16 A HALF- HOUR WITH THE 



CHAPTER II. 



A HALF-HOUR WITH THE MICROSCOPE 

 IN THE GARDEN. 



AMONGST the objects which can be examined by 

 the Microscope, none are more easily obtained than 

 plants. All who have a Microscope may not be 

 fortunate enough to have a garden ; but plants are 

 easily obtained, and even the Londoner has access 

 to an unbounded store in Covent Garden. We 

 will, then, commence our Microscopic studies with 

 plants. On no department of nature has the 

 Microscope thrown more light than on the struc- 

 ture of plants ; and we will endeavour to study 

 these in such a manner as to show the importance 

 of the discoveries that have been made by the aid 

 of this instrument. 



If we take, now, a portion of a plant, the thin 

 section of an apple, or a portion of the coloured 

 parts of a flower, or a section of a leaf, and place it, 

 with a little water, on a glass slide under the 

 Microscope, we shall see that these parts are com- 

 posed of little roundish hollow bodies, sometimes 

 pressed closely together, and sometimes loose, 

 assuming very various shapes. These hollow 

 bodies are called " cells," and we shall find that all 

 parts of plants are built up of cells. Sometimes, 

 however, they have so far lost their cellular shape 

 that we cannot recognize it at all. Nevertheless, 

 all the parts we see are formed out of cells. Cells 

 tolerably round, arid not pressed on each other, 

 may be seen in most pulpy fruits. In fact, with 

 a little care in making a thin section, and placing 



