OF THE MICROSCOPE. 235 



holding twenty-five objects, answers well for carrying a few 

 objects to exhibitions and the like. The chief objections to 

 this style of cabinet consist in the difficulty of lifting out any 

 particular slide and of reading the names. The latter difficulty 

 may be obviated by writing the names on the bottom of the 

 box on a line with the slide; the first objection may be miti- 

 gated by placing the spaces in the rack as far apart as possible. 

 These rack boxes make altogether the cheapest cases, and when 

 placed in cabinets holding, say, a dozen boxes, or three hun- 

 dred slides, they form a very economical and convenient ar- 

 rangement. The cabinet, or outer case, should, of course, be so 

 made that the boxes will stand on end, as in this way the slides 

 lie flat a most important point. 



Cases or cabinets of shallow drawers in which the slides lie 

 flat, with the labels fully exposed to view, are, however, alto- 

 gether the best. They have been made of various forms. A 

 cheap, simple case, holding about six dozen slides, may be had, 

 in which the drawers do not slide in grooves, but lie one above 

 the other. The only objection to this plan lies in the fact that 

 all the drawers must be taken out if we wish to get at the lowest 

 one; but where there are not more than a dozen drawers this is 

 not a very serious difficulty, and the compactness, lightness and 

 cheapness of the arrangement make it quite a favorite. 



In the English cabinets the slides lie with their ends towards 

 the front of the drawer, so that the motion of pulling the drawer 

 out or pushing it in, does not cause the slides to slip over each 

 other. This is a very excellent arrangement, and one which 

 we like better than any other. In the American cabinets as 

 hitherto made, the slides lie with the long edges towards the 

 front of the drawers, and are prevented from slipping over 

 each other by small partitions which divide the rows into 

 spaces one inch each in width. This is, theoretically, the most 

 perfect arrangement, but it requires a little more room than 

 the other. The American cabinets have, however, one feature 

 which is a most important one: The spaces in which the slides 

 rest have a depression under the ends of the slides, and by 

 pressing on the end, the slide is lifted so that it is very easily 

 grasped. In the English cabinets this feature is wanting, and 

 it is only with great trouble that a tightly-fitting slide can be 



