82 



THE AMERICAN MONTHLY 



[May, 



own recreation ; and if any of you like 

 to follow my steps you may be able to 

 introduce many improvements, and 

 serve to advance the art, which has 

 many fascinating charms about it for 

 the enlightened worker. 



It has been often asked by numbers 

 of those fossilzied individuals who 

 may be found in great abundance, 

 " What is the good of making 

 photographs of microscopical objects ? 

 It has been tried over and over again 

 and found no good ; it can't be done." 

 To such I would reply : — If you found 

 yourself knee-deep in one of those float- 

 ing bogs which the sportsman and trav- 

 eller may often unwittingly step upon 

 in Ireland and elsewhere, would you 

 attempt to run and get out of it as 

 quickly as you could, or would you 

 stand still to sink for ever in it because 

 hundreds of others had tried to run, 

 but had generally sunk to be seen no 

 more ? I reckon that you would " make 

 tracks " to get out as well as you could ; 

 and this illustration may be used as 

 an argument in advocating the further 

 study of this art. It is not because 

 our predecessors have been, as it 

 were, floundering about in the practice 

 of photomicrography that we are to 

 rest content ; but I deny entirely the 

 assumption that they did nothing 

 worthy of our admiration, or sufficient 

 to encourage us in our endeavors 

 after perfection. I grant that the art 

 is surrounded by many and great 

 difficulties, and only the application 

 of close study and the concourse of 

 many minds can tend to its advance- 

 ment ; but while it is neglected or 

 limited to a few practitioners its 

 advance must be slow. 



I am glad to see by the photographic 

 journals that many in the provinces 

 and abroad are awakening to the 

 interest attached to this process, and 

 much good will result. I must, how- 

 ever, proceed to the subject of this 

 evening's demonstration. The method 

 most generally practiced and recom- 

 mended is that the microscope being 

 placed in a horizontal position, its tubes 

 should be attached by a blackened 



tube or a cone to the front of a photo- 

 graphic camera, the lens of which has 

 been removed. Now, I find these 

 difficulties arise. It is not every one 

 who has got a camera, and they may 

 not feel disposed to go to the expense 

 of procuring one, while all the mem- 

 bers of this club possess microscopical 

 objectives ; but, further, if they have a 

 camera, it is not an easy matter to see 

 the fine details of a subject through 

 the ordinary ground focussing glass. 

 Again : unless the camera and micro- 

 scope are securely fastened down to 

 a base-board there is a tendency to 

 unsteadiness which is irritating in the 

 extreme ; and, furthermore, this usual 

 plan does not offer any advantages 

 over that I wish to introduce to your 

 notice this evening. In the apparatus 

 before you, and which I have found 

 so convenient, it is not necessary to 

 have either a camera or a microscope, 

 and it is so simple that it can be 

 adopted by the youngest member of the 

 club ; but, even with this, difficulties 

 will arise w'hich are altogether apart 

 from the apparatus. For instance ; 

 objects differ in their capability of 

 transmitting the actinic rays ; they may 

 be too opaque or brown, or they may 

 be stained blue or red. All these 

 conditions vary the time of exposure, 

 only experience teaching the requisite 

 time to imprint the image in the 

 sensitive film just sufficiently without 

 under or over-exposure ; this must be 

 left to the cultivated judgment of the 

 operator. Great assistance will be 

 derived by the beginner sticking to 

 one objective till he can produce a 

 good result on every occasion, when 

 another may be tried, the time of 

 exposure being greatly varied by 

 the magnifying power employed, the 

 lower powers admitting of a shorter 

 exposure as more light passes through 

 them. The principles upon which 

 this beautiful art is founded may be 

 read in any of the many manuals on 

 photography, and which are published 

 at a cheap rate ; therefore, leaving 

 these, I will pass on to the practice. 

 If any one need to learn about the 



