1? Brown Street 
Providence, E.I. 
March 21, 19S4 
Dear i’eraald: 
During the past week 1 have on several occasions experimented 
with possible methods of getting a photograph of the Rhexia seeds x50, 
but with poor or no success, i'irst, 1 tried out the possibilities of a 
professional Leitz photo-miorographic apparatus. 1 could get a magnifi¬ 
cation of about x30, but only with transmitted light and with the seeds 
fastened to a microscopic slide placed vertically. The micro-suramar lens 
was used. 1 could get nothing with sarface illumination and decided the 
whole idea with that apparatus was impracticable. 
1 next tried out the possibilities of a large studio camera by splicing 
out the bellows sc as to have a 7 ft. bellows. With this 1 cculd^et a 
magnification of about x50 with the -licro-sumraar, theoretically, but the 
slide had to be vertically placed and there was no method of focussing 
an object while watching the ground glass 7 ft. away; moreover the whole 
apparatus was too wobbly t.o trust. 1 could not even locate a seed on the 
ground glass. With some little expense 1 think the apparatus might be 
made usable, but it seems doubtful as to HOW well it would do the work. 
1 know that some good enlarging has been done with just this apparatus, 
#p to xlO or xl2. 1 doubt if it was designed for any magnification larger 
than x5 cr x6. 
After that i tried out your idea of enlarging from an xlO print. 
1 inclose results? one print of the xlO and two of the x50. The arrow 
on the xiu indicates the seeds selected for enlargement in the x5u. 
If you wanted only a magnification of xlO or xl2 it would be a simple 
matter. The x5u looks pretty unsatisfactory to me, in fact it looks to 
me as if a half-tone of x50 would not show much, if any, more than a 
half-tone of the xlO, but you will know better than 1 regarding this point. 
1 have all the prints of the Drabas, Luavigias, etc. completed. 
If you want them before 1 get up^ to Dambridge again 1 can mail them. 
1 think it would be better not to try to mail the specimens or negatives 
unless you sjjecielly request them. 
Sincerely, 
