400 MANIPULATION AND PEESEEVATION OF THE MICKOSCOPE 



of the jeweller's bench serves admirably. A rough suggestion of 

 this is given in fig. 336, which presents the plan of the top of the 

 table. The whole area beneath should be unoccupied, but at A and 

 B drawers may be put, not extending more than four inches below 

 the under surface of the top of the table ; on the side B a couple 

 of shallow drawers, with everything required in the form of scalpels, 

 needles, scissors, forceps, pipettes, life-slides, &c. in the upper one, 

 and pliers, cutting pliers, small shears, files of various coarsenesses 

 and finenesses, &c. in the other ; on the A side a single drawer con- 

 taining slips, covers of various thicknesses, bone, tin, glass, and other 

 cells of all (assorted) sizes, watch-glasses, staining cups or slabs, 

 lifters (if used), saiu with fine teeth, hones of various shapes, pewter 

 plate for grinding and polishing glass, <fec., platinum capsule, camera 

 lucida, three ' No. 2 ' sable brushes (water-colour), &c. 



In this way all that is needed for dissection or mounting will be 

 within reach without moving from the chair ; and if by an arrange- 



FIG. 386. Dissecting and mounting table. 



ment which most moderately ingenious manipulators could accom- 

 plish, each of the articles in the drawers has a fixed place, there will 

 be no difficulty in finding by touch what is wanted. 



The table top may be of pitch pine stained black, or, still better, 

 some very hard wood finished smoothly, but ' grey.' 



The space in the figure immediately in front of the operator 

 may be cut out to a convenient size and thickness. A thick plate - 

 glass slab whose edges on the right and left sides shall be slightly 

 bevelled, so that it may slide firmly into a prepared space cut into 

 the surface of the table, should occupy this space, the surface being 

 exactly level with the surface of the table. This plate of glass should 

 be made black on its under side, so as to present a uniform black 

 surface. This is often of great value in certain kinds of work. 

 Equally useful is a purely white unabsorbent surface, and a slab of 

 lohite porcelain may be easily obtained of the same size and be made 

 to fit exactly into the same place. 



