THE Microscope. SRE 
there where it should not be, as for delicate work the stage must 
be as steady and reliable as possible. A stand with such a fine 
adjustment can never be used for any other purpose than to 
show pretty objects for the delectation of the owner and his 
friends. The beginner may in time cease to be a beginner and 
become an investigator. He will then want a stand whose stage 
will not tilt up at one end, however slight that tilt may be, for 
when he comes to work with high powers he will find this 
method of applying the fine adjustment objectionable in prac- 
tice as well as in theory. The method has been used over and 
over again by many makers in many countries, and discarded 
by all. That Messrs J. W. Queen & Co. should attempt to re- 
vive it at this late day is surprising. However, the beginner will 
do what many microscopists, the writer among them, would ad- 
vise, if he should reject any stand whose fine adjustment screw 
has any connection with the stage. The first compound mic- 
roscope that I ever owned had its fine adjustment screw at the 
back of the stage, acting on a piece of metal behind and beyond 
the arm, by its action forcing the stage upward and allowing it 
to return by the weight and the spring of the plate. Of that 
arrangement I have a lively recollection, for while the stage 
usually responded to the downward movement of the screw and 
ascended, the decent was often accomplished only by the direct 
pressure of the finger. 
When applied to the lower front end of the body, the screw 
usually acts on a lever which moves the nose-piece, the pressure 
of a spring returning it and the nose-piece to place. This 
method was used for many years and is still employed to a cer- 
tain extent. And while there was nothing better to be had, few 
complaints were heard, although every working microscopist 
recognized its deficiencies; but when the change was made by 
transferring it to the back of the arm, every microscopist at once 
saw and appreciated the advantages of the position and of the 
action. 
The most serious objection to the older form, in addition to 
what has been previously mentioned, is that every movement of 
the fine adjustment screw changed the length of the body and 
altered the magnifying power, which was therefore never the 
same for two successive moments. With the lower powers this 
was scarcely observable, but with high powers it became almost 
