I. 



SO MUCH has been written and published on this well worn sub- 

 ject, that it would seem almost superfluous, if not presumptuous, 

 in me to attempt to add thereto. But recollections of the many fail- 

 ures in my early attempts in years long since gone by, of the wast- 

 age of time and materials incurred, and the unsatisfactory knowledge 

 gleaned from books, impel me to jot down for the benefit of others, 

 the results of actual experience in this work. 



Whilst by no means asserting that the processes to be described 

 are the best, I would say that I have found them to be uniformly 

 satisfactory, yielding always the best desired results, and that all have 

 stood the tests of actual use and experience. I shall give nothing 

 that I do not use in my daily work ; and shall not state what "my 

 friend Smith" says "is his process," or that "I am told Mr. Jones 

 does this and that." Smith's and Jones' processes may be vastly 

 superior to those I shall give, but not having tested, I shall not 

 speak of them, my intention being to give simply and succinctly as 

 possible, my methods of preparing and mounting ordinary objects 

 of interest, which may prove of use to many a beginner in this fas- 

 cinating pursuit. 



Fig. i. Dissecting Needle. 



Nearly all microscopic preparations are mounted in one of 

 three ways: in balsam or other resinous media; in air in the dry way, 

 and in aqueous or other fluids. Of these methods I shall proceed 

 to spesk first of balsam mounts, the essential materials for which 

 work are as follows: 



A bottle or tube of pure filtered Canada balsam; a bottle each 

 of 95 alcohol, pure benzole, oil of cloves, and liquor potassae (the 

 latter with glass stopper) ; a pair of fine curved forceps, which should 

 be nickel-plated; another of fine dissecting scissors, and a small dis- 



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