1878 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
187 
SQUARE WORD. 
1 A Hindoo book. 2. A title-of nobility. 3. A color. 
4. Turkish coins. Sphinx. 
DOUBLE CROSS-WORD. 
My first is in hornet but not in fly. 
My next, is in near but not in nigh. 
My third is in never but not in now, 
My fourth is in manger but. not in mow, 
My fifth is in condor but not in kite. 
My sixth is in nearly but. not in quite. 
Ami now two States will come to view 
If you but place the letters true. E. W. 
DOUBLE ACROSTIC. 
The initials form a city in Pennsylvania and the finals 
a city in Massachusetts. 1. A small cannon. 2. A city 
in New York. 3. A farewell. 4. A city, in Ohio. 5. A 
destroyer. 6. None. 7. A city in Prussia. 
Billy Button. 
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE JIAIICII NUMBER. 
Arttiimorems.— 1. Candle. 
2. Mortal. 3. Island. 4. Sim¬ 
ple. f>. Attend, (i. Point. 7. 
Extensive. 8. Cooks. 9. Civil. 
10. Hoop. 
Alphabetical Arithmetic. 
Key: “ Vanderbilt.” 
Drop-letter Puzzle. 
Counterpoise. 
Cross Word.—S aturday. 
Pi.— Pride is an extravagant 
opinion of yonr own worthi- 
Diamond Puzzle. 
Fretfulness. 
F 
ERA 
G P. E E N 
B A T TIES 
BASHFULLY 
FRETFUL NESS 
B It X L L I A N T 
SPANISH 
CLEF T 
ASP 
S 
ness : vanity is an inordinate desire that others should share 
that opinion. 
Thanks for letters, puzzles, etc., to Charles B. \V. 
Send communications intended for Aunt Sue , to Box 111, 
P. 0., Brooklyn, tV. Y., and not to 245 Broadway. 
Fig. 3.— CASTING. 
enough apart to allow a third to be placed between them. 
This third casting is fastened in a similar manner to the 
under-side of the base, 
shown in figure 2, and at 
a, b, figure 1; a small 
“stove-bolt,” which may 
be had at any hardware 
store, is run through the 
eyes of all three of these 
castings. The diagram, 
figure 4, shows the po¬ 
sition of the parts, as seen from the front: c, d is the 
foot; a , 6, the base ; g, h , i, 
the three curtaiu fixtures, 
through the eyes of which 
is passed the stove bolt, o, p 
(to he had at the stores for 2 
to 4 cents). In case, as will 
usuallyliappen.the holt is too 
long, a common spool (y), 
ora part of one, may be used 
as a “washer,” between the 
castings and the nut, o. This 
contrivance may be varied 
by using thick leather wash¬ 
ers between the three cast¬ 
ings, and between one of 
these and the head of the 
holt, and between the other 
and the nut. The object of 
the arrangement is to allow the base, to which the Micro¬ 
scope is fastened, to be placed at and held at any angle. 
This accomplished, Mr. K.'s next point was to so 
Arrange a Mirror 
The Young- Microscopist’s Club. 
I supposed that the contrivances for mounting the 
American Agriculturist Microscope, had all been given. 
I recollect that I said, in one of the former articles, that 
the chief thing was to get the lenses, and that when one 
had these, he could mount them in ways to suit his 
needs. Several methods of mounting the Microscope 
(my own and others) have been given, and now here 
comes one that shows so much ingenuity, and also 
knowledge of the 
Microscope, that 
I must give it in 
brief, allowing 
the engravings to 
show the details. 
This comes from 
Mr. E. W. Kil- 
bourne. Agent of 
the American Ex¬ 
press Co., Green 
Castle, Ind. He 
does not ask me 
to suppress his 
name, so I give it 
here, as an ac- 
knowledgem en t 
of his ingenuity. 
He writes a very 
full account, 
which I give in my own way, and makes very plain 
drawings, which are here engraved. Mr. K.'s object is 
to so mount the Microscope, that it can he readily used 
for both opaque and transparent objects, and also to 
allow it to be inclined to any desired angle, which is often 
A Great Convenience. 
The first thing required in Mr. K.’s mounting, is a 
heavy foot of hard-wood ; this may he one inch thick, 
and six inches square. This is shown in g , h. figure 1. 
The Microscope is mounted upon a base, 3x4 inches, 
and of i to £-inch in thickness : this has an opening 1£ 
Inch square cut in it. over which the Microscope sets; 
this base is seen more distinctly in figure 2, where it ap¬ 
pears as if looked down upon. The Microscope is held 
in place over the opening by means of three large-headed 
carpet tacks. One of these is 
placed at the dot marked l , (fig. 
2), and the other two at k and 
p; the tacks are not to be 
“driven home,” but left so far 
above the surface of the wood, 
that the hard rubber base of the 
Microscope will pass between 
them with a slight push. The 
important point is to so at- Fig. 2.— BASE, 
tach this base, holding the Mi¬ 
croscope to the heavy wooden foot, that it may he in¬ 
clined at will ; this Mr. K. ingeniously does by 
Tlie Use of Curtain Fixtures. 
At figure 3 is shown a common bronze casting, such as 
is used to hold up the end of the roller to a window 
shade or curtain. Two of these castings are attached to 
the heavy foot ( g, h) by means of screws, and just far 
that he could readily throw light upon any object under 
examination. This he does in a very simple manner. 
Beneath the base to which the Microscope is attached, 
as already described, is fastened a bottle-cork, by means 
of a strong wire running through it, bent at right angles 
below, and bent twice above, so that one end may be 
driven into the base to hold it in place. This arrange¬ 
ment is shown in figure 5. To hold the mirror, the 
strong wire w , is provided, which passes through the 
cork, and has soldered at one end a piece of thin tin 
plate (a, b) to hold the mirror, and at the other end a 
nickel cent, or any other contrivance to answer as a head 
by which the wire may be easily turned. The mirror—a 
piece of looking-glass—is held in place by turning down 
the corners of the piece of tin (a, b) to catch and hold it. 
It will be seen that, by this arrangement the mirror can 
be rotated, and by revolving the cork upon its wire, it 
can have a right and left motion ; by these two motions 
the light from the mirror can be greatly varied, as for 
some objects an oblique light is better than a direct one. 
Mr. K. says that the whole outfit, soldering and all, cost 
him but 15 cents, and he finds this manner of mounting 
much preferable to that upon a cigar box, as before de¬ 
scribed. Those who can not readily get the curtain fix¬ 
tures, can make a similar mounting of all wood, as shown 
in figure 6, where a, b is the 
base, c, d two wooden posts 
fastened to it; between these 
is another similar post. f. at¬ 
tached to the foot which holds 
the Microscope; this goes be¬ 
tween the two lower posts, and 
through all three passes a bolt 
with a nut. The mirror and 
all other arrangements are to 
be as already described. I sup¬ 
posed we should not have any Fig.6. wood-fixture. 
new mountings to describe, but 
this of Mr. Kilbourne is so ingenious, and so much easier 
to carry out than it looks, that I thought it would please 
many of you. Still I must not forget to speak of 
Objects to be Spooked for, 
and as in this I have kept well ahead of the season, 
most of you will be likely to find the objects men¬ 
tioned last month, and in March and February, now, 
rather than earlier; but in these matters I have to recol¬ 
lect that there are youngsters who arc enjoying spring, 
while others have not put away their sleds and skates. 
Objects will now be so abundant that you will hardly 
need to have them pointed out. This month, in the 
Northern States, will be a great time for fishing in the 
pools and ditches before they dry up, as most of them do 
before long. You have not. I hope, forgotten the Frog- 
spawn and the Snail's-eggs, described in March. If you 
take a glass jar, such as fruit is preserved in, and dip it 
full of water as suggested last month for finding the 
Yolvox , or “Revolving Globe,” you will be very likely 
to catch one or more kinds of what are called 
“Water Fleas.” 
They are not Fleas though,but belong with the shrimps, 
crabs, and lobsters, in the class called by naturalists, 
Crustaceans. To get some specimens from which to 
make a drawing, I sent Master Ferdie to a pool I had 
noticed a short distance down the road, to get a jar full 
of the water. He 
came back, think¬ 
ing that lie had 
caught nothing, 
but upon holding 
the jnr up to a 
strong light, I 
showed him that 
he bad a regular Fig. 7.—water-flea. 
menagerie of “Wa¬ 
ter-Fleas.” These creatures are called “Water-Fleas” 
from the jerking manner of their movements, for 
they do not swim in a straight-ahead-way, but go bj r 
jumps. To draw one of these creatures, it had to be 
caught with the Dipping Tube, described last month, 
(fig. 9). Placed in the cell of the Microscope, with a few 
drops of water—enough to allow it to move about, it 
could be readily examined. This particular “ Water- 
Flea,” and you will no doubt find others, is called by 
naturalists Daphnia. A thin, transparent shield cov¬ 
ers the animal, but it is open at the lower edge, and al¬ 
lows the parts of its body to protrude, as you can see 
when it jerks out its tail and other parts. If you catch 
a female, you will be very likely to find some eggs, 
which she carries between her shell and her body. The 
most common of our “ Water-Fleas ” is shown in figure 
7. Among the curious things to be looked for now, are 
The Vorticellas 
which you may often find in pools, attached to chips and 
other matters. If you find on a stick, leaf, or other 
thing from one of these pools, a mere speck of cottony 
white stuff, you will possibly find the Vorticella. I have 
rarely failed to find it on the stems of flowers that have 
been kept in water for a long while, or you may make 
Some Hay Tea, 
and be very sure to get tills, and other curious creatures, 
after a while. Make a wisp of hay, place it in a dish, 
and make an infusion , or tea, by pouring hot water over 
it; then let it stand for some days. The creatures thus 
found in infusions of vegetable matter, were called 
infusoria, a term which you will find in use for minute 
animals of various kinds. The Vorticella. or the one I 
have usually found on the bay. after it has been in steep 
for several days, is shown in figure 8, as it appears under 
the Microscope. It lias a bell-shaped body on a long 
stalk. The mouth of the bell lias a fringe of hairs; 
these being kept in constant motion, carrying water into 
the bell-like body, and with it creatures still smaller than 
itself,upon which it feeds. 
Each bell is attached to a 
stalk, which can on the 
instant coil itself in a 
spiral, and bring the bell- 
shaped part, which also 
shuts up, down to the 
p int where it is attached. 
I know of no more curi¬ 
ous creatures than these, 
and which, with a fail- 
amount of patience, you 
can find either on decayed 
vegetable matter in pools, 
or can breed, as I have Fi°’. 8.—vorticella. 
described, in an infusion 
of hay. It is a little late in most places for the flowers 
or “ tags ” of the Alders and Hazels, but where these, and 
The Willows and. Poplars 
are not gone, you will find them worth examining. You 
will see that all, whether the “ tags ” upon Hazels, Al¬ 
ders. Poplars, and Willows, are each made up of a num. 
ber of scales, underneath which you will find sfamens 
only in the first two. but the tags may, in the willows 
and poplars, have either stamens or pistils, but only one 
kind in the tag from each tree. But most of you will 
like to look at flowers made more after the regular style 
than these. You will find very early, almost as soon as 
the snow goes off, the Chickweed, and its relatives, the 
Mouse-ear Chickweed. The flowers of these are very 
small, to be sure, and I mention them because, though 
small, they are quite as perfect in their way as any flowers. 
It is very likely that you may find some notes about the 
Microscope among the Basket Items. The Doctor. 
