THE AMERICAN 



MONTHLY 



MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



Vol. XIV. AUGUST, 1893. No. 8. 



Some Home-made Accessories. 

 By E. E. MASTERMAN, 



NEW LONDON, OHIO. 



WITH FRONTISPIECE. 



For those who cannot afford expensive apparatus, 1 will 

 make a few suggestions hoping that some one may profit by 

 them. Of course there are accessories that must be bought, but 

 some others need not be unless one prefers to do so, and this 

 article is intended for those who do not feel able to buy and yet 

 who feel the need of certain accessories. 



1.— WATCH GLASSES AND COVERS. 

 In place of the Syracuse watch crystals or of any others on 

 the market, use the round butter dips made of white earthen 

 ware for staining, soaking, etc. They can, usually, be had at a 

 china store. Use the concave glasses of toy watches, if you 

 can get them. First set them in plaster of Paris which gives a 

 white surface for the bottom. For covers, use tumblers, goblets, 

 or wine glasses which have had the bottoms broken off. 



2.— DISSECTING KNIVES AND SCISSOES. 



One needs small knives, for dissecting, also scissors and need- 

 les. These can sometimes be got from a surgeon in the vicinity, 

 if he happens to have those that are unfit for his use. They are 

 just the thing for our use if properly cleaned and re-sharpened. 

 My first knives were made from common case-knife blades, and 

 were fitted into shape and tempered by a clever blacksmith. I 

 have since paid 75 cents or $1.00 for some that worked no better. 



My scissors consisted "of a small pair given me by a milliner. 

 After being re-ground and sharpened, they worked very well. 



