206 BENJ. PIKE'S, JR., DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



tinual recreation, but a powerful auxiliary in the work of 

 education. There is, perhaps, no better method of giving 

 young people a greater knowledge of a variety of subjects, 

 and particularly of the different branches of natural history, 

 than by well colored plates, accompanied with a short ac- 

 count of the subject. Besides, the very nature of the exhi- 

 bition is calculated to excite the attention, and impress the 

 imagination, and many a lesson in natural history, astrono- 

 my, &c., may be given and impressed on the mind in such a 

 way as not to be forgotten, while the pupil supposes he is 

 merely amused. A great deal might be said of the advan- 

 tages attending this mode of instruction, but it is presumed 

 that sufficient has been said to draw the attention of the 

 public to it ; and there is no doubt, that the judicious pa- 

 rent and enlightened instructor will fully appreciate its 

 merits ; indeed, its extensive introduction into infant schools 

 and the lecture room, sufficiently proves its great utility for 

 the purposes of education. 



The cut (Fig. 733, following page) represents one of the 

 improved phantasmagoria lanterns ; a tin box fifteen inches 

 high, ten long, and seven and a half wide, having two double 

 convex lenses mounted in a brass cell, and kept in by a 

 counter screw and slip into a short tube soldered inside the 

 lantern ; the painting is slid in an aperture close to the two 

 lenses and is kept in its place by a heliacal spring. There 

 are two double convex lenses to magnify the picture ; they 

 are screwed into a brass tube, which slides in a short spring 

 tube. The other end is contracted by a stop, which, by cut- 

 ting off some of the extreme rays, renders the image more 

 distinct, though it lessens the quantity of light ; in some 

 subjects the light may be thought of the most importance, 

 and the stop is therefore made to unscrew. This lantern 

 has met with the approbation of the most eminent opticians, 

 as well as every other person who has either examined the 

 principle on which it is constructed, or witnessed its effect. 

 The addition of a solar lamp renders the images much more 

 brilliant and distinct, and of course they can be more mag- 

 nified. The lamp is of a very simple construction, and can 

 never be out of order, and can be easily emptied ; a great 

 advantage for this particular purpose. The lantern is con- 

 structed so that the lamp receives a plentiful supply of air 

 from without, and not from the inside of the lantern, as is 

 generally the case, the consequence of which is, if the lamp 



