128 The Microscope. 



The day for timbers two feet in diameter in the frame of a 

 house, and for the excessive weight and clumsiness in microscope 

 stands has passed. Microscopists do not overturn microscopes. 

 The firmness of the stand under manipulation depends above all 

 on the perfection of the fitting. When in 1886 an earthquake 

 rocked the great Southern Hotel in St. Louis so that I and other 

 frightened guests left our rooms in haste, it was learned that in 

 some of the smaller surrounding buildings, the earthc^uake had 

 passed unnoticed. 



In conclusion I wish to be understood as being an advocate of 

 stands with a draw tube and with a single low power ocular for 

 work, with not less than two good objectives and without a 

 " complexity and a multiiDlicity of glass and brass.'" I would 

 advise the purchaser to secure all information possible and then 

 to use his best judgment, as extra power cannot be secured by 

 tubes of great diameter and by a large stand with showy acces- 

 sories. I desire to be placed on record as an advocate of so 

 much onl_y of " glass and brass " as will aid in securing the best 

 results with the least display. 



It is my firm belief after years of personal experience and as- 

 sociation with microscopical societies from the Atlantic to the 

 Pacific, that a well-made medium-sized stand with a small stage 

 is much steadier and much more to be desired than one weighted 

 down with " brass and glass and with a multiplicity and a com- 

 plexity of parts." 



If any persons in reading this communication discover that it 

 in any manner describes an instrument in which I may have a 

 personal interest, he will understand just the reason why that 

 instrument was so made. 



It would be of great interest and of much practical value to all 



parties interested if a friendly exchange of opinion could be given 



to our scientific journals, and I trust that even " An Amateur " 



. will not be offended, but will be willing to receive as well as to 



give. 



After a residence of more than twenty-five years in Fairport, 

 N. Y , I am now moving to Rochester. My new address is given 

 below. E. H. Griffith. 



28 Meigs Street, Rochester, N. Y. 



