NATURE 



[June 12, 1913 



in the neighbourhood. But as all these excursions 

 have naturally to be limited, it is hoped that only 

 those members who are really interested in the 

 subject to be studied will join the excursions. 



Visits to works, either by appointment or by 

 presentation of membership tickets, have been 

 arranged by the excursions sub-committee. Most 

 of these naturally appeal to engineers — for ex- 

 ample, the Daimler works at Coventry, the 

 Milward works at Redditch, the Great Western 

 Locomotive works at Wolverhampton. Others, 

 such as the Bournville works of Messrs. Cadbury, 

 interest a larger number of visitors. Details with 

 regard to facilities for these and other visits may 

 be obtained in the reception room. 



General [Saturday) Excursions. 



The practice of the association has gradually 

 tended to convert Saturday during the meeting 

 into a day given up to excursions. The excursions 

 sub-committee has planned a number of whole- 

 day trips ; whilst for those members who do not 

 wish to give so much time, half-day excursions 

 are available. The general programme of itiner- 

 aries is as follows: Stratford-upon-Avon, Charle- 

 cote Park, and Warwick Castle ; Coventry, Stone- 

 leigh Abbey, and Kenilworth Castle ; Banbury, 

 Wroxton Abbey, Compton Wynyates, and Brough- 

 ton Castle ; Bromsgrove, Hewell Grange, Grafton 

 Manor, Droitwich, Hanbury Hall, Mere Hall, 

 Westwood, Salwarpe Court, and Hartlebury 

 Castle ; Tewkesbury, Deerhurst, Bredon, Woolas 

 Hall, Pershore, Evesham, and Abbey Manor ; 

 Worcester ; Lichfield and Wall ; Sutton Cold- 

 field and Oscott College ; the Forest of Arden 

 villages — Solihull, Knowle, Henley, Wootton 

 Wawen, Alcester — and Coughton Court ; Malvern, 

 British Camp, and Madresfield Court. 



The mayors of the cities and boroughs to be 

 visited are offering a civic welcome to members 

 of the association, and the owners of historic build- 

 ings and beautiful estates on the routes of ex- 

 cursions are offering exceptional facilities for 

 inspection on the Saturday. 



Entertainments. 



The lighter side of the association week has 

 been the subject of careful consideration by the 

 subcommittee appointed for the purpose. For 

 the first time grand opera is to be given. On 

 Monday, September 15, the local committee will 

 entertain the association in the Prince of Wales 

 Theatre, Broad Street ; in the new Repertory 

 Theatre, Station Street ; and in the Picture House, 

 New Street. 



The opera to be performed will probably be 

 Gluck's "Orpheus," under the direction of Herr 

 Denhof, and a well-known work by a modern 

 dramatist will be produced at the Repertory 

 Theatre; whilst special kinemacolour and other 

 films, dealing mainly with scientific subjects, will 

 be displayed in the New Street Picture House. 



It is a little unfortunate that the Botanical 

 Gardens, Edgbaston, cannot be used freely, but 

 those who have an hour to spare will be well 

 NO. 2276, VOL. 91] 



advised to go to the gardens by the Harborne 

 motor-'bus. Botanists and zoologists particularly 

 will find much to interest them in the exhibits. 



The arrangements for working-men's lectures, 

 and the nature of the topics to be discussed during 

 the visit of the association, will form the subject 

 of later articles. F. W. G. 



MICROSCOPE STANDS. 



MORE than a year ago (Nature, December 

 21, 191 1, p. 245, and January 11, 1912, 

 p. 351), in some articles on microscope stands, we 

 were enabled to give the opinions of several recog- 

 nised authorities on the various methods adopted 

 to utilise the optical properties of the instrument. 



It was shown that, speaking generally, there 

 were two distinctive types, which might be con- 

 veniently styled English and Continental. Further, 

 the English type of microscope was thus defined : — 



" By the term ' English microscope ' is meant the 

 distinctive type of instrument which has been built 

 to embody conveniences for working with modern 

 high-class objectives and condensers, which con- 

 veniences cannot be found in combination in any 

 other microscopes than those of British origin. 

 Among them are the following : — (1)* The tripod 

 foot ; (2)* a long range of coarse adjustment for 

 the use of low-power objectives ; (3)* the body tube 

 fitted with mechanical draw tube to allow for the 

 adjustment of objectives for thickness of cover- 

 glass ; (4) the mechanical stage scientifically con- 

 structed as a part of the whole instrument ; (5) the 

 compound substage with rackwork to focus and 

 screws to render the substage condenser axial 

 with any objective that may be in use ; (6)* fine 

 adjustment to substage; (7)* the Wenham binocu- 

 lar body ; (S) the various fittings for substage 

 apparatus, eyepieces and objectives of the Royal 

 Microscopical Society's standard gauge; (9)* all 

 the working parts fitted with sprung bearings and 

 controlling screws, so that compensation for wear 

 and tear may be readily effected." 



It was pointed out that in no Continental micro- 

 scope are the fittings marked with an asterisk 

 provided in the manner that is usual in an English 

 one. 



The defenders of the Continental model con- 

 tended that many of the above-named means of 

 adjustment were unnecessary, and held that the 

 greater simplicity of the Continental model was to 

 the advantage of the worker. Among these means 

 of adjustment they named the centering arrange- 

 ment for the substage and its fine adjustment. 



It may be mentioned that the arrangement for 

 oblique illumination and decentering of the iris 

 diaphragm, so common in the Continental model, 

 is of very rare occurrence on the English micro- 

 scope. 



One of the writers pointed out that changes 

 were going on, and that a common ground was 

 being approached. The centering arrangement 

 discarded as useless for the ordinary condenser 

 was really being introduced for an achromatic 

 condenser and the many arrangements for dark 

 field illumination. 



