A POCKET TELESCOPE 9 



edges until the lens is a rough circle instead of being oval. Make a little 



cardboard cap to fit over the object lens. This can be done by taking a strip 



of brown paper and rolling it round the 



end of the telescope, gluing it down upon 



itself, until a ring of sufficient stiffness 



has been made. (Do not, of course, stick 



it to the brass.) When dry, stick a circle 



of cardboard on the top, cutting out of 



it a hole about f of an inch in diameter. 



On the inside of this cap fasten your 



spectacle lens. The rough edges of the 



glass will not show, being hidden behind 



the overlapping portion of the cap. 



There, then, is your auxiliary lens, costing 



a fraction of a penny. 



With one of these lenses added to your 



telescope you can make out the veining 



upon a leaf, and the stinging hairs of the 



nettle, at a distance of three feet or so ; 



and you can watch, as I have done, ants 



milking aphides, as big (apparently) as 



rats! 



When the telescope is thus used it will 



be found necessary to place it on a stand 



of some sort, as it cannot be held steadily enough in the hands. If you want 



to use it in comfort in the garden, for instance use a table, or, better still, 



a camera stand, placing on the top of 

 it some form of holder. The simplest 

 arrangement in the world will serve ; 

 Fig. 4 shows a rough-and-ready 

 method. This has the advantage that 

 the telescope is set independently of 

 the person who is looking through it, 

 and so you may show your friends the 

 particular object at which you have 

 been looking. In the open country, a 

 walking-stick and an elastic band will 

 make a stand sufficiently stable (Fig. 5). 

 When once the fascination of ex- 

 amining small things in this way has 



FIG. 5. Tele3cope fixed to walking-stick. taken hold of Y' !t 11 not be lon S 



before you crave for still greater mag- 

 nification. And here, again, another simple and cheap addition will give you 

 what you want : you must add an extra magnifier to the eyepiece at D. 



FIG. 4. Telescope placed on a camera stand. 



