THE MICROSCOPE. 



MAY, 



1893. 



Number 5. (New Series.) 



OUTFIT AND WORK FOR BEGINNERS. 

 By H. L. Osborn, 



SAINT PAUL, MINN. 



For the majority, I should recommend a good low-power ob- 

 jective, say |, and a stand to which could be added later a good 

 4-inch. 



The Bausch & Lomb Continental A stand costs $18, and the 

 -f-inch objective $7 — total, $25: When you buy the i-inch ob- 

 jective it will cost $15 more. The B. & L. Library stand ($10) 

 and i-inch objective ($16) is capable of good work. I should say 

 that microscopes of about that grade are the cheapest that are 

 worth having, and I should advise buying the Continental in 

 preference to the Library. 



When you have secured the instrument, practice mounting and 

 preparing objects, at first dry or in water, then in permanent 

 mounts in glycerin iellv or balsam. Examine netting;, bolting" 

 cloth, and other fabrics in order to decide in which direction the 

 strands run. Examine paper and felt. Study the surface of 

 every kind of leaf. Examine seeds, pollen, petals of flowers, and 

 other floral organs. Make cross-sections of plant stems at various 

 levels. Kill insects with chloroform ; examine them whole and 

 also the separate parts. Acquire skill by practice in preparing 

 these things for examination. Search in water, especially salt 

 water, for small animals and plants to examine. 



All sorts of hair, scales, feathers, sand, clay, powdered min- 

 erals, etc., are interesting for low-power study. It is surprising 

 how much can be done even with a low power or a hand-lens. 



Get some book like Stokes' Microscopy for Beginners, and look 

 up in it the explanation of what you see and the list of things 

 which you ought to see in each kind of specimen. So far as pos- 

 sible, make notes and drawings of what you see. Of course, a 

 child of ten years of age cannot do these things without a little 

 instruction, but many young people, such as the members of the 

 Agassiz Association, can become quite proficient with practice. 



