SOME EARLY MICROSCOPISTS 



a Lamp draw it out into very small hairs or threads, 

 then holding the ends of these threads in the flame, 

 till they melt and run into a small round Global, 

 or drop, which will hang at the end of the thread; 

 and if further you stick several of these upon the 

 end of a stick with a little sealing wax, so that the 

 threads stand upwards, and then on a whetstone 

 first grind off a good part of them, and afterward 

 on a smooth Metal plate, with a little Tripoly, rub 

 them till they come to be very smooth ; if one of 

 these be fixt with a little soft wax against a small 

 needle hole, prick'd through a thin Plate of Brass, 

 Lead, Pewter, or any other Metal, and an Object, 

 placed very near, be look'd at through it, it will both 

 magnifie and make some Objects more distinct than 

 any of the great Microscopes." 



This early worker was noted for the variety of his 

 investigations rather than for the depths of his 

 learning. Amongst the so-called Observations, in 

 his book are many that are not connected with 

 microscopic work. The following are interesting 

 and, in the curious old book Micrographia, there are 

 an extraordinary number of well executed illustra- 

 tions. Early in his book Hooke compares various 

 man-made objects, such as a razor edge, the point 

 of a needle and a piece of cloth, with various natural 

 objects, and always to the detriment of the former. 

 He examined Foraminifera with his microscope, and 

 was probably the first man to draw these beautiful 

 little creatures. Petrified wood and charcoal also 

 came under his notice. When he studied cork, he 



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