v.1. ttH VIL/IV/V't* AJCtO k/V/V/i-l. VV-/1.J.X MAw U^Vt J. UO J.KIUHJ IP U.Cl..l. IS UVJ Mv/ l^f V /if L/C/ All (t.L IYl_/ M. VJ 



it, and the slide should be put away in its appropriate place. Some inscril 

 the name on the glass itself with a writing diamond; whilst others preft 



'218 THE MICROSCOPE AND ITS -REVELATIONS. 



with which, the glass-slides may have been wiped; fibres of the blotting- 

 paper employed to absorb superfluous fluid; and grains of starch, which 

 often remain obstinately adherent to the thin glass-covers kept in it. 

 But a careless and uncleanly manipulator will allow his objects to con- 

 tract many other impurities than these; and especially to be contaminated 

 by particles of dust floating through the air, the access of which may be 

 readily prevented by proper precautions. It is desirable to have at hand a 

 well-closed cupboard furnished with shelves, or a cabinet of well- fitted 

 drawers, or a number of bell-glasses upon a flat table, for the purpose of 

 securing glasses, objects, etc., from this contamination in the intervals of 

 the work of preparation; and the more readily accessible these receptacles 

 are, the more use will the Microscopist be likely to make of them. Great 

 care, ought, of course, to betaken that the Media employed for mounting 

 should be freed by effectual filtration from all floating particles, and that 

 they should be kept in well-closed bottles. 



214. Labelling and Preserving of Objects. Whenever the mounting 

 of an object has been completed, its name ought to be at once marked on 



Some inscribe 

 Eer 



to gum a labels 1 on the slide; and others, again, cover one or both surfaces 

 of the slide with colored paper, and attach the label to it. In the case 

 of objects mounted dry or in balsam, the latter method has the advantage 

 of rendering the glass-cover more secure from displacement by a slight 

 blow or ' jap ' when the varnish or balsam may have become brittle by the 

 lapse of years. Instead, however, of attaching the white label on which 

 the name of the object is written, to the outside of the colored paper 

 with which the slide is covered, it is better to attach the label to the glass, 

 -and to punch a hole out of the colored paper, sufficiently large enough 

 to show the name, in the part corresponding to it: in this manner the 

 label is prevented from falling-off, which it frequently does when attached 

 to the glass without protection, or to the outside of the paper cover. 

 "When objects are mounted in fluid, either with or without cells, paper 

 coverings to the slides had better be dispensed with; and besides the name 

 of the object, it is desirable to inscribe on the label that of the fluid in 

 it is mounted. For the preservation of objects, the pasteboard boxes now 

 made at a very reasonable cost, with wooden racks, to contain C, 12, or 

 24 slides, will be found extremely useful. In these, however, the slides 

 must always stand upon their edges; a position which, besides interfering 

 with that ready view of them which is required for the immediate selec- 

 tion of any particular specimen, is unfavorable to the continued soundness 

 of preparations mounted in fluid. Although such boxes are most useful, 

 indeed almost indispensable, to the Microscopist, for holding slides which 

 he desires (for whatever purpose) to keep for awhile constantly at hand, 

 jet his regularly-classified series is much more conveniently stored either 

 in a Cabinet containing numerous very shallow drawers, in which they 

 lie flat and exposed to view, or (which the Author finds much preferable) 

 in a series of smaller cases, each hold ing a dozen trays, everyone of which 

 is divided into twelve compartments for as many slides. These have the 

 advantage, not only of cheapness (their outside case being made of pol- 

 ished pine, while the trays are made of thin pasteboard glued to a wooden 



1 Very neat gummed labels, of the various sizes and patterns suitable to the 

 wants of the Microscopist, may be obtained from the "Drapers' Stationers" in 

 the City; and covering slips of various patterns are supply by many of the dealers 

 in Microscopic Apparatus. 



