell than this be needed, then a slip of 

 wood, 3x1 inches, and the thickness of an ordinary glass slide, with, 

 a hole bored through the middle is most useful; and here again 

 comes in our friendly paper to form the bottom, all of which will be 

 dwelt upon in due course. 



The requisites then, for our dry mounting in the manner to be 

 described, are as follows: Crown glass slips of the usual dimen- 

 sions, 3x1 and of moderate thickness, with cut edges, (grooved or 

 smoothed ones are a needless expense), wooden slips of the same 

 dimensions, with holes through their centres, f to f of an inch in 

 diameter; covers of medium thickness, circles or squares as you 

 prefer, — the latter being cheaper and equally good as the former; a 

 supply of porous paper of various thicknesses from that of thick 

 writing to a blotting board, two punches ^ and % inches in 

 diameter, some thin card board, covered with dead black paper, to 

 form the bottom of the cells when the wooden slips are used, and a 

 supply of colored paper for the backs and edges of the slides, with 

 the bronzed or figured ones for the fronts of same. These latter 

 may be purchased of any optician at a small outlay and are made 

 purposely, in very neat and pretty patterns. Labels, of course, oval 

 or round, as one fancies, and the tools and materials we have gath- 

 ered together in our balsam mountings will suffice to give us a very 

 pretty outfit wherewith to commence v. ork on our dry mounts. 



