372 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Dec. 



decade ago. By the same means, the optical lantern has 

 been brought to the fore as one of the indispensable 

 adjuncts of a well appointed lecture room. Ready sensi- 

 tized plates of thin glass are now furnished at reasonable 

 cost by several eminent makers, by use of which any one 

 can make his own slides and from his own negatives, 

 either by contact printing or by reduction in the camera, 

 if he is provided with one adapted to the latter purpose. 

 In short, the microscopist of the present day finds at his 

 disposal the ready means of illustrating his work at every 

 stage; and one^who publishes his notes without illustra- 

 tions finds himself at a disadvantage as compared with 

 his more progressive brother. 



It is not the object of this paper to do more than glance 

 at the new points in photo-micrography which have fallen 

 under the notice of the writer during the past score of 

 years, and to call attention to a new form of camera com- 

 bining some novel features, which he has recently intro- 

 duced under the name of the "Autograph." It may be not 

 uninteresting, however, if a very brief allusion is made to 

 his preceding work in this direction, as he takes a per- 

 haps pardonable pride in the belief that to his efforts, a 

 considerable portion of the present acknowledged value 

 and popularity of photo-micrography is due. 



Without the slightest previous knowledge of photo- 

 graphy in any form, I became greatly interested in its 

 application to the microscope by my friend and mentor, 

 the late Dr. Woodward. Many days passed in his work- 

 room during my then frequent visits to Washington, gave 

 me a keen relish for and desire to engage in this fascinat- 

 ing pursuit, without however the slightest expectation of 

 ever being able to do so. The costly and complicated 

 apparatus and appliances necessary, placed it quite be- 

 yond my reach, but in a few years, with the advent of 

 portable cameras and gelatine dry plates, I became one of 



