18 HOW TO SEE WITH THE MICROSCOPE. 



lowed my recommendations as to stands, and in every 

 case, I believe, have expressed to me their satisfaction. 

 The author has not in the past stood so much alone as 

 to his ideas of a stand as was the case with his opinion 

 of objectives. 



Now, in what follows, it is to be assumed that the 

 reader desires one stand, and one only, and that he 

 wishes to invest his money to the best advantage, i. e. 9 

 make the same go as far as possible ; that he desires a 

 really good and reliable instrument, and one that will 

 last for a lifetime. 



During the past three or four years, the microscope 

 stand has been greatly improved, both in Europe and 

 America, and as a rule, really serviceable instruments 

 can now be obtained either of American or London 

 workmanship, and at a moderate cost. It is to be re- 

 gretted that our German friends have not followed suit, 

 but, on the contrary, have been content with the old 

 form of stands which were patent ten years ago. 



In the late improvements by the American and Lon- 

 don makers, it is first noticealle that the weight of the 

 stand has been considerably reduced ; the old idea, that 

 to secure sufficient solidity it was necessary to employ 

 stands weighing from twenty to forty pounds, being 

 now practically abandoned. 



Again, it was formerly considered a sine qua non that 

 the microscope stage be thick enough, heavy enough, 

 and solid enough to bear the whacks from a sledge- 

 hammer. 



It must be here kept in inird that years ago there 



