The Microscope Unpacked. 17 



If you have not this, a round scrap of black velvet or 

 paper gummed under the slide, will answer the same 

 purpose. 



Then there will be " stage -forceps/' very useful 

 for holding flowers and similar objects for examina- 

 tion with the lower powers ; and a " live-box," other- 

 wise called an " animalcule-cage/' which you will see 

 represented at No. 3, close to the little bottle ; it con- 

 sists of two pieces of glass in brass fittings, between 

 which small water-animals can be placed in a drop of 

 water, the drop flattened out till the glasses nearly 

 touch. The upper glass being always very thin, 

 stands in particular danger of being broken ; a grain 

 of sand or some hard little piece of root in the en- 

 closed drop of water will often cause it to crack 

 across ; but this need not much disconcert the ob- 

 server, as one of the circular pieces of thin glass, 

 generally sent with a microscope for mounting objects, 

 will be likely to fit the live-box, and fastened in with 

 sealing-wax varnish, or some such cement, will replace 

 the broken glass, and make all right again. 



If you have any more apparatus requiring explana- 

 tion, I must refer you to the work of Dr. Carpenter, 

 and that of Mr. Quekett,* from which latter I received 

 much help when beginning to use the microscope. 



A few words should be said about the care of the 

 microscope. It should always be put by when not in 

 actual use. Little specks of dust on the glasses are 

 so annoying, that the instrument should be protected 



* " Practical Treatise on the Use of the Microscope." Bailliere, 

 London. 



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