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23 chapters
THE ROMANCE OF THE MICROSCOPE
THE ROMANCE OF THE MICROSCOPE
AN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF ITS USES IN ALL BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, INDUSTRY, AGRICULTURE, AND IN THE DETECTION OF CRIME, WITH A SHORT ACCOUNT OF ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT. BY C. A. EALAND, M.A. AUTHOR OF “ANIMAL INGENUITY OF TO-DAY,” “INSECTS AND MAN,” &C., &C. WITH 39 ILLUSTRATIONS & NUMEROUS DIAGRAMS LONDON SEELEY, SERVICE & CO. LIMITED 38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET 1921...
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CHAPTER I THE EARLY DAYS OF THE MICROSCOPE
CHAPTER I THE EARLY DAYS OF THE MICROSCOPE
It is certain that lenses were used as early as the thirteenth century, and it is probable that they date back to far earlier times. The ancient gem cutters probably used spheres of glass filled with water as magnifiers, their work could hardly have been accomplished without some artificial aid. We know, from early writings, that burning glasses were used by physicians in their work, and Seneca, the author, who wrote in A.D. 63, says: “Letters, however small and dim, are comparatively large and
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CHAPTER II SOME EARLY MICROSCOPISTS
CHAPTER II SOME EARLY MICROSCOPISTS
Of the early British microscopists, Robert Hooke must not pass unnoticed. He was appointed Curator of the Royal Society two years after its formation, and the terms of his appointment were somewhat one-sided. He was required to “furnish the Society every day they meet with three or four experiments”; for this no pay was to be his till the Society accumulated sufficient funds to reward him. Although compound microscopes had been invented in Hooke’s day, it is noteworthy that he remained faithful
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CHAPTER III THE ACTION OF LIGHT
CHAPTER III THE ACTION OF LIGHT
It is hardly necessary to remark that the wonderful properties of the microscope depend upon light. Without light, lenses would be useless, objects could not be illuminated and we could not see them. In this short chapter we propose to give a brief outline of the action of light; if our words appear to savour of the school-book, we shall try to avoid it, but, we repeat, if they do so we would remind our readers that the more one knows of the action of light the better use one can make of one’s i
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CHAPTER IV THE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE
CHAPTER IV THE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE
In our chapters, dealing with, the history of the Microscope, we attempted to trace the gradual development of the compound instrument from the simple lens; we stated that the latter, in a crude form, had been known and used from very early times and that the former developed side by side with the telescope. We have also said a few words in Chapter III . concerning light for the reason that the microscope can be better understood and used more efficiently when we are acquainted with the phenomen
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CHAPTER V ANIMAL LIFE IN THE PONDS AND STREAMS
CHAPTER V ANIMAL LIFE IN THE PONDS AND STREAMS
The enthusiastic microscopist will probably never lack material for his instrument, whatever branch of microscopical work he may decide to make his own. To the student of Pond Life, either animal or vegetable, there is granted a never-ending store of beautiful and interesting objects. Because one pond has been thoroughly searched and all that it can offer has been carefully examined, we must not conclude that no other pond will be worth our attention. Though indeed many little animals occur over
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CHAPTER VI PLANT LIFE IN PONDS AND STREAMS
CHAPTER VI PLANT LIFE IN PONDS AND STREAMS
In this chapter we shall confine ourselves to the true water-dwelling plants, as distinct from those, such as the water lilies, which though never found growing on dry land, appear undecided whether they will be water plants or land plants. Looking at the matter from a more scientific point of view, all our pond plants will be much lower in the scale of development than the water lilies and other flowering plants. Pond life is rich in subjects for the microscopist. Any stagnant pool may contain
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CHAPTER VII THE MICROSCOPE AND PLANT LIFE
CHAPTER VII THE MICROSCOPE AND PLANT LIFE
The science of botany consists of many branches and, in most of them, the microscope is the scientist’s constant aid. The study of bacteria, really a branch of botany, we have dealt with in another chapter , so here we will omit these interesting though lowly plants. By far the number of botanical objects for the microscope consist of sections—exceedingly thin slices of whatever portion of the plant is being examined, cut either with a sharp razor or a special instrument called a microtome. Sect
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CHAPTER VIII ANIMAL LIFE AND THE MICROSCOPE
CHAPTER VIII ANIMAL LIFE AND THE MICROSCOPE
There are few more interesting animals than spiders and we may spend many an hour learning details of their structure, which only the microscope can show, and studying their habits, for only by doing so is it brought home to us how astonishingly clever they are. The spider, of course, is not an insect; it has eight legs, whereas the insect has only six, its head and thorax are fused, but in the case of insects head and thorax are separate. There are many other, less evident, points of difference
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CHAPTER IX THE STUDY OF THE ROCKS
CHAPTER IX THE STUDY OF THE ROCKS
The study of rocks and minerals by means of the microscope is apt to be disappointing. In the first place, to study them seriously we require a special microscope, the ordinary instrument, with which we may poke into the deepest secrets of the animal and plant world cannot translate for us half the story of the rocks. Again, to understand rocks and minerals we must study them somewhat deeply. Geology, as the science of rocks is called, is no more difficult than botany or zoology, the sciences of
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CHAPTER X THE MICROSCOPE AS DETECTIVE
CHAPTER X THE MICROSCOPE AS DETECTIVE
It is an unfortunate fact that our food is not always absolutely pure. It may be contaminated with foreign matter either by accident or by design. However careful the manufacturer may be in, say the preparation of cocoa, some dust, some waste vegetable matter, perhaps even a few stray dried insects may occur as impurities. They are out of place certainly but, at the worst, they are a sign of lack of care on the part of the manufacturer. There is another, more serious side to the question of food
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CHAPTER XI BACTERIA
CHAPTER XI BACTERIA
There is probably no scientific work more wedded to the microscope than the study of bacteria. We may learn a great deal about birds or insects or rocks or minerals, without any instrument but we can learn little of the bacteria unless they are highly magnified. There is such an extraordinary amount of misconception concerning bacteria that, it will be time well spent if we attempt to clear up all misunderstanding at the start. Bacteria, often called microbes or germs, are looked upon with consi
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CHAPTER XII MEDICAL WORK WITH THE MICROSCOPE
CHAPTER XII MEDICAL WORK WITH THE MICROSCOPE
To the medical man, a microscope is all important. In the first place it is absolutely necessary for him to have an accurate knowledge of the human body; he must be able to recognise healthy blood, he must know the varied cells composing muscle and bone, etc. Then again the medical aspect of bacteriology is all important; we have devoted a separate chapter to bacteria and there we warned our readers not to look upon all bacteria as harmful, nevertheless, the harmful ones are all important in med
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CHAPTER XIII THE MICROSCOPE AND AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER XIII THE MICROSCOPE AND AGRICULTURE
Probably there are not many farmers who use a microscope and fewer still who use one to help them in their business, yet there are few people to whom one of these instruments would be more useful. Their seeds are often far from pure and the microscope will reveal the impurities which may consist of dirt and dust, or of other seeds, seeds which will grow into weeds and make the crop less valuable or, if present in large quantities, render it valueless. Agricultural plants become attacked by varie
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CHAPTER XIV THE MICROSCOPE AND INSECT LIFE
CHAPTER XIV THE MICROSCOPE AND INSECT LIFE
Some of our readers will probably remark that entomology, or the natural history of insects, is really a branch of zoology and should be treated as such. We cannot pretend that they are wrong, but it is such a specialized branch that it merits separate treatment. Not many years ago insects, with few exceptions, were looked upon as harmless and often beautiful dwellers upon the earth. They afforded endless amusement to certain enthusiasts who collected them for their colouring or their odd forms.
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CHAPTER XV THE MICROSCOPE BY THE SEASIDE—ANIMAL LIFE
CHAPTER XV THE MICROSCOPE BY THE SEASIDE—ANIMAL LIFE
It is always surprising that the majority of microscopists never dream of examining any of the hundreds of beautiful objects which can be found by the seaside, in the course of an afternoon’s ramble. That every pond will contain ample material for study, the microscopist knows instinctively; insect life and plant life also he studies, but the microscope is generally left at home when a visit is paid to the seaside. A rocky coast is better than a sandy one, for rock pools yield many objects, and
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CHAPTER XVI THE MICROSCOPE BY THE SEASIDE—PLANT LIFE
CHAPTER XVI THE MICROSCOPE BY THE SEASIDE—PLANT LIFE
The plant life of the sea side may be divided into two natural groups (i) of plants living on the shore near the sea and (ii) of plants living in the sea, for part of each day at least. The former group contains many plants of exactly the same kind as occur far inland, together with a few typically sea-side plants such as Thrift or Sea Pink. They are, however, one and all land plants. In this chapter we shall confine ourselves to the real sea plants, the seaweeds. Before we study any of these in
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CHAPTER XVII THE MICRO-TELESCOPE AND SUPER MICROSCOPE
CHAPTER XVII THE MICRO-TELESCOPE AND SUPER MICROSCOPE
Those of our readers who have borne with us thus far may quite excusably have thought that the last word had been attained in the construction of the microscope. It is true that different makers have made various improvements to their instruments, from time to time in recent years, most of them of minor importance but useful in the aggregate. But a few years ago, however, the advent of the Micro-Telescope and Super-Microscope marked an epoch in the manufacture of the microscope. We have shown th
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CHAPTER XVIII CHEMISTRY AND THE MICROSCOPE
CHAPTER XVIII CHEMISTRY AND THE MICROSCOPE
To thoroughly comprehend the various uses to which the chemist may put his microscope, it is necessary to have a knowledge of chemistry. The science is so wide in its scope that no single chapter could do justice to it. There are analytical chemists, scientists whose aim is to find out the composition of various substances; biological chemists who deal with the many problems of life in which chemistry plays a part, but we need not attempt to detail all the branches of this highly specialised sci
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CHAPTER XIX THE USE OF THE MICROSCOPE IN MANUFACTURES
CHAPTER XIX THE USE OF THE MICROSCOPE IN MANUFACTURES
In how many branches of commerce, we wonder, does the microscope play its part. It is used in several departments of engineering for examining steels and many other metals not only for defects but to see how they are made up. It is used in brewing for studying the various yeasts and other substances, including the hops which go to the making of beer. All manufactures which depend upon fermentation, such as wine and vinegar making, are largely dependent upon the work of the microscope. In dairy w
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CHAPTER XX THE MICROSCOPE AND CAMERA ALLIED
CHAPTER XX THE MICROSCOPE AND CAMERA ALLIED
Photography is such a popular hobby in these days, that the enthusiast who possesses both camera and microscope, is certain, sooner or later, to wish to take permanent records of some of the beautiful objects revealed to him by the latter instrument. The production of high-power photo-micrographs, as the pictures of highly magnified objects are called, can only be carried out by those who are skilled in the use of both camera and microscope and are possessed of considerable patience. There is no
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CHAPTER XXI HOW THE GLASS USED IN MICROSCOPES IS MADE
CHAPTER XXI HOW THE GLASS USED IN MICROSCOPES IS MADE
Having described all the ordinary uses of the microscope and having also insisted that the objectives are the most important part of the instrument, there are probably many of our readers who may wish to know in what manner this wonderful glass differs from ordinary glass and how it is made. Glass has been defined as a substance which, during its manufacture, passes from the liquid to the solid state so rapidly that no crystals are formed. Usually when solids are melted and then allowed to cool,
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CHAPTER XXII THE CHOICE AND USE OF APPARATUS AND ACCESSORIES
CHAPTER XXII THE CHOICE AND USE OF APPARATUS AND ACCESSORIES
In this, our concluding chapter, we propose to give a few hints upon the choice and use of the microscope and its accessories, to enlighten our readers concerning stains and staining and to add such other information as is likely to be useful, information which is better supplied in a chapter of its own than scattered about our pages and probably overlooked. The most important question concerns the choice of a microscope. In a book of this nature it is obviously impossible to recommend the wares
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