4 Modern Microscopy 



and those just mentioned enjoy the highest position in 

 England. 



Undoubtedly the professional worker has in a large degree 

 to thank the amateur microscopist for the efficiency of the 

 microscope that is to-day available, for he it is that has 

 devoted time and money to the encouragement of the 

 manufacturer. 



It is surprising that, notwithstanding the pleasures and 

 advantages that are associated with microscopical work, 

 microscopy has not the hold on people of refined tastes 

 that its merits should fairly claim for it. It does not seem 

 to be realized that the microscope will unfold its wonders 

 and beauties without that long and careful study which 

 is the necessary preliminary to the majority of scientific 

 pursuits. Those who may be induced to use a microscope 

 in the first place for pleasure and recreation will quickly 

 find their inclinations leading them to a desire for fuller 

 knowledge concerning the subjects which may come under 

 their notice, and by degrees this instrument will become 

 the means of the acquirement of a very liberal education, 

 for its influence is not merely confined to one kingdom ; 

 it embraces every tangible and intangible subject, whether 

 it be the air we breathe, with its myriads of invisible 

 friends and foes to human well-being, or the floors of 

 oceans, with their minute flinty shells bearing markings 

 which exceed in accuracy the power of any draughtsman to 

 depict, and which in themselves are invisible to the naked 

 eye, many of them measuring but the ^V^ of an inch. 



Astronomy, with all the wonders that are associated 

 with the study, demands many a night vigil, an expensive 

 instrument, and a suitable observatory, and even then there 

 is always a sense of dissatisfaction when accounts are read 

 of observations of fellow-workers who are more highly 

 favoured in that they possess glasses of very large aper- 

 ture, which the average astronomical student could not 

 aspire to. How dependent the observer is on the weather, 

 too! 



