The Eye and the Microscope. 427 



progress, and just before its disappearance it threw out the most 

 brilliant light, blue and green, like the explosion of an enormous- 

 rocket. 



Mr. A. P. Falconer, of Lymington, Hants, saw a great 

 light issue from the sky, and increase in size as it approached 

 him. He says, " I was then standing in a line due S. with the 

 needle rocks ; as it advanced to this line, suddenly it cast off 

 sparks in the same way as is seen to fly off from the blows of 

 the smith's hammer off a piece of hot iron; on its N.E. limb 

 and under it these lumps of fire and flame flew off in eurls^. 

 some falling down whilst part formed a broad expanse of light 

 behind it, crimson-red interlined above with greenish-blue, and 

 below bright yellow. The ball of light was bright blue, and it 

 was like a Roman candle. I fancied as it cast off these sparks 

 it seemed impeded in its course, and apparently to forge its way 

 along. Its size increased as it approached me ; I feared these 

 sparks, discharged so abundantly, would set fire to my hay and 

 straw ricks; these ceased, it turned more southerly, then 

 quickly whirled to the S. (due), between the earth and the- 

 moon (which was then over it), and vanished away.'" 



The meteor, as Mr. Falconer observes, was impeded in its 

 course; there was at Grantham a momentary check in its 

 velocity each time it discharged a shower of balls. 



THE EYE AND THE MICROSCOPE. 



BY HENRY J. SLACK, F.G.S., 



(Member of the Microscopical Society of London) . 



It is a common, but fortunately an erroneous opinion, that the 

 use of the microscope is necessarily followed by injury to the 

 eyes. It is no doubt true that those organs are often fatigued 

 by looking through the optical arrangements by which the 

 minute world is made known to us; but the inconvenience- 

 generally results from causes capable of removal ; and it is not 

 too much to affirm that very few miscroscopic studies, whether 

 pursued in the day-time, by the help of natural illumination, or 

 of an evening, by the aid of appropriate lamps, have any 

 inevitable tendency to debilitate the sight. Experienced 

 observers are well aware of this fact, and unless their re- 

 searches have demanded unusual exertion, they can report, 

 after ten or twenty years' labour, that then- visual apparatus 

 has not deteriorated any faster, if so fast, as that of their- 



