Should a higher power be required than is furnished by the pocket-lens, a "Coddington" lens is the very best that can be obtained. In general shape it resembles the well-known "Stanhope" lens; but the latter is so very inferior an article, that it ought never to be purchased. The two gla.s.ses can easily be distinguished by the shape of the ends; those of the Coddington being alike, while in the Stanhope one is much more convex than the other.
At first the young observer generally finds some difficulty in arranging this lens, so as to hit off the focus exactly; but if he adopts the following plan, he will soon handle a Coddington as easily as an ordinary pocket-lens. The object should be held in the left hand and the gla.s.s in the right. Let the wrists be placed firmly against each other, and the lens brought as close as possible to the object, without quite touching it. Now bring the eye to the lens, taking care not to disturb the arrangement, and then gradually draw the object away from the lens.
The moment that the proper focus is obtained the object will be seen with beautiful clearness, and by drawing the object from the lens, instead of approaching the lens to the object, there is no danger of injuring the one or the other by contact.
The great advantages of the Coddington are the exceeding clearness with which it shows the object, the perfect definition of every line, its achromatic character, and its freedom from colours, and the flatness of the "field;" so that the circ.u.mference is defined as perfectly as the centre. It can now be obtained very cheaply at any of our microscopical opticians, and should always be mounted on a tolerably long handle.
THE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE.
We have already described the simpler forms of magnifying instruments, together with the best method of using them. We now purpose to describe the more complicated instrument called the compound microscope, and hints will be given as to the best method of making preparations for it.
The great distinction between the simple and compound microscope is, that whereas the former instrument magnifies the object, the latter magnifies the magnified image of the object. In the least elaborate form of this instrument there are two gla.s.ses, one at each end of a tube, the small gla.s.s magnifying the object, and being therefore called the "object gla.s.s," while the other, which magnifies the image of the object, is placed next to the eye, and is therefore termed the "eye-gla.s.s." In practice, however, this arrangement is found to be so extremely defective, that the instrument was quite useless, except as an experimental toy; for the two enemies of the optician, chromatic and spherical aberration, prevailed so exceedingly, that every object appeared as if surrounded with prismatic colours, and every line was blurred and indistinct.
In this uncertain state the compound microscope remained for many years, its superb capabilities being scarcely recognised. The chief fault was thought to be in the material of which the object-gla.s.s was made, and for a long series of years all experiments were conducted with a view to an improvement in this respect. When, however, the diamond had been employed as an object-gla.s.s, and had failed equally with those of less costly material, attention was directed to the right point--namely, the arrangement of the different gla.s.ses,--and at length opticians succeeded in obtaining a pitch of excellence which can be almost termed perfection. It would be impossible to describe the method which is employed for this purpose, and it must suffice to say that the principle is that of playing off one defect against another, and so making them mutually correct their errors.
The magnifying powers of the compound microscope can be very great, and it is therefore necessary that extreme care should be taken in its manipulation. It will be possible for a clumsy person to do more damage to a good instrument in three minutes than can be repaired in as many weeks.
Before proceeding to the management of the microscope and the construction of the "slides," we will briefly describe one or two chief forms of the compound microscope.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
The accompanying ill.u.s.tration represents the simplest form of the compound microscope as at present made. It consists of a stand and a sliding tube, in which are set the gla.s.ses which magnify the object and its image. At the top is the tube, which is capable of being slid up and down in the shoulder of the stand, so as to obtain the proper focus.
Above is seen the eye-gla.s.s; and the object-gla.s.s is shown at the bottom of the tube. Below the object-gla.s.s is the "stage" on which the object to be magnified is laid; and lowest of all is a mirror, which serves to reflect the light upwards through the object, and which can be turned by means of the k.n.o.bs at the sides. The object-gla.s.s is composed of two pieces, which can readily be separated. If both are used, sufficient magnifying power is gained to show the scales on a b.u.t.terfly"s wing and similar minute objects; while, if one is removed, the object is not magnified to so great an extent, but a larger portion can be seen, and the definition is clearer. The cost of this instrument, together with a few accessories, is half-a-guinea.
There is another microscope constructed on the same principle, which is a very superior instrument, though it does not at first sight present any remarkable difference. It possesses, however, four times the magnifying power of that which has just been mentioned. Instead of two magnifiers, there are four, and several subsidiary articles are sent with it,--such as a condenser, a live box, an aquatic box, and half a dozen slides ready prepared. This instrument costs one sovereign.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
But if the reader can by any possibility afford it, let us advise him in the strongest terms to devote three guineas to the purpose, and get a really good instrument. For this small sum a microscope may now be obtained which could not have been purchased for twenty times three guineas only a few years ago. One of these beautiful instruments is seen in the accompanying ill.u.s.tration; in which may be seen the tube, with its eye-piece and object-gla.s.s, and the stand, containing the stage and the mirror. The arrangement, however, is very different; for the focus is not obtained by sliding the tube up and down, but by turning the large milled heads which we see on a level with the stage, and which raise or depress the tube by means of a rack and pinion. As an extremely high power can be used with this instrument, a still finer adjustment is required, so as to obtain a very accurate focus. This is seen on the front of the tube. The reader will notice that the microscope can be inclined backwards, for it is so made that it can be set to any angle which may best suit the observer. The value of this arrangement is very great, as it permits the observer to sit at his ease in a chair, without being forced to crane his neck over the microscope, and look perpendicularly down. Another advantage attending this arrangement is that the secretions which lubricate the eye do not interrupt the vision, as is apt to be the case when looking directly downwards.
The mirror, too, can be turned in any direction, and its distance from the stage lessened or increased by means of a draw-tube. Three different powers are supplied with this microscope, together with a live-box, dissecting and stage forceps, &c.; and the whole is made so as to admit of additional apparatus. The microscope fits into a neat square box, in which is plenty of room for various articles which will presently be described. These three microscopes can be obtained from Messrs. Baker, 244, High Holborn; and we mention them, not because we wish to make any invidious distinctions between the many excellent opticians who now make microscopes, but because we happen to have used Messrs. Baker"s instruments for some years, and can bear practical testimony to their performance.
Another three-guinea microscope ought, however, to be mentioned. It is the Society of Arts microscope, which is made by Messrs. Field, opticians, of Birmingham. In form it closely resembles the instrument which has just been mentioned, but differs in some of the details, as it possesses a "diaphragm-plate" under the stage for regulating the admission of light, and, instead of three object-gla.s.ses and one eye-piece, has two object-gla.s.ses and two eye-pieces. Dr. Carpenter mentions that, up to 1861, no less than eighteen hundred of these microscopes had been sold. To this instrument the medal of the Society of Arts was awarded.
Either of these microscopes affords all that an ordinary observer is likely to need; and if he adds a few articles of supplementary apparatus, he will find himself possessed of a microscope that will serve all purposes except scientific controversy.
Presuming that the reader has supplied himself with one or other of the compound microscopes, we will proceed to show the method of using them.
The manipulation of a compound microscope is not so easy as it looks.
The possessor of a really good instrument may fail hopelessly in his attempts to see a single object. Now, there are three essential points which a microscopist must attend to,--namely, the correct focus, the proper light, and the preparation of the object. Of these the focus is of course the most important, and can be best obtained as follows:--
Lay the object on the stage of the microscope, so as to get its centre exactly under the centre of the object-gla.s.s, and illuminate it as you best can. Put on the _lowest_ power, and, without looking through the tube, lower the object-gla.s.s until it nearly touches the object. Now look through the tube, and raise the object-gla.s.s gradually from the object, until the right focus is obtained. The reason for taking these precautions is, that if you look through the tube and lower it upon the object, you will in all probability push the gla.s.s against the object, and damage either the one or the other. When you have thus learned the focus of the lowest power, add another, and repeat the process; and so on until you have made out the focus of each object-gla.s.s. If you have more than one eye-piece, try them both with each object-gla.s.s.
The proper light is our next point, and upon it rests the chief beauty of the effect. The light which will suit one object will not suit another, and even the same object should be examined under every variety of light. Some objects are best shown when the light is thrown _upon_ them from above, and others when it is thrown _through_ them from below.
Again, the direction of the light is of vast importance; for it will easily be seen that an oblique light will exhibit minute projections by throwing a shadow on one side and brilliancy on the other, while a vertical illumination would fail to show them. On the same principle, one object will be shown better with the light in front, and another when it is on one side.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
One of the most effective means of attaining this object is by using the "bull"s-eye condenser," which is sometimes fixed to the stage, but is usually detached, as represented in the ill.u.s.tration. As the upright stem is telescopic, the gla.s.s can be raised to a considerable height, while the joint and sliding-rod permit the lens to be applied at any angle which promises the most brilliant light.
As for the kind of light that is employed, there is nothing which equals that of a white cloud; but as such clouds are rare, and are at the best extremely transient, and can only be seen by day, various artificial methods of illumination have been invented. Novices generally think that when the sky is bright and blue they will be very successful in their illumination, and feel grievously disappointed at finding that they obtained much more light from the clouds, whose disappearance they had anxiously been watching. Finding that the blue sky gives scarcely any light at all, they rush to the other extreme, turn the mirror towards the sun, and pour such a blaze of light upon the object, that the eye is blinded by the scintillating refulgence, and the object is often injured, because the mirror is capable of reflecting heat as well as light.
In the daytime there is nothing better than the "white-cloud illuminator," which is made easily enough by means of plaster of Paris.
A sheet of thin white paper fastened against a window-pane is also useful; and the simple plan of dabbing the gla.s.s with putty will have a beneficial effect in softening the light, when the window has a southern aspect. In default of these conveniences, it will be often sufficient to fix a piece of white letter-paper over the mirror, or even to dull its surface with wax. At all events, he who aspires to be a true microscopist must be ready with expedients, and if he finds himself in a difficulty, he must summarily invent a method of obviating it.
At night a lamp is necessary; candles are useless, because they have two faults--they flicker, and they become lower as they burn. The latter defect can be cured by using a candle-lamp, but no arrangement will cure the flame of flickering; it is peculiarly trying to the eyes, and destructive of accurate definition. An ordinary moderator lamp answers pretty well, and a small one is even better for the microscopist than one of large dimensions. The chief drawback to the moderator lamp is, that the flame cannot be elevated or lowered, so that the only way to procure a light at a higher elevation, is to stand the lamp on a block of wood or a book. Small lamps are, however, made expressly for the microscope, and, if possible, should be procured, and used for no other purpose, and intrusted to no other hands.
If you want a really brilliant, clear, white light, you must trim the lamp yourself. A small piece of pale blue or neutral-tint gla.s.s, interposed between the lamp and the microscope, has a wonderful effect in diminishing the yellow hue which belongs more or less to all artificial lights which are produced by the combustion of oil or fat. We have no doubt but that in a few years we shall be rid of the clumsy and dirty machines that we call lamps, and have subst.i.tuted for them the pure brilliancy of the electric light.
Whatever lamp you use, a shade is absolutely necessary, in order to defend the eyes. Let me here warn my young readers, that they cannot be too careful of their eyes. In the exuberance of youthful strength and health we are too apt to treat our eyes as unceremoniously as our digestion, and in later years we awake to unavailing repentance.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Many shades can be purchased; but it is far better to make your own after the shape here exhibited. They are not pretty to look at, but they save the eyes better than any other form, and whether for reading, writing, or microscopic work, you should use no other. The peculiar merit of them consists in the fact that the light is thrown on the spot where it is wanted, and is cut off from everything except that spot.
Another point which calls for extreme attention is the perfect cleanliness of the gla.s.ses. It is astonishing how a tiny dust-mote, or the least condensation of damp, will diminish the powers of the microscope, and how often the instrument is blamed for indistinctness, when the real fault lies in the carelessness of the operator. Even when the greatest care is taken, dust is sure to settle on the gla.s.ses, especially on the eye-piece, and before using the microscope the gla.s.ses ought to be carefully examined. Never wipe them with an ordinary handkerchief, but get a piece of new wash-leather; beat it well until no dust issues from it, and then put it into a box, with a tightly-fitting cover. Use this, and nothing else, for cleaning the gla.s.ses, and you will avoid those horrid scratches with which the eye-gla.s.s and object-gla.s.s of careless operators are always disfigured.
Moisture is very apt to condense on the gla.s.ses and to ruin their clearness. If the microscope be brought from a cold into a warm room, the gla.s.ses will be instantly covered with moisture, just as the outside of a tumbler of cold water is always covered with fine dew when brought into a warm room. The microscope should therefore be kept at least an hour in the room wherein it is to be used, so that the instrument and the atmosphere may be of the same temperature. You should make the microscope a trifle warmer than the surrounding atmosphere, and so avoid all danger of condensation. When changing the object-gla.s.s or eye-piece, always keep the hand as far away from the gla.s.s as possible, and manipulate with the tip of the forefinger and thumb. The human skin always gives out so much exhalation, that even when the hand is cold the gla.s.ses will be dimmed; and it is a peculiarity of such moisture, that it adheres to the gla.s.ses with great pertinacity, and does not evaporate like the dew which is condensed from the atmosphere.
In order to insure perfect success in this important particular, the young microscopist will do well to get the optician from whom he purchased his instrument to explain its construction, and to give him a lesson or two in the art of taking it to pieces and putting it together again; for unless each gla.s.s can be separately cleaned, no one can be quite sure that the instrument will perform as it ought to do. The best method of ascertaining whether it is quite clean is to throw the light upwards by means of the mirror, and then to turn the eye-piece slowly round. If any dust or moisture has collected either upon the eye-gla.s.s or the "field-gla.s.s," which forms the second lens of the eye-piece, it will be immediately detected. Turning the object-gla.s.s will in a similar manner detect impurities upon its surface.
We will now proceed to the manner in which objects are examined.
Suppose, for example, that we take a b.u.t.tercup-leaf, because it can be found at almost any time of the year. Place a piece of gla.s.s on the stage, lay the leaf on it, put on the lowest power, set the focus, and then look at the leaf. You will probably be disappointed, and see nothing but a confused ma.s.s of undulating dark green, like a green carpet thrown carelessly on the ground, and seen in the dim twilight.
Two points are now needed; the first being to get the leaf flat, so as to avoid the undulation, and the second being to throw a proper light upon it.
Take out the leaf, and, instead of laying it entire under the microscope, select the flattest part, and cut it out with scissors. A piece the size of a silver penny will be amply large enough. Lay this piece on the gla.s.s, get the focus afresh, and then look through the microscope. The leaf will now appear much more regular, and will be seen as a rough surface, mottled with white and traversed by pink and green ridges, which are the large and small nervures. By means of a mirror or the condenser throw a brighter light upon it, and it will be seen to be covered with a slight roughness, the nature of which cannot be clearly ascertained; then add the next highest power, and try if the structure of that roughness can be made out. Curiously enough, although the magnifying power has been more than doubled, the roughness has much the same appearance as before; so that we must try another plan, and look at the leaf edgeways.
Take the piece of leaf in the stage-forceps, but _do not touch it with your hand_; fix the forceps on the stage and turn the leaf so that it presents its edge to the object gla.s.s. Get your focus, and you will now see the cut edge of the leaf, and will at once distinguish its structure. On either side may be seen the upper and lower cuticle, and in the centre the soft green substance, or "parenchyma," as it is called. From the cuticle project a number of short hairs, and when the focus is accurately obtained, the cause of the roughness will be seen in a vast number of minute projections, which are, in fact, identical in structure with the hairs, though not so well developed. The under-cuticle of the leaf is much more interesting than the upper.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Now change the illumination, and, instead of throwing the light upon the object from above, turn the mirror so as to direct it through the object from below. No apparent result will follow, because the leaf is so thick and opaque that the light cannot pa.s.s through it. Hold the leaf horizontally, and, by means of the stage-forceps, rip it smartly across, and if you do this rightly, you will find that the two cuticles are partly separated, so as to allow either to be examined separately. At first the leaf will most probably be torn along one of the large nervures, so that the cuticles are not perfectly separated. Never mind failure, but try again; and you are sure, after a few efforts, to hit upon the right method of tearing the leaf.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
One of the most useful capabilities of the "live-box" is now shown. As may be seen by the figure and section, it consists of an inner tube with a thick gla.s.s, and an outer tube with a thin gla.s.s. The outer tube can be taken off, water or any other substance laid on the thick gla.s.s, and then the outer tube or cover is slid down upon it until the object is pressed flatly between the two gla.s.ses. When you have succeeded in getting a convenient slip of the leaf, lay it on the thick gla.s.s of the inner tube, and put a drop of water on it. Put on the cover, and push it down until the piece of leaf is pressed flat, without being squeezed.
Now look through the microscope, and you will see a beautiful sight, showing how much there is in a despised leaf, which we daily tread under foot.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
The cells of which the cuticle is chiefly composed are seen in many a waving outline, while at their points of junction are placed the remarkable contrivances called "stomata," or mouths, which are the apertures through which the atmosphere is enabled to penetrate into the interior of the leaf. The two semilunar cells at the sides of the opening may be considered as lips, which open and close according as the plant needs the air or not. The numerous dots which are seen upon the leaf are of a vivid green colour, and it is to their presence that the leaf owes its hue.
We have given these details because they are applicable to the examination of all leaves and petals, and show the young observer the method which is to be adopted when looking for the first time at a strange object.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
If the microscopist should follow up his work properly, and make sketches of every object which he places under the microscope, he cannot do better than use the camera-lucida, a neat little instrument, which is fitted into the eye-piece of the microscope. Dr. Beale"s neutral gla.s.s is as efficacious in careful hands, and only costs a fourth of the sum.
This instrument cannot be applied to the ten and twenty shilling microscopes, as it requires that the tube should be perfectly horizontal. The method of using it is simple enough.