66 
[February, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
©sir Young; 3Bicr«sco|»£sts’ 
SUNDRY THINGS TO DO NOW. 
Well, here is more work for “The Doctor”—not that 
I regard it as “ work ” exactly, perhaps I might say more 
fun for “ The Doctor.” Those of you, and X know that 
it is several thousands already, who have the American 
Agriculturist Microscope, and have read the Working De¬ 
scription with it. must have noticed that the Publishers 
have said that “The Doctor” will tell you more about it 
in various w'ays. I am very glad to do this, because I am 
sure that some of you will meet with the same difficul¬ 
ties that I found when I first had a microscope, and I 
shall be very glad to help you over the hard places. So 
OUR YOUNG MICROSCOPISTS’ CLUB 
consists of all of you who have, or can have the use of, 
the Microscope Bent out by the Publishers. Let me tell 
you at the start, that this Microscope will not do all, or 
show all that you have read about as being shown by 
“the microscope.” A “house ” may be a log cabin with 
one room, or it may be a great mansion with 20 rooms, 
and in each case be a complete house. So this Micro¬ 
scope is very good for one of its kind, costing only a 
fraction of a dollar, while the one I most use cost $10, 
and the one that I use now and then, cost $50, and if one 
wishes, he can expend thousands on a microscope. So 
you see that when one speaks of a “ microscope,” it is a 
very indefinite term. The most generally useful micro¬ 
scopes, are not the very costly ones, and the way to begin 
to use a microscope at all, is to start with a simple and 
not costly one, and then when you can afford it, get a 
more powerful one. But my experience—and it has been 
a long one—has been, that however powerful a micro¬ 
scope one may have—and I have used some of the best 
that have been made—the little simple microscope, like 
the American Agriculturist. Microscope, can not be put 
aside, as it has uses which the powerful ones can not 
serve. I am sure that you can learn much from this little 
instrument, and that it will afford you much interesting 
amusement for the whole year. Read what is said in the 
14 column Description with each Microscope, and at once 
MOUNT IT ON A BASE. 
The directions there are very plain, and it will take 
but a few' minutes to follow them. You will find that it 
will make the instrument much more useful and man¬ 
ageable. Then the next most useful thing to do, is to 
mount some needles as there directed, and to get up 
some kind of forceps, or tweezers, as there described. 
Having these and the Microscope mounted as there di¬ 
rected, you will be ready to examine anything that may 
come along. But on,e word about 
OUR CLUB. 
A club has two ends. I am willing to be one end—the 
handle or the “ hitting end,” just as you choose—but 
you youngsters, boys or girls, must be the other end, 
if you expect the “club” to prosper, you must take a 
part. Now, you. all of you, boys or girls, or if you like 
it better, young men and women, must help, now? By 
writing me what you find, the difficulties you meet with, 
in short, all about it. Many, no doubt, having read what 
the most costly microscopes will do. -will try to see the 
same with this—they can't do it any more than they can 
hit a 1,000-yard target with a pistol. Others will want 
to know how to prepare things so that they can examine 
them; and others, still, having found interesting objects, 
will wish to know how to preserve them, so that they 
may show them to others, and keep them to look at 
again and again. So I say to all such, write and tell me 
all about it. How can I keep up a club all by myself? I 
shall expect help from all of you—and in turn I will try 
to help you—Isn’t that fair ? 
WHAT TO LOOK AT. 
As soon as spring opens you will find a great abund¬ 
ance of things that you will wish to examine, but just 
now cold weather puts a stop to animal and vegetable 
life. The Descriptive Sheet with each Microscope gives 
a number of things which you may examine with interest 
—such as flies, spiders, ants, taking separately their 
wings, legs, proboscis, etc.; fleas and lice on animals, 
small insects, including the minute lice on plants 
in the house, dust from the floor and elsewhere; 
soils, dried and fresh leaves, seeds, feathers, small 
fish scales, or bits of them, etc. I will give you 
a few more. One of the great uses of the Microscope 
will be in helping young people to study plants. 
Let me give you a starting point in this. Get a piece 
of one year’s growth from any fast-growing tree, 
say a maple or a willow—any tree that makes strong 
shoots every year. A piece a few inches long will an¬ 
swer. Then go to the stack of corn-fodder, and get a 
small stem—no bigger than a lead-pencil is better than 
larger. Get the smallest stem you can find. Put both 
of these, the corn stalk and the twig, into warm water, 
and let them soak for some hours. Now I wish you to 
look at a cross section of these, that is, a slice cut across 
them, to see their structure, that is, how they are made 
up. To make sections of this kind, there are nice little 
instruments, which you can get for $5 or more—but we 
must do without such expensive things. Having your 
corn stalk well soaked, and something to cut with—a 
razor is best, but a very sharp, thin knife may do. Put 
the corn stalk on a piece of board, put the nail of your 
fore-finger as a guide, then cut straight down with the 
razor. This piece will probably be thick; move your 
nail back the least distance possible, and cut again; this 
time you may get a very thin slice, but by care, using 
the nail as a guide, you can soon get a slice as thin as 
the thinnest paper. It is well to keep the end of the 
corn-stalk wet, and when you get a nice thin slice, by 
means of a needle, put it on one of the glass slides of the 
Microscope. Then try the willow or maple. These are 
harder than the corn-stalk, and will require more care to 
get a very thin slice, still, with patience you can do it. 
Having a thin one, put it by the side of the corn-stalk 
slice, put the other slide over, and examine 
BOTH THE TREE AND THE CORN STALK. 
These must be looked at as transparent objects. Hav¬ 
ing both sections —as these are called—between the two 
glass slides, push the slides under the clips or springs of 
Fig. 2. 
the Microscope, placing them so that the section of the 
corn stalk will be in the field of view—that is, directly 
under the lenses. Having adjusted the focus properly, 
so that you can see distinctly, the section of corn stalk 
will appear as in figure 1. Having looked at this care¬ 
fully, move the slides so that the section of the tree twig 
is brought into view. Notice that this is quite different, 
and that it appears as in figure 2. Turn back again to 
the section of corn stalk, and section 
of tree, and get them well fixed in 
your mind. You sec how different 
they are ? What, is the difference ? 
In the corn stalk you have pith, with 
dots all through it. In the willow 
or maple, you have pith in the cen¬ 
ter, a ring of harder substance, and 
then a ring of bark. Here in these 
you have a ring of pith, a ring of 
woody matter, and a ring of bark. 
In the corn stalk you have pith, scat¬ 
tered through it dots that look like 
the woody matter of the tree, and no 
distinct bark. Now I wish you to 
look at these carefully, and to re¬ 
collect distinctly how they look. 
When you have them well fixed in 
your mind, slip the sections off from 
the glasses upon a bit of stiff writing 
paper, and fold them up carefully, 
until I can tell you how to preserve 
them. You have now stems of the 
TAVO GREAT FORMS OF VEGETATION. 
The corn stalk stem, in which woody 
fibre was distributed all through the 
pith without regular order, and the 
willow or maple stem, in which the 
woody fibre was in a ring all around 
the pith, with a bark outside. Re¬ 
member this—for it is almost the 
very beginning of the study of plants. 
You can try other stems also, and 
learn to make thin sections. But you 
will want to be on the lookout for 
AMUSING THINGS FOR THE MICRO¬ 
SCOPE, 
and as we extend over so many de¬ 
grees and climates, I must keep 
ahead of the season. In wet places 
we find, even around New York, 
very early in the spring, sometimes 
in March, and those who live in the 
Southern States, may find it even 
earlier rrr the curious Field Horse¬ 
tail. With me, it grows in wet sandy places by the road¬ 
side, and is one of the first signs of vegetation in spring. 
In most of the Northern and Middle States, you may look 
for it in March, if not earlier, and when you find it. it 
will be like figure 3, and of about that size, look¬ 
ing very little like a plant, as it is of a light-brown color, 
with, at each joint of the stem, a sheath of a darker color. 
At the top of the stem is an oval head, as seen in the en¬ 
graving. Later in the season this plant produces green 
steins—but wo do not care about these at present— 
though we may say that from the pine-like appearance 
of these stems, the plant is called 
GROUND PINE, AND FIELD HORSE-TAIL. 
But the stems shown in the engraving are those which 
appear first, and are the most interesting, though from 
their strange shape and color they do not iook much like 
plants. I think they must be very common—for I always 
see them in wet places, as I drive home from the depot, 
in early spring. If you find these, gather a lot, put them 
in a bottle, or tumbler, and let them dry. Then, if you 
wish to see something funny, shake.from the heads of 
these plants some of the dust, which they will give out 
abundantly, upon one glass slide of your Microscope. 
It will appear like a ball, with four arms', as in figure 4. 
While you are looking at it, ask some one to breathe upon 
it, and you will see a very 
lively motion ; the arms, 
as if ashamed of them¬ 
selves. will at. once coil 
around the central portion, 
and appear as in figure 5. 
If you wait until the moist¬ 
ure of the breath passes 
off, the arms will gradu¬ 
ally spread out. again. What does all this mean ? you 
will ask. The little ball, with the four arms, is to 
this plant what seeds are to most other plants. This lit¬ 
tle ball can grow and make a new plant. You can see 
how the arms, so easily affected by moisture, can, by alter¬ 
nate drying and moistening, move the little seed-like ball 
to quite a distance. Usually I find a great quantity of 
this plant close at home, and if I find it abundant this 
spring, will lay in a lot for those who may want it. And 
this reminds me that out of our Microscopists’ Club— 
there will somehow grow up 
AN EXCHANGE CLUB. 
Those who find interesting things, will wish to send 
them to others who have things which they want. Well, 
we shall see what will grow out of it. You may be sure 
of all possible help from The Doctor. 
- „ - 
Aiiul date’s Ossits. 
Mas. T. Davis Evans has been kind enough to send 
us a description of a home-made frame and corner- 
bracket. She begins her letter (dated Nov. 24th) with 
the remark: “ As it is about time for Christmas presents, 
I will try to give you a few hints," etc. It is evident that 
she did not know (or has 
forgotten) that six weeks 
must elapse before my cor¬ 
respondents can receive 
any acknowledgement 
through the American 
Agriculturist of their com¬ 
munications. Consequent¬ 
ly the Christmas presents 
for 1877 will be things of 
the past when this article 
appears; but things like 
this are not of necessity 
confined to Christmas presents, so her directions are 
given here, that those who wish may avail themselves of 
them now, and those who wish to make such presents for 
next Christmas, will find them on record. I may add that 
the material is called “corn husks” m the East, and 
“ corn shucks ’ m the West and South. Each ear of 
corn is closely surrounded by leafy bodies, which overlap 
one another, the outer ones being harsh and thick, and 
often weather-stained, while the inner ones are soft and 
thin, and of a pleasing color. Mrs. E. says: “First I 
will describe a shuck picture-frame. Supposing the pic¬ 
ture to be 8 by 10 inches, the materials needed are, some 
nice, white, pliable, in¬ 
side corn shucks; two 
pieces of pasteboard 
(which may be cut from 
an old box), 12)4 inches 
long by 1)4 inch wide, 
and two pieces 10 )4 
inches long by 1% inch 
wide ; a coarse needle 
and strong thread. First 
sew the pieces of paste¬ 
board squarely at the Fjg. 2. 
corners (as in fig. 1). 
Second, cut a great many shucks about three inches 
long” (Mrs. E. does not. say how wide, but I fancy 
they might be square.—A. S.), “and shred them as 
finely as possible (see fig. 2) with a large pin or needle 
(after a little practice you will find it very easy), leaving 
at each edge a margin of half an inch nnshredded (as in 
fig. 2). When you have enough to begin with, fold them 
with the solid edges together (as in fig. 3)—crumpling the 
Fig. 2. 
X K 
K X 
X X 
X X 
y y 
Fig. 1. 
