16 
THE ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 
Now Mr. Coles, the father kept corrosive sublimate in lump for the purpose 
of touching sores of sheep—this lump was in an unlocked drawer, and his 
shepherd had a piece which he unfortunately lost. 
Who gave the poison, the parents, the shepherd, the nursemaid or some 
enemy unknown? The Government offered a reward of £100 in vain, and the 
last day only will reveal the secret which the microscope could not discover— 
there is a limit to its power. 
Under the stimulating influence of the Society the construction of the instru¬ 
ment itself was rapidly improved. Dr. Goring in the Exordium to the first 
edition of Microscopic Illustrations published in 1829 gave his opinion that the 
Microscope had reached the standard of perfection, but in January 1830 Mr. 
Joseph Lister F.R.S. published his paper u On the Improvements of Achromatic 
Compound Microscopes, 15 and on the principles there enunciated the new and 
better instruments were constructed. The first of the modern achromatic com¬ 
binations made in England were the triplets constructed by the late Wm. Tulley 
in 1824, and the first stand with double actions to the stage was made by Mr. 
Smith in 1823—so slowly were these appreciated that ten years later only five 
had been manufactured—ten years after that date 724 had been produced 
besides adaptations of modern achromatic combinations to old instruments. 
In the address delivered by Bowerbank (1847) from which these statements 
are taken, he was able to tell the members that during his Presidential year the 
makers had disposed of 99 microscopes—these found their way into various 
parts of the world, were sent specially to India and America, while by far the 
greater number were received as welcome guests by the members of the medical 
Profession. Strange work these microscopes occasionally had to accomplish as 
we may gather from the paper read by Mr. J. Quekett (1849) “ On the value 
of the microscope in the Determination of Minute Animal Structures of a 
Doubtful Nature.” The author after alluding to the value of the instrument 
in different ways in zoological classification and especially in the study of the 
various forms of hair, details his observations upon portions of skin taken from 
the doors of Worcester Cathedral and other churches in different parts of the 
kingdom. Tradition declared these to be human, but direct evidence was want¬ 
ing. The Arch geological Society called in the aid of Mr. Quekett’s object- 
glass, who on examining a piece of skin containing only two hairs was able to 
determine the human character of the fragment. 
Shortly afterwards Mr. Way sent another portion of skin said to be that of ' 
a Danish pirate taken from the door of the church of Hadstock, in Essex: on 
this portion were many hairs also undoubtedly human. The same result followed 
the examination of a third portion of skin from the church door of Copford, 
also in Essex. Report affirmed that these portions of skin belonged to certain 
sacrilegious malefactors, pirates and others, whose flayed skins were nailed to 
cathedral and church doors like weasels on a barn door. Specimens of these 
remains were exhibited to the Society, and in some instances the colour of the 
hair was unchanged, time had produced no alteration. 
This year Mr. Quekett forwarded his paper “ On the Minute Structure of 
Cartilage in the four great classes of animals ; 11 about this time also disturbances 
abroad caused an unexpected revolution in the manufacture of glass for optical 
purposes ; for although English opticians held their own in the construction of 
object-glasses of the highest powers, yet they were compelled to go abroad for 
the material in which they worked. The gla<s of which our lenses were for the 
most part made came either from Switzerland or France: necessity transferred 
its production to ourselves and Messrs. Chance of Birmingham were able success¬ 
fully to compete with their foreign neighbours. 
Among the Art treasures of the Society the fine old specimen called the 
Martin Microscope must not be overlooked. It was purchased at the sale of the 
