392 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
accessory apparatus wliicli the microscopist requires. It is sold at a low 
price, and, so far as we have seen of its lower powers, it has good definition 
and considerable penetration. The stand, though by no means handsome, is 
firm and solid, and upon a somewhat original plan. 
“ Words on the Choice of a MicroscoijeC — This is a little pamphlet reprinted 
from the Microscopical J ournal, and which, we thmk, might very well have 
been left vdiere it originally appeared. It contains nothing new, but lays 
great stress upon the advice (so often given by those who can afford to pim- 
chase expensive instruments) to' the effect that no one about to purchase a 
microscope should dream of investing in a cheap stand. We do not agree 
with the writer. Of course a solid, firm stand is better than one which 
vibrates ; but let us ask the author how many of our students of the present 
day could afford to spend at the outset say <£30 or £40 in the purchase of a 
first-class microscope ? It is very well for Mr. Plumer and those who can 
wait till they can afford to procure an expensive microscope, but this won’t 
do for the student, who, when he becomes a professional man, is carried away 
in earning a livelihood from all those pursuits which, if followed while he 
was a student, would be afterwards developed. It is better far, in our 
opinion, to let those who desire to become conversant with Microscoj)ic 
science, to spend £10 or £15 in the purchase of an instrument such as 
Smith & Beck’s Student’s or Highley’s Hospital Microscope, with which 
they can learn far more than some folk are disposed to imagine, than to wait 
(as sometimes would happen) for six or seven years till they can afford one of 
Boss’s or Powell & Lealand’s first-class instruments. We perceive that the 
■ 5 V inch objective of Messrs. Smith & Beck has been omitted from the 
table appended to Mr. Plumer’s brochure. 
Highley's Field Microscope, which is a modification of Dr. Beale’s instru- 
ment for class demonstration, is intended for the use of field botanists ; and, 
from the ingenious manner in which its stage is arranged, it is admirably 
adapted for the object for which the manufacturer intends it. 
Diagrams of Microscopic objects are stated by Mr. Laing in the last 
Microscopical J ournal as bemg of use to lecturers. Therefore he suggests that 
some of our enterprising publishers should issue a series of maps delineating 
the minute structure of plants and animals. 
Mr. Goddard's Mounting Table is defended by its inventor against the 
accusations of Mr. Stokes. Mr. Goddard asserts that the Canada balsam, in 
which objects are mounted, is not liable to boil in the preparation of 
specimens upon the table devised by him. — Microscopical Journal, January. 
For abstracts of papers on Histology, consult the following divisions of the 
Summary : — 
Botany. 
Medical Science. 
Zoology and Comparative Anatomy. 
PHOTOGEAPHY. 
The Dublin International Exhibition. — The great respect for the new art- 
science of photography displayed by the Committee of the Fine Arts Depart- 
ment of the Dubiui International Exhibition, by classifying it with the fine 
