introducing the microscope essay

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Biology library

Course: biology library   >   unit 8.

• Scale of cells
• Cell theory
• Intro to cells
• Introduction to cells

Introduction

Microscopes and lenses.

• Magnification is a measure of how much larger a microscope (or set of lenses within a microscope) causes an object to appear. For instance, the light microscopes typically used in high schools and colleges magnify up to about 400 times actual size. So, something that was 1 mm wide in real life would be 400 mm wide in the microscope image.
• The resolution of a microscope or lens is the smallest distance by which two points can be separated and still be distinguished as separate objects. The smaller this value, the higher the resolving power of the microscope and the better the clarity and detail of the image. If two bacterial cells were very close together on a slide, they might look like a single, blurry dot on a microscope with low resolving power, but could be told apart as separate on a microscope with high resolving power. What determines resolving power? High-quality microscopes tend to have higher resolving power than cheap ones simply because they are more carefully made and work better. However, resolving power is ultimately limited not by microscope machining quality, but by the physical properties of light. If two structures are separated by a distance less than half the wavelength of the light used for imaging, they cannot be distinguished from each other by conventional light microscopy 2 ‍   . This phenomenon is called the diffraction barrier. Electron microscopy (discussed below) gets around this problem by using beams of electrons, which have much shorter wavelengths than light. Also, some recently developed super-resolution microscopy techniques, have allowed the collection (or, more typically, reconstruction) of light microscopy images whose resolution is beyond the diffraction barrier 2 , 3 ‍   .

Light microscopes

Electron microscopes, attribution:, works cited:.

• Lathrop, K. (n.d.). Light microscopes. In Ms. Lathrop’s science classes . http://infohost.nmt.edu/~klathrop/Microscopes.htm .
• Silfies, J. S., Schwartz, S. A., and Davidson, M. W. (2013). The diffraction barrier in optical microscopy. In MicroscopyU . Retrieved from https://www.microscopyu.com/articles/superresolution/diffractionbarrier.html .
• Super-resolution microscopy. (2015, August 8). Retrieved August 9, 2015 from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super-resolution_microscopy .
• Paddock, S. W., Fellers, T. J., and Davidson, M. W. (2015). Confocal microscopy: Basic concepts. In MicroscopyU . Retrieved from http://www.microscopyu.com/articles/confocal/confocalintrobasics.html .
• Transmission electron microscopy. (2016, May 7). Retrieved May 29, 2016 from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_electron_microscopy .

Additional references:

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• Microbiology
• Study Guides
• Introduction to Microscopes
• A Brief History of Microbiology
• Microorganisms Defined
• The Spectrum of Microbiology
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• Types of Microscopes
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Since microorganisms are invisible to the unaided eye, the essential tool in microbiology is the microscope. One of the first to use a microscope to observe microorganisms was Robert Hooke , the English biologist who observed algae and fungi in the 1660s. In the 1670s, Anton van Leeuwenhoek , a Dutch merchant, constructed a number of simple microscopes and observed details of numerous forms of protozoa, fungi, and bacteria. During the 1700s, microscopes were used to further elaborate on the microbial world, and by the late 1800s, the sophisticated light microscopes had been developed. The electron microscope was developed in the 1940s, thus making the viruses and the smallest bacteria (for example, rickettsiae and chlamydiae) visible.

Microscopes permit extremely small objects to be seen, objects measured in the metric system in micrometers and nanometers. A  micrometer  (μm) is equivalent to a millionth of a meter, while a  nanometer  (nm) is a billionth of a meter. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and unicellular algae are normally measured in micrometers, while viruses are commonly measured in nanometers. A typical bacterium such as  Escherichia coli measures about two micrometers in length and about one micrometer in width.

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Essay on Microscope

Students are often asked to write an essay on Microscope in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Microscope

Introduction to microscope.

A microscope is a scientific tool that magnifies objects too small to see with the naked eye. It’s vital in fields like biology and medicine.

Types of Microscopes

There are two main types: light and electron microscopes. Light microscopes use light to illuminate the sample, while electron microscopes use electrons.

Microscope’s Role in Science

Microscopes have revolutionized science. They allow us to see cells, bacteria, and viruses, helping us understand life and disease better.

Microscopes, though simple-looking, are powerful tools. They open up a world unseen to the naked eye, expanding our knowledge.

250 Words Essay on Microscope

Introduction to microscopy.

Microscopy, the scientific phenomenon of viewing minute objects, is an indispensable tool in numerous scientific fields. It has revolutionized our understanding of life, from the smallest cells to the largest ecosystems.

Historical Perspective

The microscope’s invention in the 17th century was a significant scientific breakthrough. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, often hailed as the ‘Father of Microbiology’, crafted superior lenses that magnified objects up to 270 times, revealing a previously unseen world of ‘animalcules’.

Microscopes have evolved significantly since Leeuwenhoek’s time. Today, we have a variety of microscopes, each with unique capabilities. Light microscopes, including compound and stereo microscopes, use light to illuminate the sample. Electron microscopes, such as the Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), use a beam of electrons instead of light, offering magnification up to 50 million times.

Microscopy in Modern Science

Modern microscopy has opened up new frontiers in science. In biology, it has allowed us to visualize cells, bacteria, and viruses, leading to significant advancements in medicine. In materials science, it has enabled the analysis of materials at the atomic level, contributing to the development of new materials and technologies.

In conclusion, the microscope is an invaluable tool in scientific research. It has not only allowed us to explore the miniature world but also advanced our understanding of the macroscopic world. As technology continues to evolve, so too will the capabilities of the microscope, promising exciting discoveries in the future.

500 Words Essay on Microscope

Microscopy, the science of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye, has revolutionized our understanding of the microscopic world. From Antonie van Leeuwenhoek’s first glimpse of a microscopic world teeming with “animalcules” to the modern electron microscope, the development of this technology has expanded our view of biology, chemistry, and materials science.

The Evolution of Microscopes

The first compound microscopes, developed in the 17th century, were simple devices, with often just two lenses for magnification. Despite their simplicity, these tools provided the first glimpses into a world beyond human vision. The advancements in optics and materials during the 19th century led to the development of high-quality lenses, enabling microscopes to reach magnifications of up to 2000x.

In the 20th century, the electron microscope was developed, using a beam of electrons instead of light to magnify the subject. This allowed for magnifications of up to 50 million times, revealing structures within cells and even individual atoms. The scanning tunneling microscope, developed in the 1980s, further pushed the boundaries by allowing scientists to visualize and manipulate individual atoms.

There are several types of microscopes used in scientific research today. The most common is the optical microscope, which uses light to observe the sample. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) use electrons to create an image, providing much higher resolution than optical microscopes. The atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscope (STM) are types of scanning probe microscopes, which use a physical probe to scan the sample and generate an image.

Applications of Microscopy

Microscopy has wide-ranging applications across various fields. In biology, it’s used to study cells, tissues, and microorganisms. In medicine, it’s a crucial tool for diagnosing diseases. In materials science and engineering, microscopy is used to examine the structure of materials at the atomic level, aiding in the development of new materials with desired properties. In forensic science, it helps in identifying substances and materials related to crime scenes.

Future of Microscopy

The future of microscopy is promising, with new technologies continually emerging. Super-resolution microscopy, for instance, is a technique that surpasses the diffraction limit of light, allowing researchers to view biological structures at the nanoscale. Cryo-electron microscopy, which involves flash-freezing samples to preserve their natural state, has revolutionized structural biology by allowing scientists to visualize proteins and other biological structures in unprecedented detail.

Microscopy will continue to evolve, driven by advancements in technology and the ongoing need to explore the microscopic world. The microscope, a tool that has been instrumental in many scientific discoveries, remains a potent symbol of our quest for knowledge and understanding.

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ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Microscopes.

A microscope is an instrument that can be used to observe small objects, even cells. The image of an object is magnified through at least one lens in the microscope. This lens bends light toward the eye and makes an object appear larger than it actually is.

Biology, Engineering

Optical Microscope

Though modern microscopes can be high-tech, microscopes have existed for centuries – this brass optical microscope dates to 1870, and was made in Munich, Germany.

Photograph by Martin Shields / Alamy Stock Photo

A microscope is an instrument that is used to magnify small objects. Some microscopes can even be used to observe an object at the cellular level, allowing scientists to see the shape of a cell , its nucleus, mitochondria , and other organelles . While the modern microscope has many parts, the most important pieces are its lenses . It is through the microscope ’s lenses that the image of an object can be magnified and observed in detail. A simple light microscope manipulates how light enters the eye using a convex lens , where both sides of the lens are curved outwards. When light reflects off of an object being viewed under the microscope and passes through the lens , it bends towards the eye. This makes the object look bigger than it actually is.

Over the course of the microscope ’s history, technological innovations have made the microscope easier to use and have improved the quality of the images produced. The compound microscope , which consists of at least two lenses , was invented in 1590 by Dutch spectacle-makers Zacharias and Hans Jansen. Some of the earliest microscopes were also made by a Dutchman named Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek. Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes consisted of a small glass ball set inside a metal frame. He became known for using his microscopes to observe freshwater , single- celled microorganisms that he called “animalcules.”

While some older microscopes had only one lens , modern microscopes make use of multiple lenses to enlarge an image. There are two sets of lenses in both the compound microscope and the dissecting microscope (also called the stereo microscope ). Both of these microscopes have an objective lens , which is closer to the object, and an eyepiece , which is the lens you look through. The eyepiece lens typically magnifies an object to appear ten times its actual size, while the magnification of the objective lens can vary. Compound microscopes can have up to four objective lenses of different magnifications , and the microscope can be adjusted to choose the magnification that best suits the viewer’s needs. The total magnification that a certain combination of lenses provides is determined by multiplying the magnifications of the eyepiece and the objective lens being used. For example, if both the eyepiece and the objective lens magnify an object ten times, the object would appear one hundred times larger.

The dissecting microscope provides a lower magnification than the compound microscope, but produces a three-dimensional image. This makes the dissecting microscope good for viewing objects that are larger than a few cells but too small to see in detail with the human eye. The compound microscope is typically used for observing objects at the cellular level.

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NOTIFICATIONS

Exploring with microscopes – introduction.

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We live in a beautiful world – and that beauty and complexity extends far beyond what humans can see unaided. From plant and animal anatomy to cells and proteins and even down to the level of atoms, there are worlds within worlds of detail to be explored on the microscopic scale .

Liz Girvan’s “world-famous micrograph”

This SEM image of tin spheres of various sizes (used to calibrate the microscope) was taken by Liz Girvan. It won an image competition in Otago and has attracted worldwide interest.

Microscopes are the tools that allow us to look more closely at objects, seeing beyond what is visible with the naked eye. Without them, we would have no idea about the existence of cells or how plants breathe or how rocks change over time. Our understanding of the world around us would be severely limited – and this is why many scientists see microscopes as the most important scientific instrument there is.

Our microscope resources invite students to share in the sense of wonder that scientists have felt for centuries looking through the microscope. We look at the diversity of objects on the microscopic scale and introduce several New Zealand scientists who use microscopes to explore the things that interest them. At the same time, we show how microscopes themselves have evolved to look more and more closely at the world around us.

Which microscope?

Explore the features of different microscopes and learn how scientists choose which ones to use in their research.

Microscopes: technology driving science

Using the earliest microscopes, scientists glimpsed a world of unimaginable complexity – and they wanted to know more. To satisfy this urge, microscope technology became more sophisticated over time, letting us look more and more closely at objects. We’ve been able to ask more specific questions about the object we’re viewing: What does its surface or internal structure look like? What is it made up of? How does it change over time? For each of these questions, specialised microscopes have now been developed that can provide the answers.

Doing microscopy – it’s a dream world. You’re always going to see something beautiful. Dr Bronwyn Lowe, Clothing and Textile Sciences, within the Department of Applied Sciences, University of Otago

Our microscope resources emphasise the link between microscope technology and the science that microscopes have helped uncover. The activity Which microscope is best? is a good starting point for learning how specialised microscopes can help answer different scientific questions.

New Zealand through the microscope

Two of the research stories we feature have a uniquely Kiwi perspective.

At the University of Otago, Dr Bronwyn Lowe and Māori weavers have been working closely together to explore several properties of harakeke (New Zealand flax). In the article Harakeke under the microscope , learn about the differences between harakeke varieties on the microscopic scale and explore how mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) can shed light on scientific research.

Exploring harakeke on the SEM

Dr Bronwyn Lowe describes her use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to explore harakeke leaves. Bronwyn found that different harakeke varieties have differently patterned waxes on the leaf surface. She also explored the distribution of fibre (muka) in the leaves of different varieties.

New Zealanders are only too aware of how devastating a major earthquake can be. Professor Dave Prior and his group are looking for clues to how and why earthquakes happen. In the article Squishy rocks and earthquakes and the interactive From mountains to microscopes , follow Dave and the team as they collect rock samples from deep in the Alpine F ault (Westland) and see how microscopy of rocks can shed light on the history of movement in the fault.

A closer look at cells

Two further research stories focus on cells in the body.

Dr Rebecca Campbell is studying a small group of brain cells (GnRH neurons) that control fertility. Learn about her remarkable discoveries about how these cells interconnect – all done using microscopes of course!

Making neurons glow

Dr Rebecca Campbell (University of Otago) discusses the importance of fluorescent molecules in confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy (‘confocal microscopy’) of cells. She explains how green fluorescent protein (GFP) from jellyfish can be used to make specific neurons glow green.

Associate Professor Tony Poole shares his story about the primary cilium, a structure of the surface of cells that seems to monitor what’s going on in the cell surroundings. This elusive structure was first tracked down using microscopes, and many aspects of how it works remain mysterious. In the article A closer look at the cell’s antenna , see how Tony is using microscopes to build a 3D computer model of the primary cilium .

Science ideas in exploring with microscopes

Our articles explain some of the big science ideas associated with microscopy:

• Magnification and resolution
• How microscopes magnify
• Preparing samples for the electron microscope
• Light microscopes
• Types of electron microscope
• Animal cells and their shapes
• Cell organelles .

Take up the challenge

The student activities provide plenty of hands-on experiences. Modelling animal cells in 3D imitates what can be seen under high-resolution microscopes. Using lolly slices to build 3D images and Using shadows to build 3D images model how scientists interpret microscopic data. Ferns under the microscope demonstrates how increasing the power of magnification leads to much greater detail. For younger students use the Making a simple microscope activity – it uses accessible technology to increase students’ ability to observe closely.

The activity Which microscope is best? explores the uses, advantages and limitations of eight types of microscopes.

Question bank

The Exploring with microscopes – question bank provides a list of questions about microscopy and places where their answers can be found. The questions support an inquiry approach.

For explanations of key concepts, see Exploring with microscopes – key terms .

Use this timeline to discover some of the key advances in microscopy.

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Microscopy: A Very Short Introduction

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Microscopy is a dynamic area of science, incorporating both basic classroom microscopes and sophisticated research style instruments that can be driven by light, electrons, or X-rays. Microscopy: A Very Short Introduction describes the scientific principles behind the main forms of microscopy and the exciting new developments and technological advances in the field. It introduces the power of what is achievable today using microscopes and demonstrates how microscopy impinges on almost every aspect of our daily lives—from medical diagnosis to quality control in manufacture. Beginning with a brief history of the early stages of microscopy development, it concludes with a comprehensive account of the diverse spectrum of microscopy available today.

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An Introduction to Microscopy

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• Ray F. Egerton 2  

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Microscopy involves the study of objects that are too small to be examined by the unaided eye. In the SI (metric) system of units, the sizes of these objects are expressed in terms of sub-multiples of the meter, such as the micrometer (1 µm=10 −6 m, also called a micron ) and also the nanometer (1 nm=10 −9 m). Older books use the Angstrom unit (1 Å =10 −10 m), not an official SI unit but convenient for specifying the distance between atoms in a solid, which is generally in the range 2–3 Å.

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Department of Physics, University of Alberta, 412 Avadh Bhatia Physics Laboratory, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2R3

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Egerton, R.F. (2005). An Introduction to Microscopy. In: Physical Principles of Electron Microscopy. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26016-1_1

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Science Projects > Life Science Projects > Introductory Microscope Experiments  

Introductory Microscope Experiments

You have a microscope—now what?

With these directions, you can get started right away making your own microscope slides!

Make your own prepared slide with mounts of your choice of specimen on glass microscope slides. This is a great microscope activity for junior high to high school age.

Or make simple slides out of household items, a project that works well for elementary age kids and can be used with both compound and stereo microscopes.

In This Project:

How to Make a Slide for a Microscope: Making Your Own Prepared Slides

How to Make a Smear of Cheek Cells

Looking at root and stem sections, how to make simple microscope slides, making simple slides, how to use the microscope, other simple microscope slide ideas, microscope worksheet: recording your microscope observations, how to make a prepared slide for a microscope.

Learn how to make temporary mounts of specimens and view them with your microscope. Below are a few ideas for studying different types of cells found in items that you probably already have around your house. ( Adult supervision required for cutting specimens.)

In the late 1600s, a scientist named Robert Hooke looked through his microscope at a thin slice of cork. He noticed that the dead wood was made up of many tiny compartments, and upon further observation, Hooke named these empty compartments cells.

It was later known that the cells in cork are only empty because the living matter that once occupied them has died and left behind tiny pockets of air. You can take a closer look at the cells, also called lenticels, of a piece of cork by following these instructions.

Materials Needed:

• a small cork
• plain glass microscope slide
• slide cover slip
• sharp knife or razor blade

How to make the microscope slide:

To make a wet mount of the cork, put one drop of water in the center of a plain glass slide – the water droplet should be larger than the slice of cork. Gently set the slice of cork on top of the drop of water (tweezers might be helpful for this). If you are not able to cut a thin enough slice of the whole diameter of the cork, a smaller section will work.

Then, being careful not to move the cork around, lower the coverslip without trapping any air bubbles beneath it.

The water should form a seal around the cork. Use the corner of a paper towel to blot up any excess water at the edges of the coverslip.

To keep the slide from drying out, you can make a seal of petroleum jelly around the coverslip with a toothpick.

Begin with the lowest-power objective to view your slide. Then switch to a higher power objective to see more detail. Use this same wet mount method for the other cell specimens listed below.

You can even check out cells from your own body! The cells on the inside of your cheek are called Squamous Epithelium cells and can be easily viewed with a compound microscope .

• toothpick (flat ones work best)
• slide coverslip
• methylene blue

To make a cheek smear, take a clean toothpick and gently scrape the inside of your cheek. Then wipe that part of the toothpick in the center of your slide.

Hold the coverslip with one end flush on the slide and gently wipe the edge of the coverslip along the middle of the slide’s surface.

This will smear the cells along the slide, making a layer thin enough to view clearly. Let the smear air dry.

Once your smear is dry, add a drop of methylene blue stain to the center of the smear so you will be able to see the cells more clearly.

Gently set a coverslip over the smear and scan your slide under low power to locate the cells, then observe them more closely under high power.

Vegetables are a great way to learn about plants. Did you know that carrots are actually roots, and celery stalks are stems?

• celery stalk (stem)
• a carrot (root)
• plain glass microscope slides
• slide cover slips

Cut a few extremely thin slices out of the middle of the carrot, and some from the middle of the celery stalk. Make a wet mount of the best slice from each vegetable and view them one at a time using your microscope’s 4x objective.

Compare and contrast what you see in each one, then switch to the 10x objective to look a little more closely.

To see details of the amazing structure of plants, use the 40x objective and scan each slide, carefully observing all of the parts and different cells.

Learn even more about plants by studying different sections of real leaves.

• a fresh leaf specimen (use one without many holes or blemishes)

Then, starting at one of the short ends (the edges that you did not cut), tightly roll the leaf section.

Carefully make several very thin slices off one end of the roll with a razor blade or knife. The slices should look almost transparent. T

he cells surrounding the central vein of the leaf are what you will want to look at; depending on the size of the leaf, you might have to cut the slice again so that the central part is the part you will actually see on your slide.

Make a wet mount on a plain slide with the inner part of the leaf section facing up (so the inner cells are visible). Look at the slide with the 10x objective to see the general structure, and higher power to see details of cells.

A tool called a microtome is extremely helpful for preparing specimens for slide mounting. A microtome allows you to expose a small amount of the specimen at a time and cut it off against a solid edge using a very sharp razor blade type knife.

Check out our Slide Making Kit if you’re interested in materials and instructions for making more slides.

We have a variety of microscope prepared slides available both individually and in sets, such as our Biology Slide Set .

Learn more about using your compound microscope by making simple slides using common items from around the house! (Note: This article was written for use with a compound microscope ; however, the technique can be easily adapted for use with a stereo or dissecting microscope as well.)

• clear Scotch tape
• a few granules of salt, sugar, ground coffee, sand, or any other grainy material
• compound microscope like the Home Microscope

To make a slide, tear a 2 ½-3” long piece of Scotch tape and set it sticky side up on the kitchen table or other work area.

Fold over about ½” of the tape on each end to form finger holds on the sides of the slide.

(Note: Because there are several suggestions for things that can be done with these homemade slides throughout this article, you might want to make several slides at once so that you have them ready.)

Place one of your homemade slides on the center of the microscope’s stage, directly over the clear hole. Put one stage clip on one edge of the slide to hold it in place leaving the other end free to move around. Turn your microscope’s light source on, lower the stage, and position the lowest power objective lens over the slide.

Looking through the eyepiece, turn the coarse focus knob until the outlines of the granules become visible. Then turn the fine focus knob to get the image as sharp and clear as possible. Because the tape is thinner than glass microscope slides, you may have to move the slide around some to focus it better – try slightly lifting it up or pressing it down with your fingers. The basic shape of the crystals should be visible at 40x. Now turn the nosepiece so the 10x objective (100x magnification) is positioned over the stage.

Most compound microscopes are parcentered and parfocal. Parcentered means that if you centered your slide while using one objective, it should still be centered even when you switch to another objective. Parfocal means that once you have focused on an object using one objective, the microscope will still be coarsely focused when you switch to a different objective. Because of these features, you should only need to turn the fine focus knob slightly and perhaps move your slide a tiny bit to make sure it is centered and well focused under the new objective lens.

As you slowly turn the fine focus knob you are actually moving in and out of many layers of the specimen, which is why some parts in the field of view may look blurry while some are sharp. This is simply because you are looking at a three-dimensional object and at high magnification the different layers seem much larger than they would without the magnification, even in tiny single-celled organisms!

Compare the shapes, sizes, and colors of the crystals on each of the slides you made. Record your observations on a sheet of paper or in your science notebook. Include information about the slide such as the date, what it is, the magnification level used, and perhaps even a drawing. You can also print out copies of our Microscope Observation Sheets to put in your science notebook.

Hair and thread also work well on homemade tape slides. Collect samples of hair from family members or pets and stick one hair from each sample on a tape slide. Label each slide and view them one at a time with your microscope experimenting with different magnification. Write down your observations about each to see how hairs from humans and animals differ. You can also look at threads or fibers from furniture, rugs or clothing from around your house.

Small insects such as gnats, ants, or fruit flies are interesting to observe with a microscope as well. Stick a dead insect to a tape slide and set it on your microscope stage. Begin with the lowest power and examine all of the insect’s parts. If you discover something interesting, perhaps an eye or part of a leg, look at it more closely with a higher power objective.

To learn more about how the optics of a microscope work, try this experiment: look through a section of a newspaper and find a word that has the letter “e.” Cut out the word and stick it to one of your tape slides with the letters facing up. Observe it under the 4x objective and write down what you see. What does the “e” look like? Is it facing the direction you expected that it would be? Now look at it again with the 10x objective. What can you tell about the lenses of your microscope from this activity? What can you tell about printed material from this experiment?

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Additional Resources

For instructions and materials to make more advanced microscope slides, check out our Microscope Slide Making Kit .

Other articles you might be interested in:

• How to Select a Compound Microscope

Microscope Worksheet: How to Record Microscope Observations

In the field of science, recording observations while performing an experiment is one of the most useful tools available.

Early scientists often kept very detailed journals of the experiments they performed, making entries for each individual experiment and writing down virtually everything they saw.

These entries often included drawings and detailed descriptions as well as the procedures they used, the data they collected, and conclusions drawn from their experimentation.

Our printable Microscope Observation worksheets will help you keep track of the things that you study with your microscope and remember what you have learned.

Blanks are provided for recording general information about each slide, such as the date it was prepared and the stains used, as well as space to write down your observations and circles to do sketches of what you see.

Click here to print out copies of the Microscope Observation worksheet !

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Essay on the Microscope

Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (4.6M), or click on a page image below to browse page by page.

Please see the Transcriber’s Notes at the end of this text.

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ESSAYS ON THE MICROSCOPE .

T.S. Duché pinxit

Truth discovering to Time, Science instructing her Children in the Improvements on the Microscope.

London, Published July 1. st 1787, by Geo. e Adams, N. o 60 Fleet Street.

ESSAYS ON THE MICROSCOPE ; CONTAINING A PRACTICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST IMPROVED MICROSCOPES ; A GENERAL HISTORY OF INSECTS, THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS, PECULIAR HABITS, AND ŒCONOMY:

AN ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS SPECIES, AND SINGULAR PROPERTIES, OF THE HYDRÆ AND VORTICELLÆ: A DESCRIPTION OF THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-THREE ANIMALCULA:

A CONCISE CATALOGUE OF INTERESTING OBJECTS: A VIEW OF THE ORGANIZATION OF TIMBER, AND THE CONFIGURATION OF SALTS, WHEN UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.

ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTY-TWO FOLIO PLATES

BY THE LATE GEORGE ADAMS, MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER TO HIS MAJESTY, &c.

THE SECOND EDITION, WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS, BY FREDERICK KANMACHER, F. L. S.

LONDON: PRINTED BY DILLON AND KEATING, FOR THE EDITOR; AND FOR W. AND S. JONES, HOLBORN. MDCCXCVIII.

PRICE 1 l. 8 s. IN BOARDS.

TO THE KING.

E very work that tends to enlarge the boundaries of science has a peculiar claim to the protection of Kings. He that diffuses science, civilizes man, opens the inlets to his happiness, and co-operates with the Fountain and Source of all knowledge. By [vi] science truth is advanced; and of Divine Truth Kings are the representatives.

The work which I have now the honour to present to YOUR MAJESTY, calls the attention of the reader to those laws of Divine order by which the universe is governed and supported; in it we find that the minutest beings share in the protection, and triumph in the bounty of the Sovereign of all things: that the infinitely small manifest to the astonished eye the same proportion, regularity and design, which are conspicuous to the unassisted sight in the larger parts of creation. By finding all things formed in [vii] beauty, and produced for use, the mind is raised from the fleeting and evanescent appearances of matter, to contemplate the permanent principles of truth, and acknowledge that the whole proceeds from the wisdom that originates in love.

It was by YOUR MAJESTY’S goodness and gracious patronage that I was first induced to undertake a description of mathematical and philosophical instruments, that I might thereby facilitate the attainment of those sciences that are connected with them, and by shewing what was already obtained, excite emulation, and quicken invention.

It is to the same goodness that I am indebted for this opportunity of subscribing myself,

SIR, YOUR MAJESTY’S Most humble, Most obedient, and most dutiful Subject and Servant, GEORGE ADAMS.

I n the preface to my Essays on Electricity and Magnetism , I informed the public that it was my intention to publish, from time to time, essays describing the construction and explaining the use of mathematical and philosophical instruments, in their present state of improvement. This work will, I hope, be considered as a performance of my promise, as far as relates to the subject here treated of. [1]

[1] Towards the completion of this design, our author afterwards published, 1. Astronomical and Geographical Essays; 2. Geometrical and Graphical Essays; 3. An Essay on Vision; 4. Lectures on Natural and Experimental Philosophy. He had projected other compilations, and was preparing a new edition of this work; but, alas! how uncertain are all human projects! constant attention to an extensive business and to literature, preyed on a constitution far from robust, and at length rapidly accelerated his dissolution, which happened at Southampton, on the 14th of August, 1795; aged 45. By this event, the world was prematurely deprived of the beneficial effects of his farther labours, and his friends of the conversation of a man, whose amiable and communicative disposition endeared him to all those who had the pleasure of knowing him. His life had been devoted to religious and moral duties, to the acquisition of science, and its diffusion for the benefit of mankind. To those who had no personal knowledge of Mr. Adams , his works will continue to display his merits as an author, and his virtues as a valuable member of society. Edit.

The first chapter contains a short history of the invention and improvements that have been made on the microscope, and Father Di Torre’s method of making his celebrated glass globules. The second treats of vision, in which I have endeavoured to explain in a familiar manner the reason of those advantages which are obtained by the use of magnifying lenses; but as the reader is supposed to be unacquainted with the elements of this science, so many intermediate ideas have been necessarily omitted, as must in some degree lessen the force, and weaken the perception of the truths intended to be inculcated: to have given these, would have required a treatise on optics.

In the third chapter , the most improved microscopes, and some others which are in general use, are particularly described; no pains have been spared to lessen the difficulty of observation, and remove obscurity from description; the relative advantages of each instrument are briefly pointed out, to enable the reader to select that which is best adapted to his pursuits. The method of preparing different objects for observation, and the cautions necessary to be observed in the use of the microscope, are the subjects of the fourth chapter .

When I first undertook the present essays, I had confined myself to a re-publication of my fathers work, entitled, Micrographia Illustrata; but I soon found that both his and Mr. Baker’s tracts on the microscope were very imperfect. Natural history had not been so much cultivated at the period when they wrote, as it is in the present day. To the want of that information which is now easily obtained, we may with propriety impute their errors and imperfections. I have, therefore, in the fifth chapter , after some general observations on the utility of natural history, endeavoured to remedy their defects, by arranging the subject in systematic order, and by introducing the microscopic [xi] reader to the system of Linnæus, as far as relates to insects: by this he will learn to discriminate one insect from another, to characterize their different parts, and thus be better enabled to avoid error himself, and to convey instruction to others.

As the transformations which insects undergo, constitute a principal branch of their history, and furnish many objects for the microscope, I have given a very ample description of them; the more so, as many microscopic writers, by not considering these changes with attention, have fallen into a variety of mistakes. Here I intended to stop; but the charms of natural history are so seducing, that I was led on to describe the peculiar and striking marks in the œconomy of these little creatures. And should the purchaser of these essays receive as much pleasure in reading this part as I did in compiling it; should it induce him to study this part of natural history; nay, should it only lead him to read the stupendous work of the most excellent Swammerdam, he will have no reason to regret his purchase, and one of my warmest wishes will be gratified.

In the next chapter I have endeavoured to give the reader some idea of the internal parts of insects, principally from M. Lyonet’s Anatomical and Microscopical Description of the Caterpillar of the Cossus or Goat-moth. As this book is but little known in our country, I concluded that a specimen of the indefatigable labour of this patient and humane anatomist would be acceptable to all lovers of the microscope; and I have, therefore, appropriated a plate , which, whilst it shews what may be effected when microscopic observation is accompanied by patience and industry, displays also the wonderful organization of this insect. This is followed by a description of several miscellaneous objects, of which no proper idea could be formed without the assistance of glasses.

To describe the fresh-water polype or hydra; to give a short history of the discovery of these curious animals, and some account of their singular properties, is the business of the succeeding chapter . The properties of these animals are so extraordinary, that they were considered at first to be as contrary to the common course of nature, as they really were to the received opinions of animal life. Indeed, who can even now contemplate without astonishment animals that multiply by slips and shoots like a plant? that may be grafted together as one tree to another, that may be turned inside out like a glove, and yet live, act, and perform all the various functions of their contracted spheres? As nearly allied to these, the chapter finishes with an account of those vorticellæ which have been enumerated by Linnæus. It has been my endeavour to dissipate confusion by the introduction of order, to dispose into method, and select under proper heads the substance of all that is known relative to these little creatures, and in the compass of a few pages to give the reader the information that is dispersed through volumes.

From the hydræ and vorticellæ, it was natural to proceed to the animalcula which are to be found in vegetable infusions; microscopic beings, that seem as it were to border on the infinitely small, that leave no space destitute of inhabitants, and are of greater importance in the immense scale of beings than our contracted imagination can conceive; yet, small as they are, each of them possesses all that beauty and proportion of organized texture which is necessary to its well-being, and suited to the happiness it is called forth to enjoy. A short account of three hundred and seventy-seven [2] of these minute beings is then given, agreeable to the system of the laborious Müller, enlarging considerably his description of those animalcula that are most easily [xiii] met with, better known, and consequently more interesting to the generality of readers.

[2] To these, six more are now added, making the whole three hundred and eighty three. Edit.

The construction of timber, and the disposition of its component parts, as seen by the microscope, is the subject of the next chapter ; a subject confessedly obscure. With what degree of success this attempt has been prosecuted, must be left to the judgment of the reader. The best treatise on this part of vegetation is that of M. Du Hamel du Monceau sur la Physique des Arbres. If either my time or situation in life would have permitted it, I should have followed his plan; but being confined to business and to London, I can only recommend it to those lovers of the works of the Almighty, who live in the country, to pursue this important branch of natural history. There is no doubt but that new views of the operations in nature, and of the wisdom with which all things are contrived, would amply repay the labour of investigation. Every part of the vegetable kingdom is rich in microscopic beauties, from the stateliest tree of the forest, from the cedar of Lebanon, to the lowliest moss and the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; all conspiring to say how much is hid from the natural sight of man, how little can be known till it receives assistance, and is benefited by adventitious aid.

From the wonderful organization of animals, and the curious texture of vegetables, we proceed to the mineral kingdom, and take a cursory view of the configuration of salts and saline substances, exhibiting a few specimens of the beautiful order in which they arrange themselves under the eye, after having been separated by dissolution; every species working as it were upon a different plan, and producing cubes, pyramids, hexagons, or some other figure peculiar to itself, with a constant regularity amidst boundless variety.

Though all nature teems with objects for the microscopic observer, yet such is the indolence of the human mind, or such its inattention to what is obvious, that among the purchasers of microscopes many have complained that they knew not what subjects to apply to their instrument, or where to find objects for examination. To obviate this complaint, a catalogue is here given, which is interspersed with the description of a few insects, and other objects, which could not be conveniently introduced in the foregoing chapters. By this catalogue it is hoped that the use of the microscope will be extended, and the path of observation facilitated.

To avoid the formal parade of quotation, and the fastidious charge of plagiarism, I have subjoined to this preface a list of the authors which have been consulted. As my extracts were made at very distant periods, it would have been impossible for me to recollect to whom I was indebted for every new fact or ingenious observation.

The plates were drawn and engraved with a view to be folded up with the work; but as it is the opinion of many of my friends that they would, by this mean, be materially injured, I have been advised to have them stitched in strong blue paper, and leave it to the purchaser to dispose of them to his own mind.

A LIST OF THE AUTHORS WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSULTED IN THE COMPILATION OF THE FORMER AND PRESENT EDITION OF THESE ESSAYS.

London , Dec. 12, 1797 .

The Public are hereby respectfully informed, that the Stock and Copyright of the following Works by the same Author , lately deceased, have been purchased by W. and S. Jones , Opticians, &c. and that they are now to be had at their Shop in Holborn.

I. GEOMETRICAL AND GRAPHICAL ESSAYS. This Work contains, 1. A select Set of Geometrical Problems, many of which are new, and not contained in any other Work. 2. The Description and Use of those Mathematical Instruments that are usually put into a Case of Drawing Instruments. Besides these, there are also described several New and Useful Instruments for Geometrical Purposes. 3. A complete and concise System of Surveying , with an Account of some very essential Improvements in that useful Art. To which is added, a Description of the most improved Theodolites , Plane Tables , and other Instruments used in Surveying; and most accurate Methods of adjusting them. 4. The Methods of Levelling , for the Purpose of conveying Water from one Place to another; with a Description of the most improved Spirit Level. 5. A Course of Practical Military Geometry , as taught at Woolwich. 6. A short Essay on Perspective. The Second Edition, corrected, and enlarged with the Descriptions of several Instruments unnoticed in the former Edition, by W. Jones , Math. Inst. Maker; illustrated by 35 Copper-plates, in 2 vols. 8vo. Price 14s. in Boards.

II. AN ESSAY ON ELECTRICITY, explaining clearly and fully the Principles of that useful Science, describing the various Instruments that have been contrived, either to illustrate the Theory, or render the Practice of it entertaining. To which is added, A Letter to the Author , from Mr. John Birch , Surgeon, on Medical Electricity . Fourth Edition, 8vo. Price 6s. illustrated with six Plates.

III. AN ESSAY ON VISION, briefly explaining the Fabric of the Eye, and the Nature of Vision; intended for the Service of those whose Eyes are weak and impaired, enabling them to form an accurate Idea of the State of their Sight, the Means of preserving it, together with proper Rules for ascertaining when Spectacles are necessary, and how to choose them without injuring the Sight. 8vo. Second Edition. Illustrated with Figures. Price 3s. in Boards.

IV. ASTRONOMICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL ESSAYS, containing, 1. A full and comprehensive View of the general Principles of Astronomy, with a large Account of the Discoveries of Dr. Herschel, &c. 2. The Use of the Globes, exemplified in a greater Variety of Problems than are to be found in any other Work; arranged under distinct Heads, and interspersed with much curious but relative Information. 3. The Description and Use of Orreries and Planetaria, &c. 4. An Introduction to Practical Astronomy, by a Set of easy and entertaining Problems. Third Edition, 8vo. Price 10s. 6d. in Boards, illustrated with sixteen Plates.

V. AN INTRODUCTION TO PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY, or the Use of the Quadrant and Equatorial, being extracted from the preceding Work. Sewed, with two Plates, 2s. 6d.

VI. AN APPENDIX to the GEOMETRICAL AND GRAPHICAL ESSAYS, containing the following Table by Mr. John Gale , viz. a Table of the Northings, Southings, Eastings, and Westings to every Degree and fifteenth Minute of the Quadrant, Radius from 1 to 100, with all the intermediate Numbers, computed to the three Places of Decimals. Price 2s.

In the Press, and speedily will be Published , LECTURES ON NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY,

In Five Volumes 8vo. The Second Edition, with upwards of Forty large Plates, considerable Alterations and Improvements; containing more complete Explanations of the Instruments, Machines, &c. and the Description of many others not inserted in the former Edition.

By W. Jones, mathematical and philosophical instrument maker.

ADVERTISEMENT.

T he editor esteems it his indispensable duty, to point out the several improvements which have been made in this work, in order to render it still more acceptable to the public.

The whole has been carefully revised—many typographical errors corrected—numerous additions and emendations from the author’s own copy incorporated, and some superfluities rejected. Wherever any ambiguity occurred, the editor has endeavoured to elucidate the passage, observing due caution not to misconceive the idea which the author meant to inculcate. A more regular arrangement has been attempted, and occasional notes subjoined: in these, and in other parts of the work, it has been the editor’s primary object to ascertain facts, not to decide peremptorily. Should he in any instance have erred, he can assure the candid critic, that he shall experience a most sensible pleasure in conviction.

The principal additions are ,

Accounts of the latest improvements which have been made in the construction of microscopes, particularly the lucernal.

A description of the glass, pearl, &c. micrometers, as made by Mr. Coventry, and others.

An arrangement and description of minute and rare shells.

A descriptive list of a variety of vegetable seeds.

Instructions for collecting and preserving insects, together with directions for forming a cabinet.

A copious list of objects for the microscope.

A list of Mr. Custance’s fine vegetable cuttings.

With respect to the plates, three new engravings are introduced, viz.

Many additional figures have been inserted in other plates, and a number of errors in the references corrected.

A complete list of the plates and a more extensive index are also added.

It has been generally understood, that the author intended to have published this edition in octavo; but, the impropriety of adopting that mode must appear evident, for the very reason assigned by the author himself in the concluding part of his preface. If the plates are liable to sustain damage by folding them into a quarto, they would have been subjected to far greater injury by being doubled into an octavo size, besides, being extremely incommodious for reference. As the work now appears, the purchaser may either retain the plates in the separate volume, or, without much inconvenience, if properly guarded, have them bound with the letter press.

It affords the editor a pleasing satisfaction to mention, that notwithstanding the additional heavy expense incurred in the article of paper, &c. yet, by somewhat enlarging the page, and other economical regulations in the mode of printing, this edition is offered to the public at a trifling advance on the original price, though the improvements now made occupy considerably more than one-hundred pages.

Anxious, lest the reputation which the work has already acquired, should be diminished by any deficiency on his part, the editor has sedulously applied himself to render it extensively useful to the serious admirer of the wonders of the creation; whether he has succeeded, is now submitted to the decision of the intelligent part of the public. He shall only add, that conscious of the purity of his intentions, and convinced of the instability of all terrestrial attainments, he trusts that he is equally secured from the weakness of being elevated by success, or depressed by disappointment.

Apothecaries Hall, London, Jan. 1, 1798.

A concise History of the Invention and Improvements which have been made upon the Instrument called a Microscope. p. 1 .

Of Vision; of the optical Effects of Microscopes, and of the Manner of estimating their magnifying Powers. p. 26 .

CHAP . III.

A Description of the most improved Microscopes, and the Method of using them. p. 64 .

General Instructions for using the Microscope, and preparing the Objects. p. 129 .

The Importance of Natural History; of Insects in general, and of their constituent Parts. p. 167 .

A general View of the internal Parts of Insects, and more particularly of the Caterpillar of the Phalæna Cossus. A Description of sundry miscellaneous Objects. p. 334 .

CHAP . VII. [xxii]

The Natural History of the Hydra, or Fresh Water Polype. p. 357 .

CHAP . VIII.

Of the Animalcula Infusoria. p. 415 .

On the Organization or Construction of Timber, as viewed by the Microscope. p. 574 .

Of the Crystallization of Salts, as seen by the Microscope; together with a concise List of Objects. p. 600 .

An Arrangement and Description of minute and rare Shells. A descriptive List of a Variety of vegetable Seeds, as they appear when viewed by the Microscope. By the Editor. p. 629 .

CHAP . XII.

Instructions for collecting and preserving Insects. A copious List of microscopic Objects. By the Editor. p. 665 .

ADDITIONS. p. 713 .

Page 16, line 22, for lead read led

Page 20, line 6, for Fig. T read Fig. 1

Page 49, last line, for usefully read successfully

Page 62, last but one, for stop read stage

Page 80, line 22, after microscope add by

Page 88, three lines from bottom, for improvent read improvement

Page 95, line 2, for R read K

Page 111, two lines from bottom, for VK read VX

Page 115, line 12, for g read q

Page 125, note, for Fig. 13 read Fig. 13*

Page 145, line 17, for cast of read cast-off

Page 153, line 21, for unkown read unknown

Page 169, eight lines from bottom, for is read are

Page 188, note line 9, for preventatives read preventives

Page 195, line 7, for exagon read hexagon

Page 238, line 16, for scarc read scarce

Page 319, line 19, for rise read raise

Page 346, line 18, for bread read bred

Page 354, three lines from bottom, for Fig. 1 and 2 read Fig. 1 and 3

Page 445, line 18, for immediate read intermediate

LIST OF THE PLATES, WITH REFERENCES TO THE PAGES WHERE THE SEVERAL FIGURES ARE DESCRIBED.

N. B. The reader will find no references to the several letters which appear in the bodies of these figures, for reasons assigned by the author as above; in order not to deface the plate, they were suffered to remain.

ESSAYS ON THE MICROSCOPE.

CHAP. I. A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE INVENTION AND IMPROVEMENTS WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE UPON THE INSTRUMENT CALLED A MICROSCOPE.

I t is generally supposed that microscopes [3] were invented about the year 1580, a period fruitful in discoveries; a time when the mind began to emancipate itself from those errors and prejudices by which it had been too long enslaved, to assert its rights, extend its powers, and follow the paths which lead to truth. The honor of the invention is claimed by the Italians and the Dutch; the name of the inventor, however, is lost; probably the discovery did not at first appear sufficiently important, to engage the attention of those men, who, by their reputation in science, were able [2] to establish an opinion of its merit with the rest of the world, and hand down the name of the inventor to succeeding ages. Men of great literary abilities are too apt to despise the first dawnings of invention, not considering that all real knowledge is progressive, and that what they deem trifling, may be the first and necessary link to a new branch of science.

[3] The term microscope is derived from the Greek μικρος little, and σκοπεω to view; it is a dioptric instrument, by means of which objects invisible to the naked eye, or very minute, are by the assistance of lenses, or mirrors, represented exceeding large and very distinct. Edit.

The microscope extends the boundaries of the organs of vision; enables us to examine the structure of plants and animals; presents to the eye myriads of beings, of whose existence we had before formed no idea; opens to the curious an exhaustless source of information and pleasure; and furnishes the philosopher with an unlimited field of investigation. “It leads,” to use the words of an ingenious writer, “to the discovery of a thousand wonders in the works of his hand, who created ourselves, as well as the objects of our admiration; it improves the faculties, exalts the comprehension, and multiplies the inlets to happiness; is a new source of praise to him, to whom all we pay is nothing of what we owe; and, while it pleases the imagination with the unbounded treasures it offers to the view, it tends to make the whole life one continued act of admiration.”

It is not difficult to fix the period when the microscope first began to be generally known, and was used for the purpose of examining minute objects; for, though we are ignorant of the name of the first inventor, we are acquainted with the names of those who introduced it to the public, and engaged their attention to it, by exhibiting some of its wonderful effects. Zacharias Jansens and his son had made microscopes before the year 1619, for in that year the ingenious Cornelius Drebell brought one, which was made by them, with him into England, and shewed it to William Borel, and others. It is possible, this instrument of Drebell’s was not strictly what is now meant by a [3] microscope, but was rather a kind of microscopic telescope, [4] something similar in principle to that lately described by Mr. Æpinus, in a letter to the Academy of Sciences at Petersburgh. It was formed of a copper tube six feet long and one inch diameter, supported by three brass pillars in the shape of dolphins; these were fixed to a base of ebony, on which the objects to be viewed by the microscope were also placed. In contradiction to this, Fontana, in a work which he published in 1646, says, that he had made microscopes in the year 1618: this may be also very true, without derogating from the merit of the Jansens, for we have many instances in our own times of more than one person having executed the same contrivance, nearly at the same time, without any communication from one to the other. [5] In 1685, Stelluti published a description of the parts of a bee, which he had examined with a microscope.

[4] Vide Borellum de vero Telescopii Inventore.

[5] In 1664 Dr. Power published his “Experimental Philosophy,” the first part of which consists of a variety of microscopical observations; and in the following year Dr. Hooke produced his “Micrographia,” illustrated with a number of elegant figures of the different objects. Edit.

If we consider the microscope as an instrument consisting of one lens only, it is not at all improbable that it was known to the ancients much sooner than the last century; nay, even in a degree to the Greeks and Romans: for it is certain, that spectacles were in use long before the above-mentioned period: now, as the glasses of these were made of different convexities, and consequently of different magnifying powers, it is natural to suppose, that smaller and more convex lenses were made, and applied to the examination of minute objects. In this sense, there is also some ground for thinking the ancients were not ignorant of the use of lenses, or at least of what approached nearly to, and might in some instances be substituted for them. The two principal reasons which support this opinion are, first, the minuteness of some [4] ancient pieces of workmanship, which are to be met with in the cabinets of the curious: the parts of some of these are so small, that it does not appear at present how they could have been executed without the use of magnifying glasses, or of what use they could have been when executed, unless they were in possession of glasses to examine them with. A remarkable piece of this kind, a seal with very minute work, and which to the naked eye appears very confused and indistinct, but beautiful when examined with a proper lense, is described “Dans l’Histoire de l’Academie des Inscriptions,” tom. 1, p. 333. The second argument is founded on a great variety of passages, that are to be seen in the works of Jamblichus, Pliny, Plutarch, Seneca, Agellius, Pisidias, &c. From these passages it is evident that they were enabled by some instrument, or other means, not only to view distant objects, but also to magnify small ones; for, if this is not admitted, the passages appear absurd, and not capable of having a rational meaning applied to them. I shall only adduce a short passage from Pisidias, a christian writer of the seventh century, Τα μελλοντα ως δια διοπτρου συ βλεπεις: “You see things future by a dioptrum :” now we know of nothing but a perspective glass or small telescope, whereby things at a distance may be seen as if they were near at hand, the circumstance on which the simile was founded. It is also clear, that they were acquainted with, and did make use of that kind of microscope, which is even at this day commonly sold in our streets by the Italian pedlars, namely, a glass bubble filled with water. Seneca plainly affirms it, Literæ, quamvis minutæ et obscuræ, per vitream pilam aqua plenam majores clarioresque cernuntur . Nat. Quæst. lib. 1, cap. 7. “Letters, though minute and obscure, appear larger and clearer through a glass bubble filled with water.” Those who wish to see further evidence concerning the knowledge of the ancients in optics, may consult Smith’s Optics, Dr. Priestley’s History of Light and Colours, the Appendix to an Essay on the first Principles of Natural Philosophy [5] by the Rev. Mr. Jones, Dr. Rogers’s Dissertation on the Knowledge of the Ancients, and the Rev. Mr. Dutens’s Enquiry into the Origin of the Discoveries attributed to the Moderns. [6]

[6] A new edition in French of this learned and valuable work, with many and useful notes, is just published. Edit.

The history of the microscope, like that of nations and arts, has had its brilliant periods, in which it has shone with uncommon splendor, and been cultivated with extraordinary ardour; these have been succeeded by intervals marked with no discovery, and in which the science seemed to fade away, or at least lie dormant, till some favourable circumstance, the discovery of a new object, or some new improvement in the instruments of observation, awakened the attention of the curious, and animated their researches. Thus, soon after the invention of the microscope, the field it presented to observation was cultivated by men of the first rank in science, who enriched almost every branch of natural history by the discoveries they made with this instrument: there is indeed scarce any object so inconsiderable, that has not something to invite the curious eye to examine it; nor is there any, which, when properly examined, will not amply repay the trouble of investigation.

I shall first speak of the SINGLE MICROSCOPE , not only as it is the most simple, but because, as we have already observed, it was invented and used long before the double or compound microscope. When the lenses of the single microscope are very convex, and consequently the magnifying power very great, the field of view is so small, and it is so difficult to adjust with accuracy their focal distance, that it requires some practice to render the use thereof familiar; at the same time, the smallness of the aperture to these lenses has been found injurious to the eyes of some observers: [6] notwithstanding, however, these defects, the great magnifying power, as well as the distinct vision which is obtained by the use of a deep single lens, more than counterbalances every difficulty and disadvantage. It was with this instrument that Leeuwenhoek and Swammerdam, Lyonet and Ellis examined the minima of nature, laid open some of her hidden recesses, and by their example stimulated others to the same pursuit.

The construction of the single microscope is so simple, that it is susceptible of but little improvement, and has therefore undergone but few alterations; and these have been chiefly confined to the mode of mounting it, or the additions to its apparatus. The greatest improvement this instrument has received, was made by Dr. Lieberkühn, about the year 1740; it consisted in placing the small lens in the center of a highly polished concave speculum of silver, by which means he was enabled to reflect a strong light upon the upper surface of an object, and thus examine it with great ease and pleasure. Before this contrivance, it was almost impossible to examine small opake objects with any degree of exactness and satisfaction; for the dark side of the object being next the eye, and also overshadowed by the proximity of the instrument, its appearance was necessarily obscure and indistinct.

Dr. Lieberkühn adapted a microscope to every object; it consisted of a short brass tube, at the eye end of which a concave silver speculum was fixed, and in the center of the speculum a magnifying lens: the object was placed in the middle of the tube, and had a small adjustment to regulate it to the focus; at the other end of the tube there was a plano convex lens, to condense and render more uniform the light which was reflected from the mirror. But all these pains were not bestowed upon trifling objects; his were generally the most curious anatomical preparations, a few of which, with their microscopes, are, I believe, deposited [7] in the British Museum. It will be proper, in this place, to give some account of Mr. Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes, which were rendered famous throughout all Europe, on account of the numerous discoveries he had made with them, as well as from his afterwards bequeathing a part of them to the Royal Society. The microscopes he used were all single, and fitted up in a convenient simple manner; each of them consisted of a very small double convex lens, let into a socket between two plates rivetted together, and pierced with a small hole; the object was placed on a silver point or needle, which, by means of screws adapted for that purpose, might be turned about, raised or depressed at pleasure, and thus be brought nearer to, or be removed farther from the glass, as the eye of the observer, the nature of the object, and the convenient examination of its parts required. Mr. Leeuwenhoek fixed his objects, if they were solid, to the foregoing point with glue; if they were fluid, he fitted them on a little plate of talc, or exceeding thin blown glass, which he afterwards glued to the needle, in the same manner as his other objects. The glasses were all exceeding clear, and of different magnifying powers, which were proportioned to the nature of the object, and the parts designed to be examined. But none of those, which were presented to the Royal Society, magnify so much as the glass globules, which have been used in other microscopes. He had observed, in a letter of his to the Royal Society, that from upwards of forty years experience, he found that the most considerable discoveries were to be made with such glasses, as magnifying but moderately, exhibited the object with the most perfect brightness and distinctness. Each instrument was devoted to one or two objects: hence he had always some hundreds by him. [7] There is some reason for supposing, that Leeuwenhoek was acquainted [8] with a mode of viewing opake objects, similar to that invented by Dr. Lieberkühn. [8]

[7] Philosophical Transactions, No. 980, No. 458.

[8] Priestley’s History of Optics, p. 220.

About the year 1665, small glass globules began to be occasionally applied to the single microscope, instead of convex lenses. By these globules, an immense magnifying power is obtained. The invention of them has been generally attributed to M. Hartsoeker; it appears, however, to me, that we are indebted to the celebrated Dr. Hooke for this discovery; for he described the manner of making them in the preface to his “Micrographia,” which was published in the year 1665. Now the first account we have of any microscopical discovery by M. Hartsoeker, was that of the spermatic animalculæ, made by him when he was eighteen years old; which brings us down to the year 1674, long after Dr. Hooke’s publication.

As these glass globules have been very useful in the hands of experienced observers, I shall lay before my readers the different modes which have been described for making them, that the reader may be enabled thereby to ascertain the reality of the discoveries that have been said to be made with them.

Take a small rod [9] of the clearest and cleanest glass you can procure, free, if possible from blebs, veins, or sandy particles; then by melting it in a lamp with spirit of wine, or the purest and clearest sallad oil, draw it out into exceeding fine and small threads; take a small piece of these threads, and melt the end thereof in the same flame, till you perceive it run into a small drop, or globule, of the desired size; let this globule cool, then [9] fix it upon a thin plate of brass or silver, so that the middle of it may be directly over the center of a very small hole made in this plate, turning it till it is fixed by the before-mentioned thread of glass. When the plate is properly fixed to your microscope, and the object adjusted to the focal distance of the globule, you will perceive the object distinctly and immensely magnified. “By these means,” says Dr. Hooke, “I have been able to distinguish the particles of bodies not only a million times smaller than a visible point, but even to make those visible whereof a million of millions would hardly make up the bulk of the smallest visible grain of sand; so prodigiously do these exceeding small globules enlarge our prospect into the more hidden recesses of nature.”

[9] Lectures and Collections by Dr. Hooke.

Mr. Butterfield, in making of the globules, used a lamp with spirit of wine; but instead of a cotton wick, he used fine silver wire, doubled up and down like a skain of thread. [10] He prepared his glass by beating it to powder, and washing it very clean; he then took a little of this glass upon the sharp point of a silver needle, wetted with spittle, and held it in the flame, turning it about till a glass ball was formed; then taking it from the flame, he afterwards cleaned it with soft leather, and set it in a brass cell.

[10] Philos. Trans. No. 141.

No person has carried the use of these globules so far as Father Di Torre, of Naples, nor been so dexterous in the execution of them; and if others have not been able to follow him in the same line, it may be fairly attributed to a want of that delicacy of touch for adjusting the objects to their focus, and that acuteness of vision which can only be acquired by long practice. Di Torre has also described, more minutely than any other author, the [10] mode of executing these globules, which, as it throws much light upon the preceding description by Dr. Hooke, will not, it is presumed, be unacceptable to the reader.

Three things are necessary for forming of these globules: 1. A lamp and bellows, such as are used by the glass-blowers. 2. A piece of perfect tripoli. 3. A variety of small glass rods. When the flame of the lamp is blown in an horizontal direction, it will be found to consist of two parts; from the base to about two thirds of its length, it is of a white colour; beyond this, it is transparent and colourless. It is this transparent part which is to be used for melting the glass, because by this it will not be in the least sullied; but it will be immediately soiled, if it touch the white part of the flame. The part of the glass which is presented to the flame, ought to be exceeding clean, and great care should be taken that it be not touched by the fingers. If the glass rod has contracted any spots, it must either be thrown away, or the parts that are spotted must be cut off.

The piece of tripoli which is to be used in forming the globules, should be flat on one side, and so large that it may be handled conveniently, and protect the fingers from the flame. A piece four or five inches long, and three or four inches thick, will answer very well. The best tripoli for this purpose is of a white colour, with a fine grain, heavy and compact, and which, after it has been calcined, is of a red colour. This kind resists the fire best, is not apt to break when calcined, and the melted glass does not adhere to it. To calcine this tripoli, cover it well all round with charcoal nearly red hot, leaving it thus till the charcoal is quite cold; it may then be taken out. Let several hemispherical cavities be made on the flat side of the tripoli; they should be of different sizes, nicely polished, and neatly rounded at the edges, in order to facilitate the entrance of the flame. The large globules [11] are to be placed in the large cavities, and the minuter ones, in the small cavities. The holes in the tripoli must never be touched with the finger. If it be necessary to clean them, it should be done with white paper; the larger globules may be cleaned with wash leather. The glass rods should be of various sizes, as of 1 ⁄ 10 th, 1 ⁄ 20 th, 1 ⁄ 30 th of an inch in diameter, as clean and free from specks and bubbles as possible.

TO MAKE SMALL GLASS MICROSCOPIC GLOBULES.

Take two rods of glass, one in each hand, place their extremities close to each other, and in the purest part of the flame; when you perceive the ends to be fused, separate them from each other; the heated glass following each rod, will be finer, in proportion to the length it is drawn to, and the smallness of the rod; in this manner you may procure threads of glass of any degree of fineness. Direct the flame to the middle of the thread, and it will be instantly divided into two parts. When one of the threads is perfectly cool, place it at the extremity of the flame, by which it will be rendered round; and, if the thread of glass be very fine, an exceeding small globule will be formed. This thread may now be broke off from the rod, and a new one may be again drawn out as before, by the assistance of the other glass rod.

The small ball is now to be separated from the thread of glass; this is easily effected by the sharp edge of a piece of flint. The ball should be placed in a groove of paper, and another piece of paper be held over it, to prevent the ball from flying about and being lost. A quantity of globules ought to be prepared in this manner; they are then to be cleaned, and afterwards placed in the cavities of the tripoli, by means of a delicate pair of nippers. The globules are now to be melted a second time, in order to render them completely spherical; for this purpose, bring one of [12] the cavities near the extremity of the flame, directing this towards the tripoli, which must be first heated; the cavity is then to be lowered, so that the flame may touch the glass, which, when it is red hot, will assume a perfect globular form; it must then be removed from the flame, and laid by; when cold, it should be cleaned, by rubbing between two pieces of white paper. Let it now be set in a brass cap, to try whether the figure be perfect. If the object be not well defined, the globule must be thrown away. Though, if it be large, it may be exposed two or three times to the flame. When a large globule is forming, it should be gently agitated by shaking the tripoli, which will prevent its becoming flat on one side. By attending to these directions, the greater part of the globules will be round and fit for use. In damp weather, notwithstanding every precaution, it will often happen, that out of forty globules, four or five only will be fit for use.

Mr. Stephen Gray, of the Charter-House, having observed some irregular particles within a glass globule, and finding that they appeared distinct and prodigiously magnified when held close to his eye, concluded, that if he placed a globule of water, in which there were any particles more opake than the water, near his eye, he should see those particles distinctly and highly magnified. This idea, when realized, far exceeded his expectation. His method was, to take on a pin a small portion of water which he knew had in it some minute animalculæ; this he laid on the end of a small piece of brass wire, till there was formed somewhat more than an hemisphere of water; on applying it then to the eye, he found the animalculæ most enormously magnified; for those which were scarce discernible with his glass globules, with this appeared as large as ordinary sized peas. They cannot be seen in day-time, except the room be darkened, but are seen to the greatest advantage by candle-light. Montucla observes, that [13] when any objects are inclosed within this transparent globule, the hinder part of it acts like a concave mirror, provided they be situated between that surface and the focus; and that by these means they are magnified three times and an half more than they would be in the usual way. An extempore microscope may be formed, by taking up a small drop of water on the point of a pin, and placing it over a fine hole made in a piece of metal; but as the refractive power of water is less than that of glass, these globules do not magnify so much as those of the same size which are made of glass: this was also contrived by Mr. Gray. The same ingenious author invented another water microscope, consisting of two drops of water, separated in part by a thin brass plate, but touching near the center; which were thus rendered equivalent to a double convex lens of unequal convexities.

Dr. Hooke describes a method of using the single microscope, which seems to have a great analogy to the foregoing methods of Mr. Gray. “If you are desirous,” says he, “of obtaining a microscope with one single refraction, and consequently capable of procuring the greatest clearness and brightness any one kind of microscope is susceptible of; spread a little of the fluid you intend to examine, on a glass plate, bring this under one of your microscopic globules, then move it gently upwards, till the fluid touch the globule, to which it will soon adhere, and that so firmly, as to bear being moved a little backwards or forwards. By looking through the globule, you will then have a perfect view of the animalculæ in the drop.” [11]

[11] Hooke’s Lectures and Conjectures, p. 98.

Having laid before the reader the principal improvements that have been suggested, or made in the single microscope, it remains only to point out those instruments of this kind, which, from the [14] mode in which they are fitted up, seem best adapted for general use; the peculiar advantages of which, as well as the manner of using them, will be described in the third chapter of this work.

Fig. 1. Plate VI. A botanical microscope, contrived by Dr. Withering.

Fig. 2. Plate VI. A botanical microscope, by Mr. B. Martin, being the most universal pocket microscope.

Fig. 3. Plate VI , represents that which was used by M. Lyonnet for dissecting the cossus.

Fig. 5. Plate VI. The tooth and pinion microscope, which is now generally substituted in the room of Wilson’s. Fig. 1. Plate II. B .

Fig. 1. Plate VII. B . The aquatic microscope used by Mr. Ellis for investigating the nature of coralline, and recommended to botanists by Mr. Curtis, in his valuable publication, the “Flora Londinensis.”

Fig. 7. Plate VIII. A botanical magnifier, or hand megalascope, which by the different combinations of its three lenses produces seven different magnifying powers; when the three are used together, they are turned in, and the object viewed through the apertures in the sides.

Fig. 8. Plate VIII. A botanical magnifier, having one large lens and two small ones, but not admitting of more than three powers.

A compound microscope , as it consists of two, three, or more glasses, is more easily varied, and is susceptible of greater [15] changes in its construction, than the single microscope. The number of the lenses, of which it is formed, may be increased or diminished, their respective positions may be varied, and the form in which they are mounted be altered almost ad infinitum. But among these varieties, some will be found more deserving of attention than others; we shall here treat of these only.

The three first compound microscopes deserving of notice, are those of Dr. Hooke, Eustachio Divinis, and Philip Bonnani. Dr. Hooke gives an account of his in the preface to his Micrographia, which has been already cited; it was about three inches in diameter, seven long, and furnished with four draw-out tubes, by which it might be lengthened as occasion required: it had three glasses—a small object glass, a middle glass, and a deep eye glass. Dr. Hooke used all the glasses when he wanted to take in a considerable part of an object at once, as by the middle glass a number of radiating pencils were conveyed to the eye, which would otherwise have been lost: but when he wanted to examine with accuracy the small parts of any substance, he took out the middle glass, and only made use of the eye and object lenses; for the fewer the refractions are, the clearer and more bright the object appears.

An account of Eustachio Divinis’s microscope was read at the Royal Society, in 1668. [12] It consisted of an object lens, a middle glass, and two eye glasses, which were plano convex lenses, and were placed so that they touched each other in the center of their convex surfaces; by which means the glass takes in more of an object, the field is larger, the extremities of it less curved, and the magnifying power greater. The tube, in which the glasses were inclosed, was as large as a man’s leg, and the eye glasses as [16] broad as the palm of the hand. It had four several lengths; when shut up, it was sixteen inches long, and magnified the diameter of an object forty-one times; at the second length, ninety times; at the third length, one hundred and eleven times; at the fourth length, one hundred and forty-three times. It does not appear that E. Divinis varied the object lenses.

[12] Philos. Trans. No. 42.

Philip Bonnani published an account of his two microscopes in 1698; [13] both were compound; the first was similar to that which Mr. Martin published as new, in his Micrographia Nova, [14] in 1742. His second was like the former, composed of three glasses, one for the eye, a middle glass, and an object lens; they were mounted in a cylindrical tube, which was placed in an horizontal position; behind the stage was a small tube, with a convex lens at each end; beyond this was a lamp; the whole capable of various adjustments, and regulated by a pinion and rack; the small tube was used to condense the light on the object, and spread it uniformly over it according to its nature, and the magnifying power that was used.

[13] Bonnani Observationes circa Viventia.

[14] Micrographia Nova, by B. Martin, 4to.

If the reader attentively consider the construction of the foregoing microscopes, and compare them with more modern ones, he will be led to think with me, that the compound microscope has received very little improvement since the time of Bonnani. Taken separately, the foregoing constructions are equal to some of the most famed modern microscopes. If their advantages be combined, they are far superior to that of M. Dellebarre, notwithstanding the pompous eulogium affixed thereto by Mess. De L’Academie Royale des Sciences. [15]

[15] Memoires sur les Differences de la Construction et des Effets du Microscope, de M. L. F. Dellebarre, 1777.

From this period, to the year 1736, the microscope appears not to have received any considerable alteration, but the science itself to have been at a stand. The improvements which were making in the reflecting telescope, naturally led those who had considered the subject, to expect a similar advantage would accrue to microscopes on the same principles: accordingly we find two plans of this kind; the first was that of Dr. Robert Barker. This instrument is entirely the same as the reflecting telescope, excepting the distance of the two speculums, which is lengthened, in order to adapt it to those pencils of rays which enter the telescope diverging; whereas, from very distant objects, they come in a direction nearly parallel. But this was soon laid aside, not only as it was more difficult to manage, but also because it was unfit for any but very small or transparent objects: for the object being between the speculum and the image, would, if it were large and opake, prevent a due reflection of light on the object.

The second was contrived by Dr. Smith. [16] In this there were two reflecting mirrors, one concave and the other convex; the image was viewed by a lens. This microscope, though far from being executed in the best manner, performed, says Dr. Smith, very well, so that he did not doubt but that it would have excelled others, if it had been properly finished.

[16] Dr. Smith’s Optics, Remarks, p. 94.

As some years are more favourable to the fruits of the earth, so also some periods are more favourable to particular sciences, being rich in discovery, and cultivated with ardor. Thus, in the year 1738, Dr. Lieberkühn’s invention of the solar microscope was communicated to the public: the vast magnifying power which was obtained by this instrument, the colossal grandeur with which it exhibited the minima of nature, the pleasure which arose from [18] being able to display the same object to a number of observers at the same time, by affording a new source of rational amusement, increased the number of microscopic observers, who were further stimulated to the same pursuits by Mr. Trembley’s famous discovery of the polype: the wonderful properties of this little animal, together with the works of Mr. Trembley, Baker, and my father, revived the reputation of this instrument. [17]

[17] Trembley Memoires sur les Polypes. Baker’s Microscope made Easy; Attempt towards an History of the Polype; Employment for the Microscope. Adams’s Micrographia Illustrata. Joblot’s Observations d’Histoire Naturelle.

Every optician now exercised his talents in improving, as he called it, the microscope; in other words, in varying its construction, and rendering it different from that sold by his neighbour. Their principal object seemed to be, only to subdivide the instrument, and make it lie in as small a compass as possible; by which means, they not only rendered it complex and troublesome in use, but lost sight also of the extensive field, great light, and other excellent properties of the more ancient instruments; and, in some measure, shut themselves out from further improvements on the microscope. Every mechanical instrument is susceptible of almost infinite combinations and changes, which are attended with their relative advantages and disadvantages: thus, what is gained in power, is lost in time; “he that loves to be confined to a small house, must lose the benefit of air and exercise.”

The microscope, nearly at the same period, gave rise to M. Buffon’s famous system of organic molecules, and M. Needham’s incomprehensible ideas concerning a vegetable force and the vitality of matter. M. Buffon has dressed up his system with all the charms of eloquence, presenting it to the mind in the most agreeable and lively colours, exerting the depths of erudition in the most interesting and seducing manner to establish his hypothesis, [19] making us almost ready to adopt it against the dictates of reason, and the evidence of facts. But whether this great man was misled by the warmth of his imagination, his attachment to a favourite system, or the use of imperfect instruments, it appears but too evident, that he was not acquainted with the objects whose nature he attempted to investigate; and it is probable, that he never saw [18] those which he supposed he was describing, continually confounding the animalculæ produced from the putrifying decomposition of animal substances, with the spermatic animalculæ, although they are two kinds of beings, differing in form and nature; so that the beautiful fabric attempted to be raised on his hypothesis, vanishes before the light of truth and well conducted experiments.

[18] Porro Buffonius, ut cum illustris viri venia dicam, omnino non videtur vermiculos seminales vidisse. Diuturnitas enim vitæ quam suis corpusculis tribuit, ostendit non esse nostra animalcula (id est, spermatica) quibus brevis et paucarum horarum vita est. Haller Physiol. tom. 7.

After this period, the mind, either satisfied with the discoveries already made, which will be particularly described hereafter, or tired by its own exertions, sought for repose in other pursuits; so that for several years this instrument was again, in some measure, laid aside. In 1770, Dr. Hill [19] published a treatise, in which he endeavoured to explain the construction of timber by the microscope, and shew the number, the nature, and office of its several parts, their various arrangements and proportions in the different kinds; and point out a way of judging, from the structure of trees, the uses they will best serve in the affairs of life. So important a subject soon revived the ardor for microscopic pursuits, which seems to have been increasing ever since. About the same time, my father contrived an instrument for cutting the transverse sections of wood, in order that the texture thereof might be [20] rendered more visible in the microscope, and consequently be better understood; this instrument was afterwards improved by Mr. Cumming. Another instrument for the same purpose, more certain in its effects, and more easily managed, is represented in Fig. 1. Plate IX ; and will be described in one of the following chapters. Dr. Hill and Mr. Custance now endeavoured to bring back the microscope nearer to the old standard, to increase the field by the multiplication of the eye glasses, and to augment the light on the object, by condensing lenses; and in this they happily succeeded: Mr. Custance was unrivalled in his dexterity in preparing, and accuracy in cutting thin transverse sections of wood.

[19] Dr. Hill on the Construction of Timber.

In 1771, my father published a fourth edition of his Micrographia, in which he described the principal inventions then in use; particularly a contrivance of his own, for applying the solar microscope to the camera obscura, and illuminating it at night by a lamp, by which means a picture of microscopic objects might be exhibited in winter evenings.

It appears [20] from the testimony of M. Æpinus, that Dr. Lieberkühn had considerably improved the solar microscope, by adapting it to view opake objects. This contrivance was by some means lost. The knowledge, however, that such an effect had been produced, led Æpinus to attend to the subject himself, in which he in some measure succeeded, and would, no doubt, have brought it to perfection, if he had increased the size of his illuminating mirror. Some further improvements were made on this instrument by M. Ziehr; but the most perfect instrument of the kind, is that of Mr. B. Martin, who published an account of it in [21] the year 1774. [21] The common solar microscope does not shew the surface of any object, whereas the opake solar microscope not only magnifies the object, but exhibits on a screen an expanded picture of its surface, with all its colours, in a most beautiful manner.

[20] Priestley’s Hist. of Optics, p. 743.

[21] Martin’s Description and Use of an Opake Solar Microscope. The merits and ingenuity in constructing and improving microscopes by this learned optician, seem to be unnoticed by our late author. The following pamphlets by Mr. B. Martin are, among others of his valuable publications, instances of his indefatigable industry. Description and Use of a Pocket Reflecting Microscope, with a Micrometer; 1739. Micrographia Nova, or a New Treatise on the Microscope; 1742. Description of a New Universal Microscope; a Postscript to his New Elements of Optics; 1759. Description of several Sorts of Microscopes, and the Use of the Reflecting Telescope, as an universal Perspective for viewing every Sort of Objects. Optical Essays; 1770. A Description and Use of a Proportional Camera Obscura, with a Solar Microscope adapted thereto, annexed to his Description of the Opake Solar Microscope above-mentioned. Description of a New Universal Microscope; 1776. Description and Use of a Graphical Perspective and Microscope; 1771. Microscopium Polydynamicum, or a New Construction of a Microscope; 1771. An Essay on the genuine Construction of a standard Microscope and Telescope; 1776. Microscopium Pantometricum, or a new Construction of a Micrometer adapted to the Microscope. The most essential articles in the above works will be hereafter described. Edit.

About the year 1774, I invented the improved lucernal microscope; this instrument does not in the least fatigue the eye: it shews all opake objects in a most beautiful manner; and transparent objects may be examined by it in various ways, so that no part of an object is left unexplored; and the outlines of all may be taken with ease, even by those who are most unskilled in drawing.

M. L. F. Dellebarre published an account of his microscope in the year 1777. It does not appear from this, that it was superior in any respect to those that were made in England, but was inferior in others; for those published by my father in 1771 possessed all the advantages of Dellebarre’s in a higher degree, except that of changing the eye glasses.

In 1784, M. Æpinus published a description of what he termed new-invented microscopes, in a letter to the Academy of Sciences at Petersburgh; [22] they are nothing more than an application of the achromatic perspective to microscopic purposes. Now it has been long known to every one who is the least versed in optics, that any telescope is easily converted into a microscope, by removing the object glass to a greater distance from the eye glasses; and that the distance of the image varies with the distance of the object from the focus, and is magnified more as its distance from the object is greater: the same telescope may, therefore be successively turned into a microscope, with different magnifying powers. Mr. Martin had also shewn, in his description and use of a polydynamic microscope, how easily the small achromatic perspective may be applied to this purpose. Botanists might find some advantage in attending to this instrument; it would assist them in discovering small plants at a distance, and thus often save them from the thorns of the hedge, and the dirt of a ditch.

[22] Description des Nouveaux Microscopes inventes par M. Æpinus.

Fig. 1. Plate III , represents the improved lucernal microscope.

Fig. 1. Plate IV. The improved compound and single microscope.

Fig. 2. Plate IV. The best universal compound microscope.

Fig. 3. Plate IV , is what is usually called Culpeper’s, or the common three pillared compound microscope.

Fig. 1. Plate V , represents Martin’s solar opake microscope.

Fig. 4. Plate VI , is a picture of the common solar microscope.

Fig. 1. Plate VII. A , is Cuff’s common compound microscope.

Fig. 3. Plate VIII. Martin’s new microscopic telescope, or convenient portable apparatus for a traveller.

We cannot conclude this chapter better than with the following observations on the microscope. We are indebted to it for many discoveries in natural history; but let us not suppose that the Creator intended to hide these objects from our observation. It is true, this instrument discovers to us as it were a new creation, new series of animals, new forests of vegetables; but he who gave being to these, gave us an understanding capable of inventing means to assist our organs in the discovery of their hidden beauties. He gave us eyes adapted to enlarge our ideas, and capable of comprehending a universe at one view, and consequently incapable of discerning those minute beings, with which he has peopled every atom of the universe. But then he gave properties and qualities to matter of a particular kind, by which it would procure us this advantage, and at the same time elevated the understanding from one degree of knowledge to another, till it was able to discover these assistances for our sight.

It is thus we should consider the discoveries made by those instruments, which have received their birth from an exertion of our faculties. It is to the same power, who created the objects of our admiration, that we are ultimately to refer the means of discovering them. Let no one, therefore, accuse us of prying deeper into the wonders of nature, than was intended by the great author of the universe. There is nothing we discover by their assistance, which is not a fresh source of praise; and it does not appear that our faculties can be better employed, than in finding means to investigate the works of God.

From a partial consideration of these things, we are very apt to criticise what we ought to admire; to look upon as useless what perhaps we should own to be of infinite advantage to us, did we see a little farther; to be peevish where we ought to give thanks; and at the same time to ridicule those who employ their time and thoughts in examining what we were, i. e. some of us most assuredly were created and appointed to study. In short, we are too apt to treat the Almighty worse than a rational man would treat a good mechanic, whose works he would either thoroughly examine, or be ashamed to find any fault with them. This is the effect of a partial consideration of nature; but he who has candor of mind, and leisure to look farther, will be inclined to cry out:

[23] Stillingfleet’s Miscellaneous Tracts.

CHAP. II. OF VISION; OF THE OPTICAL EFFECT OF MICROSCOPES, AND OF THE MANNER OF ESTIMATING THEIR MAGNIFYING POWERS.

T he progress that has been made in the science of optics, in the last and present century, particularly by Sir Isaac Newton, may with propriety be ranked among the greatest acquisitions of human knowledge. And Mess. Delaval and Herschel have shewn by their discoveries, that the boundaries of this science may be considerably enlarged.

The rays of light, which minister to the sense of sight, are the most wonderful and astonishing part of the inanimate creation; of which we shall soon be convinced, if we consider their extreme minuteness, their inconceivable velocity, the regular variety of colours they exhibit, the invariable laws according to which they are acted upon by other substances, in their reflections, inflections, and refractions, without the least change of their original properties; and the facility with which they pervade bodies of the greatest density and closest texture, without resistance, without crouding or disturbing each other. These, I believe, will be deemed sufficient proofs of the wonderful nature of these rays; without adding, that it is by a peculiar modification of them, that we are indebted for the advantages obtained by the microscope.

The science of optics, which explains and treats of many of the properties of those rays of light, is deduced from experiments, on which all philosophers are agreed. It is impossible to give an adequate idea of the nature of vision, without a knowledge of these experiments, and the mathematical reasoning grounded upon them; but as to do this would alone fill a large volume, I shall only endeavour to render some of the more general principles clear, that the reader, who is unacquainted with the science of optics, may nevertheless be enabled to comprehend the nature of vision by the microscope. Some of the most important of these principles may be deduced from the following very interesting experiment.

Darken a room, and let the light be admitted therein only by a small hole; then, if the weather be fine, you will see on the wall, which is facing the hole, a picture of all those exterior objects which are opposite thereto, with all their colours, though these will be but faintly seen. The image of the objects that are stationary, as trees, houses, &c. will appear fixed; while the images of those that are in motion, will be seen to move. The image of every object will appear inverted, because the rays cross each other in passing through the small hole. If the sun shine on the hole, we shall see a luminous ray proceed in a strait line, and terminate on the wall. If the eye be placed in this ray, it will be in a right line with the hole and the sun: it is the same with every other object which is painted on the wall. The images of the objects exhibited on the same plane, are smaller in proportion as the objects are further from the hole.

Many and important are the inferences which may be deduced from the foregoing experiment, among which are the following:

1. That light flows in a right line.

2. That a luminous point may be seen from all those places to which a strait line can be drawn from the point, without meeting with any obstacle; and consequently,

3. That a luminous point, by some unknown power, sends forth rays of light in all directions, and is the center of a sphere of light, which extends indefinitely on all sides; and if we conceive some of these rays to be intercepted by a plane, then is the luminous point the summit of a pyramid, whose body is formed by the rays, and its base by the intercepting plane. The image of the surface of an object, which is painted on the wall, is also the base of a pyramid of light, the apex of which is the hole; the rays which form this pyramid, by crossing at the hole, form another, similar and opposite to this, of which the hole is also the summit, and the surface of the object the base.

4. That an object is visible, because all its points are radiant points.

5. That the particles of light are indefinitely small; for the rays, which proceed from the points of all the objects opposite to the hole, pass through it, though extremely small, without embarrassing or confounding each other.

6. That every ray of light carries with it the image of the object from which it was emitted.

The nature of vision in the eye may be imperfectly illustrated by the experiment of the darkened room; the pupil of the eye being considered as the hole through which the rays of light pass, and cross each other, to paint on the retina, at the bottom of the eye, the inverted images of all those objects which are exposed to the sight, so that the diameters of the images of the same object [29] are greater, in proportion to the angles formed at the pupil, by the crossing rays which proceed from the extremities of the object; that is, the diameter of the image is greater, in proportion as the distance is less; or, in other words, the apparent magnitude of an object is in some degree measured by the angle under which it is seen, and this angle increases or diminishes, according as the object is nearer to, or farther from the eye; and consequently, the less the distance is between the eye and the object, the larger the latter will appear.

From hence it follows, that the apparent diameter of an object seen by the naked eye, may be magnified in any proportion we please; for, as the apparent diameter is increased, in proportion as the distance from the eye is lessenned, we have only to lessen the distance of the object from the eye, in order to increase the apparent diameter thereof. [24] Thus, suppose there is an object, A B, Plate I. Fig. 1, which to an eye at E subtends or appears under the angle A E B, we may magnify the apparent diameter in what proportion we please, by bringing our eye nearer to it. If, for instance, we would magnify it in the proportion of F G to A B; that is, if we would see the object under an angle as large as F E G, or would make it appear the same length that an object as long as F G would appear, it may be done by coming nearer to the object. For the apparent diameter is as the distance inversely; therefore, if C D is as much less than C E, as F G is greater than A B, by bringing the eye nearer to the object in the proportion of C D to E D, the apparent diameter will be magnified in the proportion of F G to A B; so that the object A B, to the eye at D, will appear as long as an object F G would appear to the eye at E. In the same manner we might shew, that the apparent diameter of an object, when seen by the naked [30] eye, may be infinite. For since the apparent diameter is reciprocally as the distance of the eye, when the distance of the eye is nothing or when the eye is close to the object at C, the apparent diameter will be the reciprocal of nothing, or infinite.

[24] Rutherforth’s System of Natural Philosophy, p. 330.

There is, however, one great inconvenience in thus magnifying an object, without the help of glasses, by placing the eye nearer to it. The inconvenience is, that we cannot see an object distinctly, unless the eye is about five or six inches from it; therefore, if we bring it nearer to our eye than five or six inches, however it may be magnified, it will be seen confusedly. Upon this account, the greatest apparent magnitude of an object that we are used to, is the apparent magnitude when the eye is about five or six inches from it: and we never place an object much within that distance; because, though it might be magnified by these means, yet the confusion would prevent our deriving any advantage from seeing it so large. The size of an object seems extraordinary, when viewed through a convex lens; not because it is impossible to make it appear of the same size to the naked eye, but because at the distance from the eye which would be necessary for this purpose, it would appear exceedingly confused; for which reason, we never bring our eye so near to it, and consequently, as we have not been accustomed to see the object of this size, it appears an extraordinary one.

On account of the extreme minuteness of the atoms of light, it is clear, a single ray, or even a small number of rays, cannot make a sensible impression on the organ of sight, whose fibres are very gross, when compared to these atoms; it is necessary, therefore, that a great number should proceed from the surface of an object, to render it visible. But as the rays of light, which proceed from an object, are continually diverging, different methods have been contrived, either of uniting them in a given [31] point, or of separating them at pleasure: the manner of doing this is the subject of dioptrics and catoptrics.

By the help of glasses, we unite in the same sensible point a great number or rays, proceeding from one point of an object; and as each ray carries with it the image of the point from whence it proceeded, all the rays united must form an image of the object from whence they were emitted. This image is brighter, in proportion as there are more rays united; and more distinct, in proportion as the order, in which they proceeded, is better preserved in their union. This may be rendered evident; for, if a white and polished plane be placed where the union is formed, we shall see the image of the object painted in all its colours on this plane; which image will be brighter, if all adventitious light be excluded from the plane on which it is received.

The point of union of the rays of light, formed by means of a glass lens, &c. is called the FOCUS .

Now, as each ray carries with it the image of the object from whence it proceeded, it follows, that if those rays, after intersecting each other, and having formed an image at their intersection, are again united by a refraction or reflection, they will form a new image, and that repeatedly, as long as their order is not confounded or disturbed.

It follows also, that when the progress of the luminous ray is under consideration, we may look on the image as the object, and the object as the image; and consider the second image as if it had been produced by the first as an object, and so on.

In order to gain a clear idea of the wonderful effects produced by glasses, we must proceed to say something of the principles of refraction.

Any body, which is so constituted as to yield a passage to the rays of light, is called a MEDIUM . Air, water, glass, &c. are mediums of light. If any medium afford an easy passage to the rays of light, it is called a RARE MEDIUM ; but if it do not afford an easy passage to these rays, it is called a DENSE MEDIUM .

Let Z, Fig. 2. Plate I. be a rare medium, and Y a dense one; and let them be separated by the plane surface G H. Let I K be a perpendicular to it, and cutting it in C.

With the center C, and any distance, let a circle be described. Then let A C be a ray of light, falling upon the dense medium. This ray, if nothing prevented, would go forward to L; but because the medium Y is supposed to be denser than Z, it will be bent downward toward the perpendicular I K, and describe the line C B.

The ray A C is called the INCIDENT RAY ; and the ray C B, the REFRACTED RAY .

The angle A C I is called the ANGLE OF INCIDENCE , and the angle B C K is called the ANGLE OF REFRACTION .

If from the point A upon the right line C I, there be let fall the perpendicular A D, that line is called the sine of the angle of incidence.

In the same manner, if from the point B, upon the right line I K, there be let fall the perpendicular B E, that line will be the sine of the angle of refraction.

The sines of the angles are the measures of the refractions, and this measure is constant; that is, whatever is the sine of the [33] angle of incidence, it will be in a constant proportion to the sine of the angle of refraction, when the mediums continue the same. A general idea of refraction may be formed from the following experiments.

Experiment 1. Let A B C D, Fig. 3. Plate I. represent a vessel so placed, with respect to the candle E, that the shadow of the side A C may fall at D. Suppose the vessel to be now filled with water, and the shadow will withdraw to d; the ray of light, instead of proceeding to D, being refracted or bent to d. And there is no doubt but that an eye, placed at d, would see the candle at e, in the direction of the refracted ray d A. This is also confirmed by the following pleasing experiment.

2. Lay a shilling, or any piece of money, at the bottom of a bason; then withdraw from the bason, till you lose sight of the shilling; fill the bason nearly with water, and the shilling will be seen very plainly, though you are at the same distance from it.

3. Place a stick over a bason which is filled with water; then reflect the sun’s rays, so that they may fall perpendicularly on the surface of the water; the shadow of the stick will fall on the same place, whether the vessel be empty or full.

What has been said of water, may be applied to any transparent medium, only the power of refraction is greater in some than in others. It is from this wonderful property, that we derive all the curious effects of glass, which make it the subject of optics. It is to this we owe the powers of the microscope and the telescope.

To produce these effects, pieces of glass are formed into given figures, which, when so formed, are called lenses. The six following [34] figures are those which are most in use for optical purposes.

1. A PLANE GLASS , one that is flat on each side, and of an equal thickness throughout. F, Fig. 13. Plate I.

2. A DOUBLE CONVEX GLASS , one that is more elevated towards the middle than the edge. B, Fig. 13. Plate I.

3. A DOUBLE CONCAVE is hollow on both sides, or thinner in the middle than at the edges. D, Fig. 13. Plate I.

4. A PLANO CONVEX , flat on one side, and convex on the other. A, Fig. 13. Plate I.

5. A PLANO CONCAVE , flat on one side, and concave on the other. C, Fig. 13. Plate I.

6. A MENISCUS , convex on one side, concave on the other. E, Fig. 13. Plate I.

It has been already observed, that light proceeds invariably from a luminous body, in strait lines, without the least deviation; but if it happen to pass from one medium to another, it always leaves the direction it had before, and assumes a new one. After having taken this new direction, it proceeds in a strait line, till it meets with a different medium, which again turns it out of its course.

A ray of light passing obliquely through a plane glass, will go out in the same direction it entered, though not precisely in the same line. The ray C D, Fig. 4. Plate I. falling obliquely upon the surface of the plane glass A B, will be refracted towards the [35] glass in the direction D E; but when it comes to E, it will be as much refracted the contrary way. If the ray of light had fallen perpendicularly on the surface of the plane glass, it would have passed through it in a strait line, and not have been refracted at all.

If parallel rays of light, as a b c d e f g, Fig. 6. Plate I. fall directly upon a convex lens A B, they will be so bent, as to unite in a point C behind it. For the ray d D which falls perpendicularly upon the middle of the glass, will go through it without suffering any refraction: but those which go through the sides of the lens, falling obliquely on its surface, will be so bent, as to meet the central ray at C. The further the ray a is from the axis of the lens, the more obliquely it will fall upon it. The rays a b c d e f g will be so refracted, as to meet or be collected in the point C, called the principal focus, whose distance, in a double convex lens, is equal to the radius or semi-diameter of the sphere of the convexity of the lens. All the rays cross the middle ray at C, and then diverge from it to the contrary side, in the same manner as they were before converged.

If another lens, of the same convexity, as A B, Fig. 6. Plate I. be placed in the rays, and at the same distance from the focus, it will refract them, so that after going out of it, they will all be parallel again, and go on in the same manner as they came to the first glass A B, but on the contrary sides of the middle ray.

The rays diverge from any radiant point, as from a principal focus: therefore, if a candle be placed at C, in the focus of the convex lens A B, Fig. 6. Plate I. the rays diverging from it will be so refracted by the lens, that after going out of it, they will become parallel. If the candle be placed nearer the lens than its [36] focal distance, the rays will diverge more or less, as the candle is more or less distant from the focus.

If any object, A B, Fig. 7. Plate I. be placed beyond the focus of the convex lens E F, some of the rays which flow from every point of the object, on the side next the glass, will fall upon it, and after passing through it, they will be converged into as many points on the opposite side of the glass; for the rays a b, which flow from the point A, will converge into a b , and meet at C. The rays c d, flowing from the point G, will be converged into c d , and meet at g; and the rays which flow from B, will meet each other again at D; and so of the rays which flow from any of the intermediate points: for there will be as many focal points formed, as there are radiant points in the object, and consequently they will depict on a sheet of paper, or any other light-coloured body, placed at D g C, an inverted image of the object. If the object be brought nearer the lens, the picture will be formed further off. If it be placed at the principal focus, the rays will go out parallel, and consequently form no picture behind the glass.

To render this still plainer, let us divest what has been said of the A’s and B’s, and of the references to figures. When objects are viewed through a flat or plane glass, the rays of light in passing through it, from the object to the eye, proceed in a strait direction and parallel to each other, and consequently the object appeared at the same distance as to the naked eye, neither enlarged or diminished. But if the glass be of a convex form, the rays of light change their direction in passing through the glass, and incline from the circumference towards the center of convexity, in an angle proportional to the convexity, and meet at a point at a less or greater distance from the glass, as it is more or less convex. The point where the rays thus meet is called the [37] focus; when, therefore, the convexity is small, the focus is at a great distance, but when it is considerable, the focus is near; the magnifying power is in proportion to the change made in the rays, or the degree of convexity, by which we are enabled to see an object nearer than we otherwise could; and the nearer it is brought to the eye, the larger will be the angle under which it appears, and consequently the more it will be magnified.

The human eye is so constituted, that it can only have distinct vision, when the rays which fall on it are parallel, or nearly so; because the retina, on which the image is painted, is placed in the focus of the crystalline humor, which performs the office of a lens in collecting rays, and forming the image in the bottom of the eye.

As an object becomes perceptible to us, by means of the image thereof which is formed on the retina, it will, therefore, be seen in that direction, in which the rays enter the eye to form the image, and will always be found in the line, in which the axis of a pencil of rays flowing from it enters the eye. We from hence acquire a habit of judging the object to be situated in that line. Note; as the mind is unacquainted with the refraction the rays suffer before they enter the eye, it judges them to be in the line produced back, in which the axis of a pencil of rays flowing from it is situated, and not in that in which it was before the refraction.

If the rays, therefore, that proceed from an object, are refracted and reflected several times before they enter the eye, and these refractions or reflections change considerably the original direction of the rays which proceed from the object, it is clear, that it will not be seen in that line, which would come strait from it to the eye; but it will be seen in the direction of those rays which enter the eye, and form the image thereof on it.

We perceive the presence and figure of objects, by the impression each respective image makes on the retina; the mind, in consequence of these impressions, forms conclusions concerning the size, position, and motion of the object. It must however be observed, that these conclusions are often rectified or changed by the mind, in consequence of the effects of more habitual impressions. For example, there is a certain distance, at which, in the general business of life, we are accustomed to see objects: now, though the measure of the image of these objects changes considerably when they move from, or approach nearer to us, yet we do not perceive that their size is much altered; but beyond this distance, we find the objects appear to be diminished, or increased, in proportion as they are more or less distant from us.

For instance, if I place my eye successively at two, at four, and at six feet from the same person, the dimensions of the image on the retina will be nearly in the proportion of 1, of 1 ⁄ 2 , of 1 ⁄ 3 , and consequently they should appear to be diminished in the same proportion; but we do not perceive this diminution, because the mind has rectified the impression received on the retina. To prove this, we need only consider, that if we see a person at 120 feet distance, he will not appear so strikingly small, as if the same person should be viewed from the top of a tower, or other building 120 feet high, a situation to which we had not been accustomed.

From hence, also, it is clear, that when we place a glass between the object and the eye, which from its figure changes the direction of the rays of light from the object, this object ought not to be judged as if it were placed at the ordinary reach of the sight, in which case we judge of its size more by habit than by the dimensions of the images formed on the retina; but it must be estimated by the size of the image in the eye, or by the angle [39] formed at the eye, by the two rays which come from the extremity of the object.

If the image of an object, formed after refraction, be greater or less than the angle formed at the eye, by the rays proceeding from the extremities of the object itself, the object will appear also proportionably enlarged or diminished; so that if the eye approach to or remove from the last image, the object will appear to increase or diminish, though the eye should in reality remove from it in one case, or approach toward it in the other; because the image takes place of the object, and is considered instead of it.

The apparent distance of an object from the eye, is not measured by the real distance from the last image; for, as the apparent distance is estimated principally by the ideas we have of their size, it follows, that when we see objects, whose images are increased or diminished by refraction, we naturally judge them to be nearer or further from the eye, in proportion to the size thereof, when compared to that with which we are acquainted. The apparent distance of an object is considerably affected by the brightness, distinctness, and magnitude thereof. Now as these circumstances are, in a certain degree, altered by the refraction of the rays, in their passing through different mediums, they will also, in some measure, affect the estimation of the apparent distance.

In the theory of vision it is necessary to be cautious not to confound the organs of vision with the being that perceives, or with the perspective faculty. The eye is not that which sees, it is only the organ by which we see. A man cannot see the satellites of Jupiter but by a telescope. Does he conclude from this, that it is the telescope that sees those stars? By no means; such a conclusion would be absurd. It is no less absurd to conclude, [40] that it is the eye that sees. The telescope is an artificial organ of sight, but it sees not. The eye is a natural organ of sight, by which we see; but the natural organ sees as little as the artificial.

The eye is a machine, most admirably contrived for refracting the rays of light, and forming a distinct picture of objects upon the retina; but it sees neither the object nor the picture. It can form the picture after it is taken out of the head, but no vision ensues. Even when it is in its proper place, and perfectly sound, it is well known, that an obstruction in the optic nerve takes away vision, though the eye has performed all that belongs to it. [25]

[25] Reid on the Intellectual Powers of Man, p. 78.

OF THE SINGLE MICROSCOPE.

The single microscope renders minute objects visible, by means of a small glass globule, or convex lens, of a short focus. Let E Y, Fig. 11. Plate I. represent the eye; and O B a small object, situated very near to it; consequently, the angle of its apparent magnitude very large. Let the convex lens R S be interposed between the eye and the object, so that the distance between it and the object may be equal to the focal length; and the rays which diverge from the object, and pass through the lens, will afterwards proceed, and consequently enter the eye parallel: after which, they will be converged, and form an inverted picture on the retina, and the object will be clearly seen; though, if removed to the distance of six inches, its smallness would render it invisible.

When the lens is not held close to the eye, the object is somewhat more magnified; because the pencils, which pass at a distance [41] from the center of the lens, are refracted inward toward the axis, and consequently seem to come from points more remote from the center of the object, as may be seen in Fig. 12. Plate I. where the pencils which proceed from O and B are refracted inwards, and seem to come from the point i and m.

Fig. 8. Plate I. may, perhaps give the reader a still clearer view, why a convex lens increases the angle of vision. Without a lens, as F G, the eye at A would see the dart B C under the angle b A c; but the rays B F and C G from the extremities of the dart in passing through the lens, are refracted to the eye in the directions f A and g A, which causes the dart to be seen under the much larger angle D A E (the same as the angle f A g.) And therefore the dart B C will appear so much magnified, as to extend in length from D to E.

The object, when thus seen distinctly, by means of a small lens, appears to be magnified nearly in the proportion which the focal distance of the glass bears to the distance of the objects, when viewed by the naked eye.

To explain this further, place the eye close to the glass, that as much of the object may be seen at one view as is possible; then remove the object to and fro, till it appear perfectly distinct, and well defined; now remove the lens, and substitute in its place a thin plate, with a very small hole in it, and the object will appear as distinct, and as much magnified, as with the lens, though not quite so bright; and it appears as much more magnified in this case, than it does when viewed with the naked eye, as the distance of the object from the hole, or lens, is less than the distance at which it may be seen distinctly with the naked eye.

From hence we see, that the whole effect of the lens is to render the object distinct, which it does by assisting the eye to increase the refraction of the rays in each pencil; and that the apparent magnitude is entirely owing to the object being seen so much nearer the eye than it could be viewed without it.

Single microscopes magnify the diameter of the object, [26] as we have already shewn, in the proportion of the focal distance (to the limits of distinct vision with the naked eye) to eight inches. For example, if the semi-diameter of a lens, equally convex on both sides, be half an inch, which is also equal to its focal distance, we shall have as 1 ⁄ 2 is to 8, so is 1 to 16; that is, the diameter of the object in the proportion of sixteen to one. 2. As the distance of eight inches is always the same, it follows, that by how much the focal distance is smaller, there will be a greater difference between it and the eight inches; and consequently, the diameter of the object will be so much the more magnified, in proportion as the lenses are segments of smaller spheres. 3. If the object be placed in the focus of a glass globule or sphere, and the eye be behind it in the focus, the object will be seen distinct in an erect situation, and magnified as to its diameter, in the proportion of 3 ⁄ 4 of the diameter of the globule to eight inches; thus suppose the diameter of the sphere to be 1 ⁄ 10 of an inch, then 3 ⁄ 4 of this will be equal to 3 ⁄ 40 ; consequently, the real diameter of the object to the apparent one, as 3 ⁄ 40 to 8, or as 3 to 320, or as 1 to 106 nearly.

[26] Cyclopedia, Article Microscope.

OF THE DOUBLE OR COMPOUND MICROSCOPE.

In the compound microscope, the image is viewed instead of the object, which image is magnified by a single lens, as the object is in a single microscope. It consists of an object lens N L, [43] Fig. 5. Plate I. and an eye glass F G. The object B O is placed a little further from the lens than its principal focal distance, so that the pencils of rays proceeding from the different points of the object through the lens, may converge to their respective foci, and form an inverted image of the object at Q P; which image is viewed by the eye through the eye glass F G, which is so placed, that the image may be in its focus on one side, and the eye at the same distance on the other. The rays of each pencil will be parallel, after passing out of the glass, till they reach the eye at E, where they will begin to converge by the refractive powers of the humours; and after having crossed each other in the pupil, and passed through the crystalline and vitreous humours, they will be collected in points on the retina, and form a large inverted image thereon.

It will be easy, from what has been already explained, to understand the reason of the magnifying power of a compound microscope. The object is magnified upon two accounts; first, because if we viewed the image with the naked eye, it would appear as much larger than the object, as the image is really larger than it, or as the distance f R is greater than the distance f b; and secondly, because this picture is again magnified by the eye glass, upon the principle explained in the foregoing article on vision, by single microscopes.

But it is to be noted, that the image formed in the focus of a lens, as is the case in the compound microscope, differs from the real object in a very essential particular; that is to say, the light being emitted from the object in every direction, renders it visible to an eye placed in any position; but the points of the image formed by a lens, emitting no more than a small conical body of rays, which arrives from the glass, can be visible only when the eye is situate within its confine. Thus, the pencil, which emanates [44] from o in the object, and is converged by the lens to D, proceeds afterwards diverging towards H, and, therefore, never arrives at the lens F G, nor enters the eye at E. But the pencils which proceed from the points o and b, will be received on the lens F G, and by it carried parallel to the eye; consequently, the correspondent points of the image Q P will be visible; and those which are situate farther out towards H and I, will not be seen. This quantity of the image Q P, or visible area, is called the field of view.

Hence it appears, that if the image be large, a very small part of it will be visible; because the pencils of rays will for the most part fall without the eye glass F G. And it is likewise plain, that a remedy which would cause the pencils, which proceed from the extremes B and O of the object, to arrive at the eye, will render a greater part of it visible: or, in other words, enlarge the field of view. This is effected by the interposition of a broad lens D E, Fig. 5, of a proper curvature, at a small distance from the focal image. For, by those means, the pencil D N, which would otherwise have proceeded towards H, is refracted to the eye, as delineated in the figure, and the mind conceives from thence the existence of a radiant point at Q, from which the rays last proceeded. In like manner, and by a parity of reason, the other extreme of the image is seen at P, and the intermediate points are also rendered visible. On these considerations it is, that compound microscopes are usually made to consist of an object lens N L, by which the image is formed, enlarged, and inverted; an amplifying lens D E, by which the field of view is enlarged, and an eye glass or lens, by which the eye is allowed to approach very near, and consequently to view the image under a very great angle of apparent magnitude. It is now customary to combine two or more lenses together at the eye glass, in the manner of Eustachio Divinis and M. Joblot; by which means [45] the aberration of light from the figure is in some measure corrected, and the apparent field increased.

OF THE SOLAR MICROSCOPE.

In this instrument, the image of the object is refracted upon a screen in a darkened room. It may be considered under two distinct heads: 1st, the mirror and lens, which are intended to reflect and transmit the light of the sun upon the object; and 2dly, that part which constitutes the microscope, or which produces the magnified image of the object, Fig. 10. Plate I. Let N O represent the side of a darkened chamber, G H a small convex lens, fixed opposite to a perforation in the side N O, A B a plane mirror or looking glass, placed without the room to reflect the solar rays on the lens C D, by which they are converged and concentrated on the object fixed at E F.

2. The object being thus illuminated, the ray which proceeds from E will be converged by the lens G H to a focus K, on the screen L M; and the ray which comes from F will be converged to I, and the intermediate points will be delineated between I and K; thus forming a picture, which will be as much larger than the object, in proportion as the distance of the screen exceeds that of the image from the object; a small object, such as a mite, &c. may be thus magnified to eight or ten feet in diameter.

From what has been said, it appears plainly, the advantages we gain by microscopes are derived, first, from their magnifying power, by which the eye is enabled to view more distinctly the parts of minute objects: secondly, that by their assistance, more light is thrown into the pupil of the eye, than is done without them. The advantages procured by the magnifying power, would be exceedingly circumscribed, if they were not accompanied [46] by the latter: for if the same quantity of light be diffused over a much larger surface, its force is proportionably diminished; and therefore the object, though magnified, will be dark and obscure. Thus, suppose the diameter of the object to be enlarged ten times, and consequently the surface one-hundred times, yet, if the focal distance of the glass were eight inches, provided this were possible, and its diameter only about the size of the pupil of the eye, the object would appear one-hundred times more obscure when viewed through the glass, than when it was seen by the naked eye; and this even on the supposition that the glass transmitted all the light which fell upon it, which no glass can do. But if the glass were only four inches focal distance, and its diameter remained as before, the inconvenience would be vastly diminished, because the glass could be placed twice as near the object as before, and would consequently receive four times as many rays as in the former case, and we should, therefore, see it much brighter than before. By going on thus, diminishing the focal distance of the glass, and keeping its diameter as large as possible, we shall perceive the object proportionably magnified, and yet remain bright and distinct. Though this is the case in theory, yet there is a limit in optical instruments, which is soon arrived at, but which cannot be passed. This arises from the following circumstances. [27]

[27] Encyclopædia Britannica, last edition, vol. xiii, p. 357.

1. The quantity of light lost in passing through the glass.

2. The diminution in the diameter of the glass or lens itself, by which it receives only a small quantity of rays.

3. The extreme shortness of the focal distance of great magnifiers, whereby the free access of the light to the object we wish [47] to view is impeded, and consequently the reflection of the light from it is weakened.

4. The aberration of the rays, occasioned by their different refrangibility.

To make this more clear, let us suppose a lens made of such dull kind of glass, that it transmits only one half the light that falls upon it. It is evident, that supposing this lens to be of four inches focus, and to magnify the diameter of the object twice, and its own breadth equal to that of the pupil of the eye, the object will be four times magnified in surface, but only half as bright as if it was seen by the naked eye at the usual distance; for the light which falls upon the eye from the object at eight inches distance, and likewise the surface of the object in its natural size, being both represented by 1, the surface of the magnified object will be 4, and the light which makes it visible only 2; because, though the glass receives four times as much light as the naked eye does at the usual distance of distinct vision, yet one half is lost in passing through the glass. The inconvenience, in this respect, can only be removed so far as it is possible to increase the transparency of the glass, that it may transmit nearly all the rays which fall upon it; and how far this can be done, has not been yet ascertained.

The second obstacle to the perfection of microscopic glasses, is the small size of great magnifiers; by which means, notwithstanding their near approach to the object, they receive a smaller quantity of light than might be expected. Thus, suppose a glass of only one-tenth of an inch focal distance, such a glass would increase the visible diameter eighty times, and the surface 6400 times. If the breadth of the glass could at the same time be preserved as great as the pupil of the eye, which we shall suppose [48] one-tenth of an inch, the object would appear magnified 6400 times, and every part would be as bright as it appears to the naked eye. But if we suppose the lens to be only 1 ⁄ 20 of an inch diameter, it will then only receive one-fourth of the light which would otherwise have fallen upon it; therefore, instead of communicating to the magnified object a quantity of light equal to 6400, it would communicate an illumination suited only to 1600, and the magnified object would appear four times as dim as it does to the naked eye. This inconvenience can, however, in a great degree be removed, by throwing a much larger quantity of light on the object. Various methods of effecting this purpose will be pointed out in the course of this work.

The third obstacle arises from the shortness of the focal distance in large magnifiers; this inconvenience can, like the former, be remedied in some degree, by artificial means of accumulating light; but still the eye is strained, as it must be brought nearer the glass than it can well bear, which in some measure supersedes the use of very deep lenses, or such as are capable of magnifying beyond a certain degree.

The fourth obstacle arises from the different refrangibility of the rays of light, which frequently causes such deviations from truth in the appearance of things, that many have imagined themselves to have made surprising discoveries, and have communicated them as such to the world; when, in fact, they have been only so many optical deceptions, owing to the unequal refraction of the rays. In telescopes, this error has been happily corrected by the late Mr. Dollond’s valuable discovery of achromatic glasses; but how far this invention is applicable to the improvement of microscopes, has not yet been ascertained; and, indeed, from some few trials made, there is reason for supposing they cannot be successfully applied to microscopes with high [49] powers; so that this improvement is yet a desideratum in the construction of microscopes, and they may be considered as being yet far from their ultimate degree of perfection. [28]

[28] How many useful and ingenious discoveries have arisen from accidental circumstances? To adduce one recent instance only—Aerostation, a science, which after having baffled the skill and ingenuity of philosophers for a series of years, and by many illiterate persons deemed an idea bordering on absurdity, has been of late discovered, and successfully applied to practice. Edit.

OF THE MAGNIFYING POWERS OF THE MICROSCOPE.

We have already treated of the apparent magnitude of objects, and shewn that they are measured by the angles under which they are seen, and that this angle is greater or smaller according as the object is nearer to, or further from, the eye; and, consequently, the less the distance at which it can be viewed, the larger it will appear: but from the limits of natural vision, the naked eye cannot distinguish an object that is very near to it; yet, when assisted by a convex lens, distinct vision is obtained, however short the focus of the lens, and, consequently, how near soever the object is to the eye; and the shorter the focus of the lens is, the greater will be the magnifying power thereof. From these considerations, it will not be difficult to estimate the magnifying power of any lens used as a single microscope; for this will be in the same proportion that the limits of natural sight bear to the focus of the lens. If, for instance, the convex lens is of one inch focus, and the natural sight of eight inches, an object seen through that lens will have its diameter apparently increased eight times; but, as the object is increased in every direction, we must square this apparent diameter, to know how much the object is really magnified; and thus multiplying 8 by 8, we find the superficies is magnified 64 times.

From these principles, the following general rule for ascertaining the magnifying power of single lenses, is deduced. Place a small thin transparent object on the stage of the microscope, adjust the lens till the object appears perfectly distinct, then measure the distance accurately between the lens and the object, reduce the measure thus found to the hundredths of an inch, and calculate how many times this measure is contained in eight inches, first reducing the eight inches into hundredths, which will give you the number of times the diameter of the object is magnified; which number multiplied into itself, or squared, gives the apparent superficial magnitude of the object.

As only one side of an object can be viewed at a time, it is sufficient, in general, to know how much the surface thereof is magnified: but when it is necessary to know how many minute objects are contained in a larger, as for instance, how many given animalculæ are contained in the bulk of a grain of sand, then we must cube the first number, by which means we shall obtain the solidity or magnified bulk.

The foregoing rule has been also applied to estimate the magnifying power of the compound microscope. To this application, Mr. Magny, in the “Journal d’Economie pour le mois d’Aout 1753,” has made several objections: one or two of these I shall just mention; the first is the difficulty of ascertaining with accuracy the precise focus of a small lens; the second is the want of a fixed or known measure, with which to compare the focus when ascertained. These considerations, though apparently trifling, will be found of importance in the calculations which are relative to deep magnifiers. To this it may be further added, that the same standard or fixed measure cannot be assumed for a short-sighted, that is used for a well-constituted eye. To obviate these difficulties, and some errors in the methods which were recommended [51] by Mess. Baker and Needham, Mr. Magny offers the following

Proposition. All convex lenses of whatsoever foci, double the apparent diameter of an object, provided that the object be at the focus of the glass on one side, and the eye be at the same distance, or on the focus of the glass, at the opposite side.

Experiment. Take a double convex lens, of six or eight inches focus, and fix it as at A, Fig. 1, Plate II. A , into the piece A, which is fixed perpendicular to the rule F G, and may be slid along it by means of its socket: the rule is divided into inches and parts. Paste a piece of white paper, two or three tenths of an inch broad, and three inches long, on the board D; draw three lines with ink on this piece of paper, so as to divide it into four equal parts, taking care that the middle of the paper corresponds with the center of the lens. There is also a sliding eye-piece, which is represented at e.

Take this apparatus into the darkest part of the room, but opposite to the window; direct the glass towards any remarkable and distant object which is out of doors, and move the sliding piece B, until the image of the object on the paper be sharp and clear. The distance between the face of the paper and the lens (which is shewn on the side of the rule by the divisions thereon) is the focus of the glass; now set the eye-piece e E to the same distance on the other side of the glass, then with one eye close to the sight at e, look at the magnified image of the lines, and with the other eye at the lines themselves: the image, seen by means of the glass, and expressed in the figure by the dotted lines, will be double the breadth of the same object seen by the natural eye. This will be found to be true, whatsoever is the focus of the lens with which the experiment is made.

This experiment is rendered more simple to those who are not accustomed to observe with both eyes at the same time, by making use of half a lens, and placing the diameter perpendicular to the rule, as they may then readily view the magnified image and real object with the same glance of the eye, and thus compare them together with ease and accuracy.

Let the angle A F B, Fig. 3. Plate II. A , represent that which is formed at the naked eye, by the rays of light which pass from the extremities of the object, and unite at the eye in the point F. The angle D F E is formed of the two rays, which at first proceeded parallel to each other from the extremities of the object, but that were afterwards so refracted, or bent, by passing through the glass, as to unite at its focal point F. C O is equal to the focal distance of the lens on the side next the object, C F equal thereto on the side next the eye, F O the distance of the eye.

From the allowed principles of optics, it is evident, that the object would appear double the size to the eye at C, than it would to the eye when placed at F; because the distance F O is double the distance C O. We have only to prove then, that the angle A C B is equal to the angle I F K, in order to establish the proposition.

The optical axis is perpendicular to the glass and the surface of the object. The rays A I, B K, which flow from the points A B are parallel to each other, and perpendicular to the glass, till they arrive at it; they are then refracted and proceed to F, where they form the triangle I F K, resting on the base I K: now as C F is equal to C O, and I K is equal to A B, the two triangles A C B, I F K are similar, and consequently the angle at C is equal to the angle F. If the visual rays are continued to the surface of the object, they will form the triangle D F E, equiangled to the triangle [53] A B C; and therefore, as C O is to A B, so is F D to D E; and consequently, the apparent diameter of the object seen through the lens is double the size that it is when viewed by the naked eye. No notice is here taken of the double refraction of the rays, as it does not affect the demonstration.

If you advance towards M, half the focal distance, the apparent diameter will be only increased one-third. If, on the contrary, the point of sight is lengthened to double the distance of its focus, then the magnified diameter will appear to be three times that of the real object. Mr. Magny concludes from hence, that there is an impropriety in estimating the magnifying power of the eye glass of compound microscopes, by seeing how often its focus is contained in eight or ten inches; and to obviate these defects, he recommends two methods to be used, which reciprocally confirm each other.

The first and most simple method to find how much any compound microscope magnifies an object, is the same which is described by Dr. Hooke in his Micrographia, and is as follows: place an accurate scale, which is divided into very minute parts of an inch, on the stage of your microscope; adjust the microscope, till these divisions appear distinct; then observe with the other eye how many divisions of a rule, similarly divided and held at the stage, are included in one of the magnified divisions: for if one division, as seen with one eye through the microscope, extend to thirty divisions on the rule, which is seen by the naked eye, it is evident, that the diameter of the object is increased or magnified thirty times.

For this purpose, we often use a small black ebony rule, (see Fig. 4. Plate II. A ,) three or four tenths of an inch broad, and about seven inches long; at each inch is fixed a piece of ivory, [54] the first inch is entirely of ivory, and subdivided into ten equal parts.

2. A piece of glass, Fig. 2, fixed in a brass or ivory slider; on the diameter of this are drawn two parallel lines, about three-tenths of an inch long; each tenth being divided, one into three, the second into four, the third into five parts. To use this, place the glass, Fig. 2, on the middle of the stage, and the rule, Fig. 4, on one side, but parallel to it; then look into the microscope with one eye, keeping the other open, and observe how many parts one-tenth of a line in the microscope takes in upon the parts of the rule seen by the naked eye. For instance, suppose with a fourth magnifier that one-tenth of an inch magnified answers in length to forty-tenths or parts on the rule, when seen by the naked eye, then this magnifier increases the diameter of the object forty times.

This mode of actual admeasurement is, without doubt, the most simple that can be used; by it we comprehend, as it were, at one glance, the different effects of combined glasses; it saves the trouble, and avoids the obscurity that attends the usual modes of calculation; but many persons find it exceedingly difficult to adopt this method, because they have not been accustomed to observe with both eyes at once. We shall therefore proceed to describe another method, which has not this inconvenience.

OF THE NEEDLE MICROMETER.

Fig. 8. Plate II. A , represents this micrometer. The first of this kind was made by my father, and was described by him in his Micrographia Illustrata. It consists of a screw, which has fifty threads to an inch; this screw carries an index, which points to the divisions on a circular plate, which is fixed at right angles [55] to the axis of the screw. The revolutions of the screw are counted on a scale, which is an inch divided into fifty parts; the index to these divisions is a flower de luce marked upon the slider, which carries the needle point across the field of the microscope. Every revolution of the micrometer screw measures 1 ⁄ 50 part of an inch, which is again subdivided by means of the divisions on the circular plate, as this is divided into twenty equal parts, over which the index passes at every revolution of the screw; by which means, we obtain with ease the measure of one-thousandth part of an inch; for 50, the number of threads on the screw in one inch, being multiplied by 20, the divisions on the circular plate, are equal to 1000; so that each division on the circular plate shews that the needle has either advanced or receded one-thousandth part of an inch.

To place this micrometer on the body of the microscope, open the circular part F K H, Fig. 8. Plate II. A , by taking out the screw G, throw back the semicircle F K which moves upon a joint at K, then turn the sliding tube of the body of the microscope, so that the small holes which are in both tubes may exactly coincide, and let the needle g of the micrometer have a free passage through them; after this, screw it fast upon the body by the screw G.

The needle will now traverse the field of the microscope, and measure the length and breadth of the image of any object that is applied to it. But further assistance must be had, in order to measure the object itself, which is a subject of real importance; for though we have ascertained the power of the microscope, and know that it is so many thousand times, yet this will be of little assistance towards ascertaining an accurate idea of its real size; for our ideas of bulk being formed by the comparison of one object with another, we can only judge of that of any particular [56] body, by comparing it with another whose size is known: the same thing is necessary, in order to form an estimate by the microscope; therefore, to ascertain the real measure of the object, we must make the point of the needle pass over the image of a known part of an inch placed on the stage, and write down the revolutions made by the screw, while the needle passed over the image of this known measure; by which means we ascertain the number of revolutions on the screw, which are adequate to a real and known measure on the stage. As it requires an attentive eye to watch the motion of the needle point, as it passes over the image of a known part of an inch on the stage, we ought not to trust to one single measurement of the image, but ought to repeat it at least six times; then add the six measures thus obtained together, and divide their sum by six, or the number of trials; the quotient will be the mean of all the trials. This result is to be placed in a column of a table, next to that which contains the number of the magnifiers.

By the assistance of the sectoral scale, we obtain with ease a small part of an inch. This scale is shewn at Fig. 5, 6, 7. Plate II. A , in which the two lines c a c b, with the side a b, form an isosceles triangle; each of the sides is two inches long, and the base one-tenth of an inch. The longer sides may be of any given length, and the base still only of one-tenth of an inch. The longer lines may be considered as the line of lines upon a sector opened to one-tenth of an inch. Hence, whatever number of equal parts c a c b are divided into, their transverse measure will be such a part of one-tenth as is expressed by their divisions. Thus, if it be divided into ten equal parts, this will divide the inch into one-hundred equal parts; the first division next c will be equal to one-hundredth part of an inch, because it is the tenth part of one-tenth of an inch. If these lines be divided into twenty equal parts, the inch will be by those means divided into [57] two hundred equal parts. Lastly, if a b c a be made three inches long, and divided into one-hundred equal parts, we obtain with ease the one-thousandth part. The scale is represented as solid at Fig. 6, but as perforated at Fig. 5 and 7; so that the light passes through the aperture, when the sectoral part is placed on the stage.

To use this scale, first fix the micrometer, Fig. 8. Plate II. A , to the body of the microscope; then fit the sectoral scale, Fig. 7, in the stage, and adjust the microscope to its proper focus or distance from the scale, which is to be moved till the base appears in the middle of the field of view; then bring the needle point g, Fig. 8, by turning the screw L, to touch one of the lines c a exactly at the point answering to 20 on the sectoral scale. The index a of the micrometer, Fig. 8, is to be set to the first division, and that on the dial plate to 20, which is both the beginning and end of its divisions; we are then prepared to find the magnifying power of every magnifier in the compound microscope which we are using.

Example. Every thing being prepared agreeable to the foregoing directions, suppose you are desirous of ascertaining the magnifying power of the lens marked No. 4; turn the micrometer screw, until the point of the needle has passed over the magnified image of the tenth part of one inch; then the division, where the two indices remain, will shew how many revolutions, and parts of a revolution, the screw has made, while the needle point traversed the magnified image of the one-tenth of an inch; suppose the result to be twenty-six revolutions of the screw, and fourteen parts of another revolution, this is equal to 26 multiplied by 20, added to 14; that is, 534 thousandth parts of an inch.

The twenty-six divisions found on the strait scale of the micrometer, while the point of the needle passed over the magnified image of one-tenth part of an inch, were multiplied by 20, because the circular plate C D, Fig. 8, is divided into twenty equal parts; this produced 520; then adding the fourteen parts of the next revolution, we obtain 534 thousandth parts of an inch, or 5-tenths and 34-hundredth parts of another tenth, which is the measure of the magnified image of 1-tenth of an inch, at the aperture of the eye glasses, or at their foci. Now if we suppose the focus of the two eye-glasses to be one inch, the double thereof is two inches; or if we reckon in the thousandth part of an inch, we have two thousand parts for the distance of the eye from the needle point of the micrometer. Again, if we take the distance of the image from the object at the stage at six inches, or six thousandths, and add thereto two thousand, double the distance of the focus of the eye glass, we shall have eight thousand parts of an inch for the distance of the eye from the object; and as from the proposition, page 51 , we gather that the glasses double the image, we must double the number 534 found upon the micrometer, which then makes 1068: then, by the following analogy, we shall obtain the number of times the microscope magnifies the diameter of the object; say, as 240, the distance of the eye from the image of the object, is to 800, the distance of the eye from the object, so is 1068, double the measure found on the micrometer, to 3563, or the number of times the microscope magnifies the diameter of the object. By working in this manner, the magnifying power of each lens used with the compound microscope may be easily found, though the result will be different in different compound microscopes, varying, according to the combination of the lenses, their distance from the object, and one another, &c.

Having discovered the magnifying power of the microscope, with the different object lenses that are used therewith, our next subject is to find out the real size of the objects themselves, and their different parts; this is easily effected, by finding how many revolutions of the micrometer-screw answer to a known measure on the sectoral scale, or other object placed on the stage; from the number thus found, a table should be constructed, expressing the value of the different revolutions of the micrometer with that object lens, by which the primary number was obtained. Similar tables must be constructed for each object lens. By a set of tables of this kind, the observer may readily find the measure of any object he is examining; for he has only to make the needle point traverse over this object, and observe the number of revolutions the screw has made in its passage, and then look into his table for the real measure which corresponds to this number of revolutions, which is the measure required.

ACCOUNT OF GLASS, PEARL, &c. MICROMETERS, BY THE EDITOR.

Having seen some glass, &c. micrometers with exquisite fine divisions, for the purposes of applying to microscopes and telescopes; and in accuracy, being equivalent to the micrometer just described by our author, I judge, some account of their application and uses here will be very acceptable to the curious and inquisitive reader. A particular description of these as made by the ingenious Mr. Coventry, has been already given in the Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. XI. p. 708.

The singular dexterity which Mr. Coventry and others now possess, of cutting by an engine fine parallel lines upon glass, pearl, ivory, and brass, at such minute distances as, by means of a microscope, are proved to be from the 100th to the 5000dth part of an inch, render this sort of micrometer the easiest and most accurate means of obtaining the exact natural size of the object to be magnified, and how many times that object is magnified. Mr. B. Martin, and other opticians, many years ago applied divided slips of glass, ivory, and horn to the body, in the focus of the eye glass of microscopes; but the thickness of the whole medium of the glass was found to diminish the distinct view of the object: ivory and horn, from their variable texture, were found to expand and contract too readily to be commodious. It is therefore to Mr. Cavallo that we are indebted for the happy thought of adapting slips of divided pearl to telescopes, to ascertain their power, &c. which substance the opticians now find to be the best for microscopical micrometers. It possesses a sufficient degree of transparency, when made about the thickness of writing paper; is a steady substance; admits very easily of the finest graduations, and is generally made in breadth about the 20th part of an inch.

Fig. 9. Plate II. A , is a representation of this scale, with divisions of the 200ths of an inch, every fifth and tenth division being left longer than the others, which only go to about the middle. If the eye glass of the microscope or telescope, to which this micrometer is to be applied, magnify very much, its divisions may be proportionably minute.

To measure by this micrometer the size of an object in a single microscope, nothing more is required than to lay it on the micrometer, and adjust it to the focus of the magnifier, noticing how [61] many divisions it covers or coincides with. Supposing the parallel lines to be the 1000dths of an inch, and the object covers two divisions, its real size is the 500th of an inch; if five, 200th of an inch, &c.

To find how much the object is magnified, is not so easily done by the single, as by the compound microscope, as has been before explained. The following simple method has been adopted by Mr. Coventry, and which may be considered tolerably accurate. Adjust a micrometer under the microscope, suppose 100th of an inch of divisions, with a small object on it, if square, the better; notice how many divisions one side of the object covers, suppose ten; then cut a piece of white paper something larger than the magnified appearance of the object; fix one eye on the object through the microscope, and the other at the same time on the paper, lowering it down till the object and the paper appear level and distinct: then cut the paper till it appear exactly the size of the magnified object; the paper being then measured, suppose an inch square: now, as the object under the magnifier, which appeared to be one inch square, was in reality only ten hundredths, or the tenth of an inch, the experiment proves that it is magnified ten times in length, one hundred times in superficies, and one thousand times in cube, which is the magnifying power of the glass; and in the same manner a table may be made of the power of all the other glasses.

In using the compound microscope, the real size of the object is found by the same method as in the single; but to demonstrate the magnifying power to greater certainty, adopt the following method. Lay a two-feet rule on the stage, and a micrometer level with its surface, (an inch suppose, divided into 100 parts:) with one eye see how many of those parts are contained in the field of the microscope, suppose 50; and with the other, at the [62] same time, look for the circle of light in the field of the microscope, which with a little practice will soon appear distinct; mark how much of the rule, from the center of the stage, is intersected by the circle of light, which will be half the diameter of the field. Suppose eight inches; consequently the whole diameter will be sixteen. Now, as the real size of the field by the micrometers appeared to be only 50 hundredths, or half an inch, and as half an inch is only one 32d part of 16 inches, it shews the magnifying power to be 32 times in length, 1024 superficies, and 32768 in cube or bulk. For accuracy, as well as for comparative observations, the rule should always be a certain distance from the eye; eight inches in general is a proper distance.

Another way, and the most easy for finding the magnifying power of compound microscopes, is by using two micrometers of the same divisions; one adjusted under the magnifier, the other fixed in the body of the microscope in the focus of the eye glass. Notice how many divisions of the micrometer in the body are seen in one division of the micrometer under the magnifier, which again must be multiplied by the power of the eye glass. Example: Ten divisions of the micrometer in the body are contained in one division under the magnifier; so far the power is increased ten times: now, if the eye glass be one inch focus, such glass will of itself magnify about eight times in length, which, with the ten times magnified before, will be eight times ten, or 80 times in length, 6400 superficies, and 512000 cube.

Fig. 10. Plate II. A , represents the field of view of the compound microscope, with the pearl micrometer, as applied to the aperture in the body, called the eye stop; and a magnified micrometer that is laid on the stage, shewing that one of the latter contains ten of the former.

A set of ivory and glass micrometers, about six in number, besides one or two pearl ones for the eye stops, are generally packed up with the best sort of microscopes made by Messrs. W. and S. Jones, Opticians, Holborn. They are divided into lines and squares, from the 100th to the 1000dth parts of an inch; and, besides measuring the magnifying powers of microscopes, are generally found useful in measuring the diameters, proportions, &c. of opake and transparent objects, even of the minutest kind. The smallest divisions of the glass micrometer to be useful, are those divided into the 4000dth part of an inch; and as these may be crossed again with an equal number of lines in the same manner, they form squares of the SIXTEEN MILLIONTH part of an inch surface, each square of which appearing under the microscope true and distinct. And, even small as this is, animalculæ are found so minute as to be contained in one of these squares!

Glass micrometers with squares, applied to the solar microscope, divide the objects into squares on the screen in such a manner, as to render a drawing from it very easy; and are employed with great advantage in the lucernal microscope.

The micrometers are constructed with moveable frames or tubes, so as to be either applied or taken away in the readiest manner.

For the uses of the pearl micrometer as applied to the telescope, see Mr. Cavallo’s pamphlet descriptive of its use, 8vo. 1793, and the Philosophical Transactions for 1791.

CHAP. III. A DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST APPROVED MICROSCOPES, AND THE METHOD OF USING THEM.

I n the preceding chapter I have endeavoured to give a comprehensive view of the theory of the microscope, and the principles on which the wonderful effects of this instrument depend. I shall now proceed to describe the various instruments themselves, their apparatus, and the most easy and ready mode of applying them to use; selecting for description those that, from some peculiar advantage in their construction, or from the reputation of the authors who have recommended and used them, are in most general use. What is said of these will, I hope, be sufficient to enable the reader to manage any other kind that may fall in his way.

DESCRIPTION OF ADAMS’S IMPROVED AND UNIVERSAL LUCERNAL MICROSCOPE. Fig. 1. Plate III.

This microscope was originally thought of, and in part executed by my father; I have, however, so improved and altered it, both in construction and form, as to render it altogether a different instrument. The approbation it has received from the most experienced microscopic observers, as well as the great [65] demand I have had for them, has fully repaid my pains and expenses, in bringing it to its present state of perfection.

As the far greater part of the objects which surround us are opake, and very few sufficiently transparent to be examined by the common microscopes, an instrument that could be readily applied to the examination of opake objects, has always been a desideratum. Even in the examination of transparent objects, many of the fine and more curious portions are lost, and drowned as it were in the light which must be transmitted through them; while different parts of the same object appear only as dark lines or spots, because they are so opake, as not to permit any light to pass through them. These difficulties, as well as many more, are obviated in the lucernal microscope; by which opake objects of various sizes may be seen with ease and distinctness; the beautiful colours with which most of them are adorned, are rendered more brilliant, without in the least changing their natural teints. The concave and convex parts of an object retain also their proper form.

The facility with which all opake objects are applied to this instrument is another considerable advantage, and almost peculiar to itself; as the texture and configuration of the more tender parts are often hurt by previous preparation, every object may be examined by this instrument, first as opake, and afterwards, if the texture will admit of it, as transparent.

The lucernal microscope does not in the least fatigue the eye; the object appears like nature itself, giving ease to the sight, and pleasure to the mind: there is also in the use of this instrument, no occasion to shut that eye which is not directed to the object.

A further advantage peculiar to this microscope is, that by it the outlines of every object may be taken, even by those who are not accustomed to draw; while those who can draw well, will receive great assistance, and execute their work with more accuracy, and in less time than they would otherwise have been able to have performed it in. Most of the designs for this work were taken with the lucernal microscope; and I hope the accuracy with which they are executed, will be deemed a sufficient testimony in favour of the instrument. In this point of view it will, I think, be found of great use to the anatomist, the botanist, the entomologist, &c. as it will enable them not only to investigate the object of their researches, but to convey to others accurate delineations of the subject they wish to describe.

By the addition of a tin lanthorn, transparent objects may be shewn on a screen, as by the solar microscope.

Transparent objects may be examined with this instrument in three or four different modes; from a blaze of light almost too great for the eye to bear, to that which is perfectly easy to it.

When this instrument is fitted up in the best way, it is generally accompanied with a small double and single microscope.

Fig. 1. Plate III. represents the IMPROVED LUCERNAL MICROSCOPE , mounted to view opake objects; A B C D E is a large mahogany pyramidical box, about fourteen inches long, and six inches square at its larger end, which forms the body of the microscope; it is supported firmly on the brass pillar F G, by means of the socket H, and the curved piece I K.

L M N is a guide for the eye, in order to direct it in the axis of the lenses; it consists of two brass tubes, one sliding within the [67] other, and a vertical flat piece, at the top of which is the hole for the eye. The outer tube is seen at M N, the vertical piece is represented at L M. The inner tube may be pulled out, or pushed in, to adjust it to the focus of the glasses. The vertical piece may be raised or depressed, that the hole, through which the object is to be viewed, may coincide with the center of the field of view; it is fixed by a milled screw at M, which could not be shewn in this figure.

At N is a dove-tailed piece of brass, made to receive the dove-tail at the end of the tubes M N, by which it is affixed to the wooden box A B C D E. The tubes M N may be removed from this box occasionally, for the convenience of packing it up in a less compass.

O P a small tube on which the magnifiers are screwed.

O one of the magnifiers; it is screwed into the end of a tube, which slides within the tube P; the tube P may be unscrewed occasionally from the wooden body.

Q R S T V X a long square bar, which passes through the sockets Y Z, and carries the stage or frame that holds the objects; this bar may be moved backward or forward, in order to adjust it to the focus, by means of the pinion which is at a.

b e is a handle furnished with an universal joint, for more conveniently turning the pinion. When the handle is removed, the nut, Fig. 2, may be used in its stead.

d e is a brass bar, to support the curved piece K I, and keep the body A B firm and steady.

f g h i is the stage for opake objects; it fits upon the bar Q R S T by means of the socket h i, and is brought nearer to, or removed farther from the magnifying lens, by turning the pinion a; the objects are placed in the front side of the stage, which cannot be seen in this figure, between four small brass plates; the edges of two of these are seen at k l. The two upper pieces of brass are moveable; they are fixed to a plate, which is acted on by a spiral spring that presses them down, and confines the slider with the objects; this plate, and the two upper pieces of brass, are lifted up by the small nut m.

At the lower part of the stage, there is a glass semiglobe n, which is designed to receive the light from the lamp, Fig. 3, and to collect and convey it to the concave mirror o, from whence it is to be reflected on the object.

The upper part, f g r S, of the opake stage takes out, that the stage for transparent objects may be inserted in its place.

Fig. 4. represents the stage for transparent objects; the two legs 5 and 6, fit into the under part r S of the stage for opake objects; 7 is the part which confines or holds the sliders, and through which they are to be moved; 9 and 10 a brass tube, which contains the lenses for condensing the light, and throwing it upon the object; there is a second tube within that, marked 9 and 10, which may be placed at different distances from the object by the pin 11.

When this stage is used as a single microscope, without any reference to the lucernal, the magnifiers or object lenses are to be screwed into the hole 12, and to be adjusted to a proper focus by the nut 13.

N. B. At the end A B of the wooden body there is a slider, which is represented as partly drawn out at A; when quite taken out, three grooves will be perceived, one of which contains a board that forms the end of the box, the next contains a frame with a greyed glass; the third, or that farthest from the end A B, two large convex lenses.

OF THE LAMP.

Fig. 3, represents one of Argand’s lamps, which is the most suitable for microscopic purposes, on account of the clearness, the intensity, and the steadiness of the light. The following method of managing it, with other observations, is copied from an account given by Mr. Parker, with those he sells.

The principle on which the lamp acts, consists in disposing the wick in thin parts, so that the air may come into contact with all the burning fuel, by which means, together with an increase of the current of air occasioned by rarefaction in the glass tube, the whole of the fuel is converted into flame.

The wicks are circular, and, the more readily to regulate the quantity of light, are fixed on a brass collar with a wire handle, by means of which they are raised or depressed at pleasure.

To fix the wick on, a wood mandril is contrived, which is tapered at one end, and has a groove turned at the other.

The wick has a selvage at one end, which is to be put foremost on the mandril, and moved up to the groove; then putting the groove into the collar of the wick-holder, the wick is easily pushed forward upon it.

The wick-holder and wick being put quite down in their place, the spare part of the wick should, while dry, be set alight, and suffered to burn to the edge of the tubes; this will leave it more even than by cutting, and, being black by burning, will be much easier lighted: for this reason, the black should never be intirely cut off.

The lamp should be filled an hour or two before it is wanted, that the cotton may imbibe the oil, and draw the better.

The lamps which have a reservoir and valve, need no other direction for filling, than to do it with a proper trimming pot, carefully observing when they are full; then pulling up the valve by the point, the reservoir being turned by the other hand, may be replaced without spilling a drop.

Those lamps which fill in the front like a bird-fountain, must be reclined on the back to fill, and this should be done gently, that the oil in the burner may return into the body when so placed and filled; if, by being too full, any oil appear above the guard, only move the lamp a little, and the oil will disappear; the lamp may then be placed erect, and the oil will flow to its proper level.

The oil must be of the spermaceti kind, commonly called chamber oil, which may generally be distinguished by its paleness, transparency, and inoffensive scent; all those oils which are of a red and brown colour, and of an offensive smell, should be carefully avoided, as their glutinous parts clog the lamp, and the impurities in such oil not being inflammable, will accumulate and remain in the form of a crust on the wick. Seal oil is nearly as pale and sweet as chamber oil, but being of a heavy sluggish quality, is not proper for lamps with fine wicks.

Whenever bad oil has been used, on changing it, the wick must also be changed, because, after having imbibed the coarse particles in its capillary tubes, it will not draw up the fine oil.

To obtain the greatest degree of light, the wick should be trimmed exactly even, the flame will then be completely equal.

There will be a great advantage in keeping the lamp clean, especially the burner and air tubes; the neglect of cleanliness in lamps is too common: a candlestick is generally cleaned every time it is used, so should a lamp; and if a candlestick is not to be objected to, because it does not give light after the candle is exhausted, so a lamp should not be thought ill of, if it does not give light when it wants oil or cotton; but this last has often happened, because the deficiency is less visible.

The glass tubes are best cleaned with a piece of wash leather.

If a fountain lamp be left partly filled with oil, it may be liable to overflow; this happens by the contraction of the air when cold, and its expansion by the warmth of a room, the rays of the sun, or the heat of the lamp when re-lighted: this accident may be effectually prevented by keeping the reservoir filled, the oil not being subject to expansion like air. On this account, those with a common reservoir are best adapted for microscopic purposes.

TO EXAMINE OPAKE OBJECTS WITH THE LUCERNAL MICROSCOPE.

The microscope is represented as mounted, and entirely ready for this purpose, in Fig. 1. Plate III.

To render the use of this instrument easy, it is usually packed with as many of the parts together as possible; it occupies on this account rather more room, but is much less embarrassing to the observer, who has only three parts to put on after it is taken out of its box, namely, the guide for the eye, the stage, and the tube with its magnifier.

But to be more particular, take out the wooden slide A, then lift out the cover and the grey glass from their respective grooves under the slide A.

Put the end N of the guide for the eye L M N into its place, so that it may stand in the position which is represented in this figure.

Place the socket, which is at the bottom of the opake stage, on the bar Q X T, so that the concave mirror o may be next the end D E of the wooden body.

Screw the tubes P O into the end D E. The magnifier you intend to use is to be screwed on the end o of these tubes.

The handle G b, or milled nut, Fig. 2, must be placed on the square end of the pinion a.

Place the lamp lighted before the glass lump n, and the object you intend to examine between the spring plates of the stage, and the instrument is ready for use.

In all microscopes, there are two circumstances which must be particularly attended to; the modification of the light, or the proper quantity to illuminate the object; secondly, the adjustment [73] of the instrument to the focus of the glasses and the eye of the observer. In the use of the lucernal microscope there is a third circumstance, which is the regulation of the guide of the eye, each of which I shall consider by itself.

1. To throw the light upon the object. The flame of the lamp is to be placed rather below the center of the glass semiglobe n, and as near it as possible; the concave mirror o must be so inclined and turned, as to receive the light from the semiglobe; and reflect it thence upon the object; the best situation of the concave mirror, and the flame of the lamp, depends on a combination of circumstances, which a little practice will best point out.

2. To regulate the guide for the eye, or to place the center of the eye piece L, so that it may coincide with the focal point of the lenses, and the axis of vision. Lengthen and shorten the tubes M N by drawing out or pushing in the inner tube, and raising or depressing the eye-piece M L, till you find the large lens, which is placed at the end A B of the wooden body, filled by an uniform field of light, without any prismatic colours round the edge; for, till this piece be properly fixed, the circle of light will be very small, and only occupy a part of the lens; the eye must be kept at the center of the eye-piece L, during the whole of the operation; which may be rendered somewhat easier to the observer, on the first use of the instrument, if he hold a piece of white paper parallel to the large lenses, removing it from or bringing it nearer to them, till he finds the place where a lucid circle, which he will perceive on the paper, is brightest and most distinct, then to fix the center of the eye-piece to coincide with that spot; after which a very small adjustment will set it perfectly right.

3. To adjust the lenses to their focal distance. This is effected by turning the pinion a, the eye being at the same time at the eye-piece L. I often place the grey glass before the large lenses, while I am regulating the guide for the eye, and adjusting for the focal distance.

If the observer, in the process of his examination of an object, advance rapidly from a shallow to a deep magnifier, he will save himself some labour by pulling out the internal tube at O.

The upper part f g r s of the stage, is to be raised or lowered occasionally, in order to make the center of the object coincide with the center of the lens at O.

To delineate objects, the grey or rough ground glass must be placed before the large lenses; the picture of the object will be formed on this glass, and the outline may be accurately taken, by going over the picture with a pencil.

The opake part may be used in the day-time without a lamp, provided the large lenses at A B be screened from the light.

TO USE THE LUCERNAL MICROSCOPE IN THE EXAMINATION OF TRANSPARENT OBJECTS.

The microscope is to remain as before: the upper part f g r s of the opake stage must be removed, and the stage for transparent objects, represented at Fig. 4, put in its place; the end, Fig. 9 and 10, to be next the lamp.

Place the rough glass in its groove at the end A B, and the objects in the slider-holder at the front of the stage; then transmit [75] as strong a light as you are able on the object, which you will easily do, by raising or lowering the lamp.

The object will be beautifully depicted on the rough glass: it must be regulated to the focus of the magnifier, by turning the pinion a.

The object may be viewed either with or without the guide for the eye; a single observer will see an object to the greatest advantage by using this guide, which is to be adjusted as we have described, page 73 . If two or three wish to examine the object at the same time, the guide for the eye must be laid aside.

Take the large lens out of the groove, and receive the image on the rough glass; in this case the guide for the eye is of no use: if the rough glass be taken away, the image of the object may be represented on a paper screen. [29]

[29] A tin cover is sometimes made to go over the glass chimney of the lamp, Fig. 3, with only a small square aperture in front, sufficient to suffer the rays to pass into the microscope: this, by excluding all extraneous rays, adds in many cases most materially to the effect, particularly by day, and when objects are to be represented on the rough glass or screen only. Edit.

Take out the rough glass, replace the large lenses, and use the guide for the eye; attend to the foregoing directions, and adjust the object to its proper focus. You will then see the object in a blaze of light almost too great for the eye, a circumstance that will be found very useful in the examination of particular objects; the edges of the object in this mode will be somewhat coloured, but as it is only used in this full light for occasional purposes, it has been thought better to leave this small imperfection, than by remedying it, to sacrifice greater advantages; the more so, as this fault is easily corrected, and a new and interesting view of the object is obtained, by turning the instrument out of the direct rays [76] of light, and permitting them to pass through only in an oblique direction, by which the upper surface is in some degree illuminated, and the object is seen partly as opake, partly as transparent. It has been already observed, that the transparent objects might be placed between the slider-holders kl of the stage for opake objects, and then be examined as if opake.

Some transparent objects appear to the greatest advantage when the lens at 9 and 10 is taken away; as, by giving too great a quantity of light, it renders the edges less sharp.

The variety of views which may be taken of every object, by means of the improved lucernal microscope, will be found to be of great use to an accurate observer: it will give him an opportunity of correcting or confirming his discoveries, and investigating those parts in one mode, which are invisible in another.

TO TRANSMIT THE IMAGE OF TRANSPARENT OBJECTS ON A SCREEN, AS BY THE SOLAR MICROSCOPE.

It has been long a microscopical desideratum, to have an instrument by which the image of transparent objects might be shewn on a screen, as by the common solar microscope; and this not only because the sun is so uncertain in this climate, and the use of the solar microscope requires confinement in the finest part of the day, when time seldom hangs heavy on the rational mind, but as it also affords an increase of pleasure, by displaying its wonders to several persons at the same instant, without the least fatigue to the eye.

This purpose is now effectually answered, by affixing the transparent stage, Fig. 4, of the lucernal to a lanthorn containing one of Argand’s lamps. The lamp is placed within the lanthorn, and [77] the end 9, 10 of the transparent stage is screwed into a female screw, which is rivetted in the sliding part of the front of the lanthorn; the magnifying lenses are to be screwed into the hole represented at 12; they are adjusted by turning the milled nut. The quantity of light is to be regulated, by raising and lowering the sliding plate, or the lamp. N. B. This part, with its lanthorn and lamp, may be had separate from the lucernal microscope. [30]

[30] This effect by the lanthorn and lamp is subject to much limitation in the field of view, or circle of light thrown upon the screen. A circle of not more than from 12 to about 15 inches can ever be obtained with any tolerable strength of light, to shew the most transparent sort of objects that can be found, such as the scale of a sole fish, a fly’s wing, &c. The great difference between the light of the sun and a lamp is a natural obstacle to great performances in this way, and renders them far short of the effects of the solar microscope. The exhibition, however, is considerable, and much deserving of the notice of any observer disposed to this sort of apparatus. Probably, subsequent experiments may yet produce more light on this instrument. The best sort of apparatus for this purpose hitherto made, I shall describe in a following section . Edit.

APPARATUS WHICH USUALLY ACCOMPANIES THE IMPROVED LUCERNAL MICROSCOPE.

The stage, Fig. 1, f g h i, for opake objects, with its glass semiglobe, and concave mirror, which is moveable upon the bar Q R S T, and set readily to any distance by the screw at a. The glasses o and n are also moveable upon the bar for regulating and adjusting the light upon the object.

The stage, Fig. 4, for transparent objects, which fits on the upper part P S of the foregoing stage. When this is to be applied occasionally to a lanthorn for shewing transparent objects on a screen, &c. it is made of a much larger diameter, to admit of the illuminating lenses at 9, 10, and 11, of greater power of condensing the rays from the lamp.

The sliding tube O P, to which the magnifiers are to be affixed; one end of this is to be screwed on the end B of the wooden body; the magnifier in use is to be screwed to the other end on the inner tube. This tube slides inwards or outwards; it is first used to set the magnifier at nearly the right distance from the object, before the exact adjustment for the focus is made, by turning the pinion at a with Hook’s joint and handle b e.

Eight magnifying lenses in brass cells, Fig. 5. Plate III. these are so constructed that any two of them may be combined together, and thus produce a very great variety of magnifying powers. The cells unscrew to admit of the glasses being cleaned.

A fish-pan, such as is represented at Fig. 6, whereon a small fish may be fastened in order to view the circulation of its blood; its tail is to be spread across the oblong hole at the smallest end, and tied fast by means of the attached ribbon. The knob on its back is to be put through a slit hole on the brass piece, No. 5, of Fig. 4. The tail of the fish is to be brought then immediately before the magnifier.

A steel wire, Fig. 7, with a pair of nippers at one end, and a steel point at the other; the wire slides backwards or forwards, in a spring tube which is affixed to a joint at the bottom, on which is a pin to fit the hole in the leg, No. 6, Fig. 4. This is used to confine small objects.

A slider of brass, Fig. 8, containing a flat glass slider and a brass slider, into which are fitted some small concave glasses. It is for confining small living objects, and when used is placed between the two plates, No. 7, Fig. 4.

A pair of forceps, Fig. 9, by which any occasional small object may be conveniently taken up.

Six large ivory sliders, with transparent objects placed between two plates of talc, and confined by brass rings, and six small ditto with ditto. Fig. 10. The larger ones usually contain a set of Custance’s fine vegetable cuttings.

Fourteen wood sliders, containing on each four opake objects, and two spare sliders for occasional objects; all fitted to the cheeks kl of the stage. Fig. 11.

Some capillary tubes, Fig. 12, to receive small fish, and for viewing small animalcula. They are to be placed between the two plates of the stage No. 7, Fig. 4.

A small ivory double box, containing spare plates of talc and brass rings, for replacing any in the small ivory sliders, when necessary.

A single lens mounted in a tortoiseshell case, to examine minute objects previous to their being applied to the sliders.

Opake objects are easily put on the spare sliders by a wetted wafer; and, for good security, gum water may be added.

For the prices of the lucernal, as well as all the other sorts of microscopes, see the list annexed to these Essays.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL IMPROVEMENTS MADE UPON MR. ADAMS’S LUCERNAL MICROSCOPE. BY THE EDITOR.

The lucernal microscope being unquestionably the only instrument for exhibiting all sorts of opake objects under a brilliant and magnified appearance, was, as formerly constructed by the late Mr. G. Adams, attended with some inconveniences and imperfections. Upon a proper inquiry into various improvements, and from some observations made by myself, I can recommend, as a complete instrument, one with the following emendations, being, in my opinion, the best of any hitherto made known.

The lucernal microscope, when placed up for use, as represented in Fig. 1. Plate III. is of some considerable length. When the eye at L is viewing the image of the object upon the glasses, the objects themselves in the sliders placed at kl at the stage, are without the reach of the hand; so that the indispensible change of the parts of an object, or of one object to another, can only be obtained by the observer’s moving himself from the object to the eye-piece, and vice versa. This adjustment, therefore, proves uncertain and troublesome. The application of rack-work motion to the stage has been contrived and applied to the lucernal microscope by Mr. W. Jones, of Holborn, accompanied with Hooke’s joint and handle, and a lever rod; so that, without altering his position, the observer may change both the horizontal and vertical position of the sliders, and thereby readily investigate all the variety of the objects, and their parts, and with the same exactness as by other microscopes.

For persons who may not wish to be at the expense of the lucernal, as formerly mounted by Mr. Adams, Mr. Jones has altered [81] the manner of its support; which, as well as the other particulars, and the method of using it, may be understood from the following description.

Plate IX. Fig. 3, is a representation of the instrument as placed up for use. AA, the top of a mahogany chest, about two feet long, thirteen inches and an half high, and eight inches broad, which serves both as a case to contain the instrument, and to support and preserve it steady when in use. A groove is cut in the top of the box, and another in the inside at the bottom, in both of which the base of the instrument is made to slide. When the instrument is placed inside, a long slip of mahogany slides in at the top, to secure the groove, and make the top perfect. Thus the instrument may be most readily slid out of its case, and then into the groove at top for use, and in much less time than by the brass frame and jointed stand adopted by Mr. Adams. Fig. 3 B, is the stage for the objects, with the condensing lens a , and concave mirror b , the same as in Mr. Adams’s. C, the brass slider case for opake objects, with a rack cut into its lower edge, and which is turned by a pinion. To this pinion is applied an handle, D, with Hooke’s universal joint; this contrivance gives a certain horizontal motion to the objects while viewing. The stage at C is also made to slide vertically, and a lever-rod or handle, E, to apply through the top, to bring the objects to a just height. Hence, by applying the left hand to the handle, E, and the right to the rod D, the adjustment or the changing of the objects, while under exhibition on the large lenses at F, is produced in the most convenient and accurate manner, and the observer has no occasion, for one slider, to shift from his seat or position.

Rack-work might be applied to the vertical motion, but it is not essentially necessary; for when once the center of the slider is [82] observed, there requires very little change from that position for the complete exhibition of the objects. The whole of the stage, with the lense and mirror, is fixed to a brass dove-tailed slider at G, which slides in another brass piece fixed to the wooden slider or base of the instrument. A long brass rod, H, with an adjusting screw at its end, passes through the two brass pillars, K, K, to the stage at f , upon which it acts; and according as it is turned to the right or left hand while examining the objects, moves the objects nearer to or farther from the magnifiers screwed on at L, and produces the just distance for rendering the appearance of the objects the most distinct and brilliant upon the glasses at F.

The management of the light from the lamp, through the lens, a , and from the concave mirror, b , to the objects, is exactly the same as before directed by Mr. Adams. For the exhibiting of transparent objects, the stage, C, is to be slid away, and the body, Fig. 4, applied in its place, in that position, with the large lens outwards next the lamp. The slider with the objects passes through at a , and the focus for the different magnifiers is adjusted by turning the long rod, D, to the right or left, as with the opake objects. In this case the lamp is to be raised to the center of the body of the microscope, or even with the magnifiers at L. The image of the objects may also, as in Mr. Adams’s, be best received on the rough glass placed at F, for the simple reflected light through the body will sometimes be so strong, as to irritate the eye; the operator must, therefore, both modify that from the lamp, and place the roughed glass to his own ease and pleasure. The guide for the eye, N, in this instance is not necessary. Care being taken that the roughed glass at F be kept in as dark a situation as possible, there will be a certainty of a clear and well-defined view of the object.

A tin chimney placed over the glass of the lamp about ten inches long, with a suitable aperture to admit the light to pass through it to the glasses, is of material service; it excludes all superfluous light from the eye of the observer, keeps the room sufficiently darkened, and enables the observer to view his object with the proper brilliancy. As a pleasing relief to the eye, the interposition of a small piece of blue or green glass at the sight hole, N, Mr. Jones has sometimes found necessary, but it gives rather a false teint to the colour of the objects.

In the year 1789 the same artist applied a brass screw pillar and arm to the top of the box at O, on which is occasionally slid the condensing lens, a . The lamp being then applied at the side of the box at O, instead of the end, and the lens, a , moved to such a distance as to give the strongest possible light upon the opake objects at C; they were found to be more strongly illuminated by this simple refracted light than by the refracted and reflected light before used. Light is always somewhat diminished by reflection, although condensed; therefore, as it is sometimes best to view the objects from oblique reflected light, and sometimes from direct refracted, he constructs the apparatus so as to give the operator the means of easily using either. The dotted lines, O P, shew the manner that the glass semiglobe, a , is occasionally applied to refract or converge directly the light from the lamp to the objects on the stage.

It is scarcely necessary to observe to the reader, the propriety of all the glasses of the apparatus being perfectly clean before the observations; for if, after being laid aside some time, or by dust, &c. they should appear soiled, it will be necessary to wipe them previously with a piece of soft shammy leather usually sent in the box for that purpose, or a clean soft cloth. The two large [84] lenses at F, Fig. 3, may be readily separated by turning aside the two brass screws that act upon a brass ring.

From the various ingenious admirers of this sort of instrument, many improvements and alterations have been suggested; among several that have been communicated, those by the two following gentlemen appear to me the most deserving of notice, and which I shall leave to the reader’s judgment and experience.

The Rev. John Prince, LL. D. now of Salem, Massachuset’s States, North America, a valuable correspondent and friend of our late author, transmitted to him an alteration in the construction; and of which I here insert the brief account, in nearly the words given by Mr. Adams.

Dr. Prince applies a strong joint similar to that of a telescope at about the middle of the center part of the pyramidical box, and a sort of adjusting screw at the large end. The joint is nearly in the center of gravity, so that a very small motion is sufficient to bring any object less than an inch in diameter into the field of view. This motion is effected by two screws at right angles to each other; one screw raising or levelling the body, the other moving it sidewise, the screw at the same time forming a double joint to accommodate the parts to the movement. [31]

[31] A figure of this, with an explanation, as recommended by Mr. John Hill, Wells, in Norfolk, may be seen in the Gentleman’s Magazine, Vol. LXVI . 2d part, page 897. In this particular, as well as in the deviation from the parallel position of the glasses to the surfaces of the objects, I think the construction not so simple and perfect, as that by rack-work and pinion applied by Mr. Jones. Probably, Dr. Prince had not, at the time of his contriving the joint-work to the box, seen or heard of the other method. His subsequent contrivances shew real ingenuity; and to the inquisitive in this instrument, will afford much useful entertainment and advantage.

To secure the image formed upon the rough glass more completely from the light, at times essentially necessary, there is a [85] pyramidical mahogany box, of the same size, to pack, when not used, in the body of the microscope; when in use, the broad end of this screen box is to be slid into the groove, from which the exterior cover at the end has been taken. This method is peculiarly useful in the day-time; as, by screening the large lenses from the light, it may even then be used with satisfaction.

One of the large lenses may occasionally be placed on the outer edge of the screen box, the other lens being taken out; the view on the rough glass is by these means magnified, and appears to greater advantage. But, besides the grey glass used in the former construction, there is a second in this, placed farther within the body, about half way; and, when the large lens is in the screen box, objects appear better in this than in the former way. It has a still greater effect upon those who are unacquainted with the nature of lenses, as it makes them judge the distance and magnitude much greater than they really are, and is therefore more pleasing than the grey glass in front. Only one grey glass can be used at a time; both being removed when opake objects are viewed.

The stage, F, Fig. 5, is considerably different from that at C, Fig. 3; it is judged more convenient and commodious than the other, and serves, with a small alteration, for both transparent and opake objects. A truncated cone can also be here applied for cutting off superfluous rays of light occasionally.

The method of illuminating the objects is also different. The mode now adopted answers better for opake and transparent objects, throws a stronger light, and is more convenient in application. It consists of two lenses, 1 and 2, Fig. 5; the larger one is to be placed at the end of the bar next the lamp. The smaller one to be adjusted so as to give a strong light. A third is also added, [86] to be used occasionally with opake objects; it is to be applied close to the large lens. Experience will shew when it is to be used, or not. By moving the bar, G, on which these lenses are placed round the stage pillar, M, you bring it so much fronting the stage as effectually to enlighten opake objects by means of the lamp. The light thus afforded is received directly, and none lost by reflection. The objects are fixed on circular wheels of wood, see Fig. 7, the brass centers of which, are fitted to the hole, b , of the stage, Fig. 5; and about this center they are to be turned by the hand for the changing of the objects.

As some objects, such as sections of wood, are seen to advantage both as transparent and opake, a frame containing a plane and a concave mirror is added to this instrument, serving two purposes: by bringing the bar to the front of the stage, removing the large lens, and putting the mirror in its place, the object may be viewed either way, without moving from the seat, by turning the instrument a little round. This experience will discover. The light of the sun may be thrown by the plane mirror on the condensing lens, so as to produce a strong full field of light on the grey glass. This has a grand effect when the large lens is at the end of the screen box, and could not be applied in this manner in former constructions. It becomes also an opake solar microscope, by turning the bar round to enlighten opake objects.

By bringing the concave mirror to a focus that will burn objects, a set of very curious and entertaining experiments may be made and exhibited on the grey glass. The object for combustion should be put in the nippers, and a piece of slate tied as a ground on the stage. The ebullition of a piece of alum viewed in this manner is very beautiful; the bubbles, as they rise and pass off rapidly, appear tinged with all the colours of the rainbow.

There are large-sized magnifiers for the purpose of throwing transparent objects on a screen, in imitation of the solar microscope. By removing the large lenses in front and the grey glass, and placing the black tin cylinder represented in the drawing by dotted marks, over the lamp, they may be shewn in that manner to several persons; thus, this instrument in a great degree supersedes the use of a lanthorn. The image may be contracted occasionally by one of the large lenses.

The following improvement consists in the manner of applying the lamp, by Mr. Hill. By attaching it to the instrument, it renders the light more permanent and steady, and reduces considerably the bulk as well as the trouble of this appendage, and is to be preferred when the lamp is not wanted separately for other uses or experiments.

H, a brass support to the arm, G, for sustaining the weight of the lamp; it turns round with the bar on the pillar, M. At about I is a brass cap soldered to the above support, and which slips over the slider carrying the larger lens, 2. At K, is a strong joint connected with the said cap, and by which an horizontal motion of the cap is given, when an oblique light is required. To the end of this the lamp is fixed, and in such a manner as to admit of its being easily slid upwards or downwards in a perpendicular direction, to procure the just height of the flame. L is a square brass rod to be occasionally screwed into the reservoir of the lamp, for supporting the tin cylinder screen, when transparent objects are to be represented on a screen in a darkened room.

The transparent microscope, part of the lucernal, is sometimes adapted to a large japanned tin lanthorn, such as represented at Fig. 6. A brass female screw is soldered to the front of the [88] lanthorn, which has a motion upwards or downwards, fitted to the male screw of the transparent microscope. A tall chimney is placed at the top of the lanthorn to conduct the heated air from an Argand’s lamp withinside. The transparent objects in the sliders are magnified by the lenses screwed on at a , and shewn on the screen A; this screen may be about three feet square, of white paper, the objects on which, if represented in a field larger than twelve or eighteen inches, will not be sufficiently vivid.

Mr. Jones has found that a large square glass, from twelve to sixteen inches in the side, rough ground on one of its surfaces, exhibits the objects the best of any other contrivance; answers tolerably well for opake objects, and gives the artist the means of tracing their figure most correctly on its surface. Such sort of objects he fixes upon slips of glass for that purpose, or applies them to a pair of nippers shewn at b , sent with the microscope. A concave silver speculum screws on at c , before the magnifiers, which reflects upon the objects the light that issues from the lamp through the body of the microscope. The least dimensions of the lanthorn are about ten inches square, and fourteen inches high.

This microscope and lanthorn, when made as a separate apparatus from the lucernal, is called the LANTHORN MICROSCOPE . Its effect is considerably short of what is produced by the solar microscope, and not equal to what is much wished for in this manner of magnifying minute objects; see note , page 77 .

Partly from the improvements just described, Mr. Jones is now constructing a lucernal microscope that he conceives will be the most simple and perfect yet made. It could not be completed in time to be described in this work; but its improvement and advantages will be quite evident to any reader who has attended to the description which I have just given.

DESCRIPTION OF CUFF’S DOUBLE-CONSTRUCTED MICROSCOPE, REPRESENTED AT Fig. 1. Plate VII. A. [32]

[32] The compound or double microscope is in more general use than any other sort. Besides its being less expensive than the lucernal or complete solar, it is found commodious and portable in the observer’s apartment, when only a confined degree of microscopical pursuit is intended, and that chiefly for a few hours amusement; it may be used both by day and night. In the most improved of this kind the objects appear magnified in a field of view from about 12 to 15 inches in diameter. It is better adapted to transparent than to opake objects, yet the latter may often be viewed to great advantage by the assistance of the sun’s rays or the light of a candle condensed on them. The intelligent reader, by attending to the accounts of the different microscopes described in this work, will be enabled to select that best adapted to the kind of objects he wishes to explore, and the manner in which he is desirous of having them exhibited. Edit.

This instrument was first described by Mr. Baker, and recommended by him. It was also described by my father in the fourth edition of his Micrographia Illustrata, page xix.

A B C represents the body of this microscope; it contains an eye-glass at A, a large lens at B, and a magnifier which is screwed on at C, one of which is represented at Q.

The body of the microscope is supported by the arm D E, from which it may be removed at pleasure.

The arm D E is fixed on the sliding bar F, and may be raised or depressed to any height within its limits.

The main pillar a b is fixed in the box b e, and by means of the brass foot d is screwed to the mahogany pedestal X Y, in which is a drawer containing all the apparatus.

O, a milled-headed screw, to tighten the bar F when the adjusting screw c g is used.

p q is the stage or plate which carries the objects; it has a hole at the center n.

G, a concave mirror, that may be turned in any direction, to reflect the light of the candle, or the sky, upon the object.

A LIST OF THE APPARATUS TO CUFF’S DOUBLE-CONSTRUCTED MICROSCOPE. [33]

[33] This microscope is made oftentimes with a joint at the bottom of the main pillar at e , to admit placing the instrument into any oblique situation, and connected to the bottom of a mahogany chest; on which account, it is by some of the instrument makers called the Chest Compound Microscope. Edit.

H, a convex lens, to collect the rays of light from the sun or a candle, and condense them on the object, or to magnify a flower or other large object placed upon the stage.

L, a cylindrical tube, open at each side, with a concave silver speculum screwed to the lower end h.

P, the slider-holder; it consists of a cylindrical tube, in which an inner tube is forced upwards by a spiral spring, it is used to receive an ivory slider K, which is to be slid between the plates h and i. The cylinder P fits the hole n in the stage: the hollow part at k is designed to receive a glass tube N.

R is a brass cone, to be put under the bottom of the cylinder P, to intercept occasionally some of the rays of light.

S, a box containing a concave and a flat glass, between which a small living insect may be confined; it is to be placed over the hole n.

T, a flat glass to lay any occasional object upon; there is also a concave one u, for fluids.

O, a long steel wire, with a small pair of pliers at one end, and a point at the other, designed to stick or hold objects; it slips backwards and forwards in the short tube o; the pin p fits into an hole m, in the stage for that purpose.

W, a little round ivory box, to hold a supply of talc and rings for the sliders.

Z, a hair brush, to wipe any dust off the glasses, or to take up by the other end a drop of any liquid.

V, a small ivory cylinder, that fits on the pointed end of the steel wire O; it is designed for opake objects. Light-coloured ones are to be stuck upon the dark side, and vice versa.

Y, a common magnifying glass for any occasional purpose.

M, a fish-pan whereon to fasten a small fish, to view the circulation of the blood: the tail is to be spread across the oblong hole at the small end k, and tied fast by means of a ribband fixed thereto; the knob l is to be put through the slit made in the stage, and the tail may be brought under the magnifier.

X is a wire to clean the glass tubes by.

TO USE THIS MICROSCOPE.

Screw the magnifier you intend to use to the end C of the body, place the slider-holder P in the hole n, and the ivory slider K with the object, between the plates h i of the slider-holder; [92] set the upper edge of the bar D E to coincide with the division which corresponds to the magnifier you have in use, and tighten it by the milled nut O; now reflect a proper quantity of light upon the object, by means of the concave mirror G, and regulate the body exactly to the eye and the focus of the glasses by the adjusting screw c g , at the same time you are viewing the object.

To view opake objects, take away the slider-holder P, and place the object on a flat glass u, under the center of the body, or on one end of the jointed nippers o. Then screw the silver concave speculum to the end of the cylinder L, and slide this cylinder on the lower part of the body, so that the upper edge thereof may coincide with the line which has the same mark with the magnifier that is then used; reflect the light from the concave mirror G to the silver speculum, from which it will be again reflected on the object. The glasses are to be adjusted to their focal distance as before directed.

THE DESCRIPTION AND USE OF JONES’S IMPROVED COMPOUND OR DOUBLE MICROSCOPES, REPRESENTED IN Fig. 1 AND 2. Plate IV. BY THE EDITOR.

The chief imperfections of Cuff’s microscope, as well as of others formerly made, are, their construction rendering them only compound microscopes, the body of the instrument having but a fixed position over the object, and the smallness of the field of view by the old construction of the glasses in the body. To obviate these defects, as well as for the application of material improvements, the late Messrs. Martin and Adams, and the present Messrs. W. and S. Jones, have constructed this kind of microscope in various ways. Two microscopes by the latter artists, which I am now going to describe, appear to me to be the best of any hitherto invented.

Fig. 1 is a representation of the second best sort of compound microscopes. The improvements, though few in number, are essential to the use thereof. The field of view is considerably larger than in the former microscope. The stage and the mirrors are both moveable, so that their respective distances may be easily varied. The magnifiers may be moved about over the object. There is also a condensing glass, for increasing the density of the light, when it is reflected by the mirror from a candle or lamp. It is furnished with two mirrors, one plane and the other concave, and may likewise be used as a complete single microscope.

A B, Fig. 1. represents the body of the microscope, containing a double eye glass, and a body glass; it is here shewn as screwed to the arm C D, from whence it may be occasionally removed, either for the convenience of packing, or when the instrument is to be used as a single microscope.

The eye glasses and the body glasses are contained in a tube which fits into the exterior tube A B; by pulling out a little this tube, when the microscope is in use, the magnifying power of each lens is increased.

The body A B of the microscope is supported by the arm C D; this arm is moveable in a square socket cut in the head that is connected to the main pillar E F, which is screwed firmly to the mahogany pedestal G H; there is a drawer to this pedestal, which holds the apparatus. This arm may be slid backwards and forwards in its socket, carrying the magnifiers and the body of glasses, and also turned horizontally quite round upon the pillar, giving a general motion all over the object on the stage below; which is a material improvement and advantage of this microscope over a similar one described in the former edition of [94] this work, as any unavoidable motion of the living object to be viewed may be followed, by the observer’s hand moving the arm C D as the object changes its place.

N I S is the plate or stage which carries the slider-holder K, this stage is moved up or down the pillar E F, by turning the milled nut M; this nut is fixed to a pinion, that works in a toothed rack cut on one side of the pillar. By means of this pinion the stage may be gradually raised or depressed, and the object adjusted to the focus of the different lenses.

K is the slider-holder, which fits into a hole that is in the middle of the stage N I S; it is used to confine and guide either the motion of the sliders which contain the objects, or the glass tubes that are designed to confine small fishes, for viewing the circulation of the blood. The sliders and tubes are to be passed between the two upper plates.

L is a brass tube, in the upper part of which is fixed the condensing lens before spoken of; it screws into the wire arm a, which is placed in the hole I of the stage, with the glass underneath, and may be set at different distances from the object, according to its distance from the mirror or the candle.

O is the frame which holds the two reflecting mirrors, one of which is plane, the other concave. These mirrors may be moved in various directions, in order to reflect the light properly, by means of the pivots on which they move, in the semicircle Q, and the motion of the semicircle itself on the pin R; the concave mirror generally answers best in the day-time; the plane mirror combines better with the condensing lens in L, and a lamp or candle at night.

At S is a hole and slit for receiving either the nippers b , or the fish-pan c ; when these are used, the slider-holder K must be removed.

T, a hole to receive the pin of the convex lens and illuminator d .

There are six magnifying lenses contained in a brass wheel screwed in a circular brass box P; this wheel is moveable about its center with the finger, and stops by a click when the magnifiers are each centrally under the body A B above, or the hole in the arm C D. They are marked from No. 1, to 6, and the proper number shewn in a small opening made in the side of the brass box. This wheel P screws into the arm C D, and may occasionally be taken off to admit of the silver speculum, or a single magnifier, hereafter to be described.

There is a small line cut on the edge of the arm C D, which must be brought to the right hand edge of its socket, in order to center the magnifier to the body and the stage.

By unscrewing the body A B, the single magnifiers in the wheel P being then only left, the instrument readily forms a single microscope.

A small pocket hand single or opake microscope may easily be extracted from this apparatus. When the body A B is screwed off, and the arm C D slipt away from its frame with the wheel of magnifiers, and the forceps, wire, and joint b applied to it, by a hole made in the arm for that purpose, as represented at V, it is then ready for the examination of any small object that may present itself in the garden, &c. and will be found very convenient whenever the whole instrument is not required.

LIST OF APPARATUS GENERALLY MADE TO THIS MICROSCOPE.

The wheel, with the magnifiers, P. Fig. 1.

The body of the microscope, A B.

The slider-holder, K.

The tube, with the condensing lens L, to be used by candle-light.

The pin and arm a , either for the above lens, or for the silver concave speculum e .

The silver concave speculum e , fitted to the arm above, and used common to all the magnifiers in the wheel and body A B, it is to reflect the light from the concave or plane mirror O below, upon the opake objects, then called the compound opake microscope.

A silver concave speculum f , with a single magnifier; it screws to the under part of the arm C D in room of the wheel of magnifiers, and forms then the single opake microscope.

A brass cone g , to place under the stage N I S, and serves to diminish the reflected light when necessary.

The jointed nippers b , fitted to the stage, to hold any small insect, or other opake object.

A cylinder of ivory h , to fix on the pointed end of the nippers, black on one side and white on the other, to make a contrast to the opake object used.

Six ivory sliders, i , each having four holes, and objects contained between two talcs confined together by brass circular wires. One of the sliders is usually sent without objects, to be supplied at pleasure. When used, they are placed between the perforated plates of the slider-holder K; where also is to be applied the brass frame slider k , containing in one brass piece four small concave glasses fixed; a narrow slip of glass slides over these, all within the frame; so that any very small living object, as a mite, &c., may be viewed with the proper security.

A set of glass tubes, l , three in number, to contain tadpoles, water newts, small frogs, eels, &c. which are curious objects for affording a fine view of the circulation of the blood, &c. They are also to be placed in the slider-holder K. There is a small hole at one end to admit air, the other end is to be stopped with cork, to contain the fluid and prevent the escape of the animal. A brass twisted wire is sent, to assist in the cleaning of these tubes.

A small ivory box, m , containing talcs and wires to supply the ivory sliders with, should any be lost or damaged.

A lens set in a brass cell, n , of such a focus as to view objects under a magnifying power sufficient for the applying them to the instrument for further inspection; hence it has been called the explorator. It may occasionally be screwed to the arm C D, and is then well adapted for viewing objects of the larger kind, or the whole of an insect, &c. before the observing of it in part under the regular magnifiers.

A concave, or a circular plane glass, o , for transparent objects, or animalcula in fluids, &c. it is fitted to the side, I, of the stage.

It is necessary to describe the lens and frame, d , noticed at page 95 ; it is either for converging the sun’s rays upon opake objects laid upon the stage, or for magnifying a flower, or other large objects applied to the stage, or on the nippers or point, b . By its pin and spring socket it is easily raised to any height, for the sun, candle, or the eye of the observer.

A brass insect box, h , consisting of a concave and plane glass that screw close together; by means of which a louse, flea, &c. may be secured, viewed alive, and retained for any time. It is applied to the hole I, of the stage, Fig. 1.

A pair of small brass forceps, q , by which any small object may be conveniently taken up or moved.

This microscope packs into a mahogany pyramidical shaped case, about seven inches square at its base, and fourteen inches in height. For its price, see the general list annexed to this work.

It will be obvious to the reader from the preceding description that it must be put together as represented in the figure; that he has to place the slider-holder, K, to the stage, N I S, with one slider of objects; to reflect as strong a light as possible from the concave mirror, O, below, by turning it into the best position, and moving it upwards or downwards all the while he is looking down the body, A B. Then, for a distinct view of the object, to turn the pinion, M, in a slow and gentle manner. A small degree of practice will render the management very familiar.

For opake objects, the slider-holder, K, is to be removed; the silver speculum, e , screwed to the arm, a , and by its pin placed [99] in the hole, I, of the stage, with the concave part downward above the stage; the glass, o , or the nippers, b , with ivory, h , placed at the stage: then the light reflected from the mirror, O, up to the speculum above, which will again reflect the light very strongly upon the object. Practice also in this case can make it easy to the beginner. The use of the rest of the apparatus has been sufficiently explained.

OF THE MOST IMPROVED COMPOUND MICROSCOPE, BEING UNIVERSAL IN ITS USES, AND FORMING THE SINGLE, COMPOUND, OPAKE, AND AQUATIC MICROSCOPES.

A person much accustomed to observations by the microscope, will readily discern the several advantages of this instrument over the preceding one. Besides its containing an additional quantity of useful apparatus, it is more commodious and complete for the management while observing, as it may instantly be placed in a vertical, oblique, or horizontal situation, turned laterally at the ease of the observer, and the objects viewed by the primary direct light, or reflected as usual, at pleasure. These particulars the following description will clearly shew. I shall not again so fully describe the same apparatus, as the reader must already understand their uses from the preceding references.

Fig. 2 is a representation of this instrument as placed up for use. A B is the compound body. The eye-glasses are contained in an inner tube that slides outwards or inwards, thus altering its distance from a glass at B, and thereby increasing or diminishing the magnifying power, when thought necessary. This body may be screwed on or off to the arm C D, as in the microscope just described; the arm C D may also be moved in any direction over the object. E F is the square stem or bar, on which is moved by [100] the rack-work and pinion M, the stage N I S, to adjust a distinct view to any of the magnifiers, or apparatus used. V is a strong brass pillar with a joint-piece at top, connected to the stem E F; by means of this joint the position of the microscope is readily altered from a vertical to an oblique or horizontal one, as may be desired or found most easy and convenient to the observer, while sitting or standing; it will also enable him to view objects by direct unreflected light; for, when the stem, E F, is put into an horizontal position, the mirrors, O, R, may be drawn off and laid aside. Against or before the condensing lens, U, the common day-light or the light of a candle may then be directed.

At the stage N I S, is a sliding brass spring, N, serving to confine down slips of glass or large sliders, when objects placed thereon are intended to be viewed out of the horizontal position of the stage. A lens, U, called the condensing lens, fixed in a frame connected to a socket, is for condensing and modifying the rays of light reflected from the concave or plane mirror, O, below; it may be set to a proper distance by raising it up by two little screws, one of which is shewn at u . This lens is of considerable use by candle-light, as it serves to fill the whole body, A B, beautifully with light on the object. It is turned aside on a joint pin, when not in use. Six magnifiers are contained in the wheel at P, as in the former microscope. The mirrors, O, below may also be slid upwards or downwards on the stem, by pushing against the screws at r . Thus the stage, lens U, and mirrors below, being all in one axis of motion, admit the adjustment of the distinct view, light, &c. in the most accurate and pleasing manner. When the instrument is packed into its case, the feet, G G H, may all be folded together as one, and the body A B, screwed off, for the advantage of being portable. The body, as screwed off, leaves the instrument a single microscope.

THE GENERAL APPARATUS TO THIS MICROSCOPE IS AS FOLLOWS.

First, such as accompany the preceding microscope. The brass wheel with magnifiers, P, Fig. 2. The slider-holder, K. The brass pin and arm, a , for receiving the concave speculum, e , which is applied to the upper side of the stage, and used common to all the magnifiers. The silver concave speculum, f , with a magnifier set therein, used by itself in the arm C D. These two speculums form the instrument into what is called an OPAKE MICROSCOPE .

A brass cone, g, fitting the under side of the stage, N I S, to exclude superfluous light. The illuminator, or convex lens, d , Fig. 1, fitted to T of the stage. The jointed nippers, b , fitted to the stage, and either on the point or nippers to hold any small insect, or other opake object. An ivory black and white piece, h , is also fitted to the point to contrast the colour of any object laid thereon; the light upon this is reflected from the silver concaves placed above, which reflect the light downwards received from the mirrors at O. Six ivory sliders as shewn at i , containing a selection of objects, placed between Muscovy talc, and fastened by spring wires; and a brass frame slider, k : all for the stage, K, when in use. A set of glass tubes for fish or liquids, l , to be filled with water and stopped with cork, for the slider-holder K. A pan, c , for fish or frogs, fitted to the stage at S. A small ivory box, m , with spare talcs and wires. The explorator, n , a lens set in a brass cell, for viewing the larger sort of objects either by the hand, or from the arm C D, Fig. 2. A plane glass, o , and a concave ditto, s , both fitted to the hole of the stage, N I S, for viewing fluids, and confining the animalcula, &c. between them, and so forming what is called the AQUATIC MICROSCOPE .

A brass box, p , with a concave and plane glass, for insects and other objects, fitted to the stage N I S, when they are to be examined by the instrument. A pair of brass forceps, q , to take or hold any object by. A camel hair brush, t .

ADDITIONAL APPARATUS TO THIS BEST MICROSCOPE.

Three large wood sliders, as shewn at X, with talcs and wires, for the larger sort of wings of flies, and other objects which are too large for the small ivory sliders, i ; they are to be placed in the slider-holder K, when on the stage N I S, and the objects to be magnified either by the magnifiers in the wheel P, or the lens shewn at n , screwed on the arm C D. A brass cell, y , with a very small globule or lens, or an extraordinary great magnifier, usually about the 30th or 40th of an inch focus; it is to be screwed into the arm C D, when the wheel, P, is first unscrewed away. It is for the purpose of viewing extreme minute objects, which may be so small as to elude the power of the magnifiers in the wheel, P.

A moveable stage, W, which by the pin, a , is applied to the hole, S, of the stage Fig. 2, and thereby has an horizontal motion under the whole field of view, without disturbing any other part of the instrument. To the large hole of this stage are fitted a deep concave glass, r , and the concave and plane glasses, s and o ; and to the small holes, x x , a black and white piece of ivory, w , for opake objects, and a concave and plane glass similar to o and s . An extra concave silver speculum with a less magnifier than the other, as shewn at f , used for the larger kind of opake objects, like the other, fitted to the arm C D, and used instead of the magnifiers in the wheel, P.

Rack-work is sometimes cut in the arm C D, to turn the pinion above, so as to move the magnifiers in a linear direction over the objects in the most accurate degree; and also the stage N I S jointed, to turn by a screw and teeth in an horizontal direction at right angles to the above, thereby rendering a slow and accurate motion, perfectly suitable to the various positions of any living animal under examination.

Six or more larger ivory sliders, with cuttings of different woods, &c. are also frequently added; but as these enhance the expense, and may be extended to the desire of the purchaser, his choice, and not my description here, will determine the extent of the apparatus to the microscope. When packed up into its mahogany, or black shagreen case, the outside dimensions are about twelve inches and an half long, nine inches broad, and three inches three-quarters deep.

A microscope from this plan is frequently made of smaller dimensions, for the convenience of persons who frequently travel, and is contained in a fish-skin case about seven inches long, four inches and an half broad, and two inches deep, and is the most complete instrument of the sort.

As in the former one, place the slider-holder K, with a slider of objects in it, in the stage N I S; move the arm C D, in its socket, so that a mark on the side is brought to the edge of the socket; then turn the arm till the magnifier is directly central over the object; look down the tube A B, and during that time, reflect the light strongly and clearly up into it from the mirror O below; and then, while you are looking through the body, gently turn the pinion at M to the right or left, till you see the object magnified in the most distinct and well-defined manner. [104] Attending properly to this mode is the only care necessary to use any microscope whatsoever; and for want of doing which, many a beginner finds a difficulty in using properly his instrument. For price, see the list at the end.

For opake objects, you take away the slider-holder, K; place on the stage either the concave glass, s , or the nippers, b ; screw the concave speculum, e , to the arm, a , which place on the stage with the arm in the hole, I. The light is now to be reflected into this concave dish from one of the mirrors, O, below, and it will thus be strongly condensed upon the object. With this concave speculum any of the magnifiers in the wheel, P, may be used. When the single silver concave, f , is used, it is screwed to the arm C D, and the one, e , and arm, a , are not then applied.

For further directions for the management of microscopes, the light, &c. see Chap. IV. p. 129 , and sequel.

A DESCRIPTION OF CULPEPER’S, OR THE COMMON THREE-PILLARED MICROSCOPE. Plate IV. Fig. 3.

The only recommendations of this original instrument are, its simple construction and lowness of price. It gives a pleasing view of the object. It is precluded by its form from some of the advantages of the two foregoing instruments, because both the stage and the mirror are confined. This microscope consists of a large exterior brass body, A B, supported on three brass scrolls, which are fixed to the stage F; the stage is supported by three larger scrolls that are screwed to the mahogany pedestal G H. There is a drawer in the pedestal which holds the apparatus. The concave mirror, I, is fitted to a socket in the center of the pedestal. The lower part, B, of the body forms an exterior tube, [105] into which the upper part of the body, C, slides, and may be moved up or down by the hand, so as to bring the magnifiers which are screwed on at D, nearer to, or further from the object.

A LIST OF THE APPARATUS TO CULPEPER’S MICROSCOPE.

Five magnifiers, each fitted in a brass cell; one of these is seen screwed on at D. Six ivory sliders, k , five of them with objects; and a small ivory box, m , containing some spare talcs, and wires for them. A brass tube, N, to hold the concave speculum. A brass box, M, for the same speculum. A fish-pan, c . A set of glass tubes, b . A flat and a concave glass, both fitted to the stage. A brass cone, g , to exclude superfluous light; it applies at the under side of the stage, F. A brass box, p , with plane and concave glasses for living objects. A pair of forceps, q . A steel wire, b , with a pair of nippers at one end, a point at the other, and a small ivory cylinder, h , to fit on the pointed end of the nippers. A convex lens, E, moveable in a brass semicircle; this is affixed to a long brass pin, which fits into a hole, F, on the stage. The uses of the above apparatus have been sufficiently described in the preceding pages.

Screw one of the five cells, which contains a magnifying lens, to the end, D, of the body; place the slider i or k , with the objects, between the plates of the slider-holder, K. Then, to attain distinct vision and a pleasing view of the object, adjust the sliding body to the focus of the lens you are using, by moving the upper part, C, gently up and down while you are looking at the object, and regulate the light by the concave mirror, I, below. The image of the objects in this microscope is seen in a field of view of about six inches in diameter; but, in the improved ones before described, it is from about twelve to fifteen inches.

For opake objects, two additional pieces must be used; the first is a cylindrical tube of brass, represented at N, which fits on the cylindrical snout above D of the body: the second piece is the concave speculum, L; this is to be screwed to the lower end of the aforesaid tube. The upper edge of this tube should be made to coincide with the line which has the same number affixed to it as the magnifier you are using; that is, if you are making use of the magnifier marked 5, slide the tube to the circular line on the tube above D, that is marked also with No. 5.

The slider-holder, K, should be removed when you are going to view opake objects, and a plane glass should be placed on the stage in its stead to receive the object; or it may be placed on the nippers, b , the pin of which fits into the hole in the stage.

A DESCRIPTION OF MARTIN’S IMPROVED SOLAR MICROSCOPE, WHICH IS CONSTRUCTED TO EXHIBIT TRANSPARENT AND OPAKE OBJECTS. Plate V.

The solar microscope is generally supposed to afford the most entertainment, on account of the wonderful extent of its magnifying power, and the ease with which several persons may view each single object at the same time. The use of it was, however, confined for many years only to transparent objects. About the year 1774, Mr. B. Martin so far improved this instrument, as to render it applicable to opake, as well as to transparent objects, exhibiting the magnified image of either kind on a large screen. Treating of it himself, he says [34] , “With this instrument all opake objects, whether of the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom, may be exhibited in great perfection, in all their native beauty; the lights and shades, the prominences and cavities, and all the [107] varieties of different hues, teints, and colours, heightened by the reflection of the solar rays condensed upon them.” From its enlarged dimensions, transparent objects are also shewn with greater perfection than in the common solar microscope.

[34] Description and Use of an Opake Solar Microscope. 8vo. 1774.

Plate V. Fig. 1, represents the solar opake microscope, placed together for exhibiting opake objects.

Fig. 2, is that part called the single tooth and pinion microscope, which is used for shewing transparent objects; the cylindrical tube, Y, thereof, being made to fit into the tube E F, Fig. 1. It may be occasionally used as a hand single, or Wilson’s microscope, and for which purpose, the handle, c , is fitted by a screw to the body at g , and the tube, Y, screwed away.

Fig. 3, the slider which contains the six magnifiers; it fits into a dove-tail under P, Fig. 2, at the upper part of the microscope.

Fig. 4 represents a brass dove-tail slider, containing a small lens: it is called a condenser. There are three in number, marked 1 and 2, &c. corresponding to the number of the magnifiers used: they serve to condense the sun’s rays strongly upon the object, and enlarge the circle of light. They slide in at h , Fig. 2.

A B C D E F, Fig. 1, represents the body of the solar microscope; one part thereof, A B C D, is conical, the other, C D E F, is cylindrical. The cylindrical part receives the tube, G, of the opake object box, or the tube, Y, of the single microscope, Fig. 2. At the large end, A B, of the conical part there is a convex lens to receive the rays from the mirror, and refract them convergingly into the box, H I K L.

N O P is a brass frame which is fixed to the moveable circular plate, a b c ; in this frame there is a plane mirror, to reflect the solar rays through the afore-mentioned lens. This mirror may be moved into the proper positions for reflecting the solar rays, by means of rack-work turned by the nuts Q and R. By the nut Q, it may be moved from right to left; it maybe elevated or depressed by the nut, R. d e , two screws to fasten the microscope to a window-shutter, or a board fitted entirely before the window.

The box for opake objects is represented as open at H I K L; it contains a plane mirror, M, for reflecting the light that it receives from the large lens to the object, and thereby illuminating it; S is a screw to adjust this mirror to its proper angle for reflecting the light. V X, two tubes of brass, one sliding within the other, the exterior one in the box, H I K L; these carry two magnifying lenses: the interior tube is sometimes taken out, and the exterior one is then used by itself. Part of this tube may be seen in the plate as within the box, H I K L.

At H, is a brass plate, the back part of which is fixed to a tube, h , containing a spiral wire, which keeps the plate always bearing against the side, H, of the brass box H I K L. The sliders, with the opake objects, Fig. 5, pass between this plate and the side of the box; to apply which, the plate is to be drawn back by means of the nut, g. k i , a door to one side of the opake box, to be opened when adjusting the mirror, M.

The foregoing pieces constitute the several parts necessary for viewing opake objects. We shall now proceed to describe the single microscope, which is used for transparent objects; but, in order to examine these, the box, H I K L, must be first removed, and in its place we must insert the tube, Y, of the single microscope, Fig. 2, now to be explained.

Fig. 2 represents a large tooth and pinion microscope; at m , within the body of this microscope, are two thin plates that are to be separated, in order to let the ivory sliders, Fig. 7, pass between them; they are pressed together by a spiral spring, which bears up the under plate, and forces it against the upper one. The slider, Fig. 3, that contains the magnifiers, fits into a hole at n ; any of the magnifiers may be placed before the object, by moving the aforesaid slider: when the magnifier is at the center of the hole P, a small spring falls into one of the notches which is on the side of the slider, Fig. 3. At h , slides a condenser, Fig. 4, for condensing the sun’s rays, and enlarging the field of view on the screen: the number must correspond with that of the magnifier used. This microscope is adjusted to the focus, while exhibiting the object, by turning the milled nut O.

APPARATUS TO THE OPAKE SOLAR MICROSCOPE.

The mirror O P, Fig. 1, and square plate, and the tubular body of the microscope, A F. The opake box and its tube, I K G. The tooth and pinion or single microscope, Fig. 2. The slider of magnifiers, Fig. 3. The megalascope magnifier, Fig. 6, fitted to P of Fig. 2. Six ivory sliders with transparent objects, Fig. 7. Twelve wood sliders with opake objects, and a brass frame to hold them, Fig. 5. A brass square-formed slider case, Fig. 8, to hold any animal, piece of ore, or other opake object, and is to be placed like the other slider at H, Fig. 1. A pair of nippers and point, Fig. 9, the pin, a , of which fits into the hole of the slider, Fig. 4, and holds before the magnifiers at P, Fig. 2, any small fly or other complete object to be magnified. A four-glass slider in a brass frame, Fig. 10, for any animalcula, &c. to be placed between the plates at m , Fig. 2. A set of glass fish tubes, Fig. 11. A pair of forceps, Fig. 12. Two brass nuts for the window-shutter [110] or board, Fig. 13; and the two brass fastening screws, d e , Fig. 1, which may be either used with or without the above two nuts.

The figures on the plate are about half the original size, and the apparatus now made by Messrs. Jones packs into a case thirteen inches long, nine inches broad, and four inches deep. For price, see the list at the end.

TO USE THE SOLAR MICROSCOPE.

Make a round hole in a window-shutter or window-board, that is opposite to the meridian sun, or as nearly so as possible, a little larger than the circle a b c ; pass the mirror, N O P, through this hole, and apply the square plate to the shutter; then mark with a pencil the places which correspond to the two holes through which the screws are to pass; take away the microscope, and bore two holes at the marked places, large enough to admit the milled screws, d e , to pass through them. These screws are to pass from the outside of the shutter, to go through it, and being then screwed into their respective holes in the square plate, they will, when screwed home, hold it fast against the inside of the shutter, and thus support the microscope.

Another way, and perhaps more convenient, is to previously screw the two brass nuts, Fig. 13, to the shutter or window-board, at the inside at a suitable distance, to receive the two milled screws; these nuts will always be ready for use, and the operator may in a minute, within his room, fasten the plate, a b c , to the shutter by the two milled screws, being placed contrarywise.

Screw the conical tube, A B C D, to the circle, a b c , and then slide the tube, G, of the opake box into the cylindrical part, [111] C D E F, of the body, if opake objects are to be examined; but if transparent objects are intended to be shewn, then place the tube Y, Fig. 2, within the tube C D E F. The room is to be darkened as much as possible, that no light may enter but what passes through the body of the microscope; for, on this circumstance, together with the brightness of the sun, the perfection and distinctness of the image in a great measure depend.

We shall first consider the microscope as going TO BE USED FOR OPAKE OBJECTS . Adjust the mirror, N O P, so as to receive the solar rays, by means of the two finger-screws or nuts, Q, R; the first, Q, turns the mirror to the right or left; the second, R, raises or depresses it: this you are to do, till you have reflected the sun’s light through the lens at A B, strongly upon a white-paper screen or cloth, from four to eight feet square (about the latter dimensions for transparent objects) placed from about five to eight feet distance from the window, and formed thereon a round spot of light: a white wainscot or wall at a suitable distance answers very well. An unexperienced observer will find it more convenient to obtain the light by first forming this spot, before he puts on either the opake box, or the tooth and pinion microscope, Fig. 2.

Now apply the opake box, and place the object between the plates at H; open the door, k i , and adjust the mirror, M, till you see you have illuminated the object strongly. If you cannot effect this by the screw S, you must move the screws Q, R, in order to get the light reflected strongly from the mirror, N O P, on the mirror M; without which the latter cannot illuminate the object. The object being strongly illuminated, shut the door, k i , and a distinct view of the object will soon be obtained on your screen, by adjusting the tubes V X, with the magnifiers, which is effected by moving them backwards or forwards.

A perfectly round spot of light cannot always be procured in northern latitudes, the altitude of the sun being often too low; neither can it be obtained when the sun is directly perpendicular to the front of the room. As the sun is continually changing its place, it will be necessary, in order to keep his rays full upon the object, to keep them continually directed through the axis of the instrument, by turning the two screws Q and R.

To view transparent objects, remove the opake box, and insert the tube, Y, of Fig. 2, in its place; put the slider, Fig. 3, into its place at n , a condenser, Fig. 4, at h , and the slider with the objects between the plates at m ; then adjust the mirror, N O P, as before directed, by the screws, Q, R, so that the light may pass through the object; regulate the focus of the magnifier by the pinion, O. The most pleasing magnifiers in use are the fourth and fifth. The size of the object is generally from four to eight feet, and may be increased or diminished by altering the distance of the screen from the microscope; five or six feet is a convenient distance.

The effect by this sort of microscope is stupendous, and never fails to excite wonder in an observer at the first view, in seeing a flea, &c. augmented in appearance to SEVEN , EIGHT , or even TEN FEET in length, with all its colours, motions, and animal functions, distinctly and beautifully exhibited.

To examine transparent objects of a larger size , or to render the instrument what is usually called a megalascope, take out the slider, Fig. 3, from its place at n ; screw the cell and lens, Fig. 6, into the hole at P, Fig. 2; remove the glass which is placed at h , and regulate the light and focus agreeable to the foregoing directions.

At C D, is placed a lens for increasing the density of the rays, for the purpose of burning or melting any fusible substance; this lens must be removed in most cases, lest the objects should be burnt. The intensity of the light is also varied by moving the tube G, and Fig. 2, Y, inwards or outwards.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TRANSPARENT SOLAR MICROSCOPE AND APPARATUS. Plate VI. Fig. 4, to 14.

The foregoing description will, in great part, answer for this microscope; but, the dimensions, apparatus, &c. varying in a small degree from the preceding, a distinct description here, may be acceptable to those, who possess this sort of microscope only.

A B C D, Fig. 4, represents the body of the microscope, consisting of two brass tubes. E F is the end of the inner moveable tube; e f , that of the single tooth and pinion microscope. Fig. 5, screws into the end of this inner tube; at the end, A B, of the external tube there is a convex lens, to receive the sun’s rays from the mirror, K L, and to condense them on the object; the end, A B, screws into the circular plate, G H I. This part may also be used as a single microscope, and may have at m the handle, c , screwed to it. K L, a long frame fixed to the moveable circular plate, with a plane mirror, to reflect the rays of the sun on the lens at A B. An endless worm or screw, which is cut on the lower part of the nut, M, works in a small wheel which is fixed to the frame, K L, so that by turning the nut, the frame, K L, is moved up or down: the nut, N, moves the mirror to the right or left. O, P, two screws to fasten the square plate to the window-shutter.

Fig. 5, the single microscope; e f , the end which screws on to the part, E F, Fig. 4, of the internal tube of the body; q , the dove-tailed slit for receiving the slider, Fig. 8; g , the hole in which [114] the megalascope magnifier, Fig. 6, is to be screwed, when the slider, Fig. 8, is removed. At h , are the moveable plates, between which the object sliders are placed; under the lowermost of these, the lens represented at Fig. 11 is to be placed, when the magnifiers in the slider, Fig. 8, are to be used, a k is a small piece of rack-work, which is moved backwards and forwards by the pinion fixed to the milled nut, b ; by the gradual motion of this rack, the objects are adjusted to the foci of the different lenses. Fig. 8 is a brass slider, with six lenses, or magnifying glasses; it is to be inserted into the hole at q ; either of the magnifiers may be placed before the object, by sliding it one way or the other: you may perceive when the glass is in the center of the eye-hole by a small spring acting upon a notch which is made on the side of the slider opposite to each lens.

APPARATUS BELONGING TO THIS SOLAR MICROSCOPE.

Square plate and mirror. The body, A D, consisting of two tubes, one within the other. The single microscope, Fig. 5. The megalascope lens, Fig. 6. The slider, Fig. 8, with six lenses. The two screws O, P. Six ivory sliders and a talc box, Fig. 7 and 13. Some glass tubes, Fig. 9. A slider or brass case, Fig. 10, containing a plane piece of glass, and a brass slider with holes, into which are cemented small concave glasses, designed for confining minute insects between the plane and concave glasses, which are thus preserved from being crushed, or from moving out of the field of view. Three condensing lenses to enlarge the field of view, such as Fig. 11, that are fitted to the hole, l , of Fig. 5. Their numbers correspond with the numbers used. Fig. 12, two brass nuts for the window-shutter or board, to receive the two screws, O and P.

To use the transparent solar microscope.

Fasten the square plate against the inside of a window-shutter, by the two [115] screws O, P, which are to go from the outside of the window-shutter through it, and then be screwed into their respective holes in the square plate at G H I. The mirror is to be on the outside of the shutter, passing through a hole made for that purpose. Darken the room; then place a screen at about six or eight feet distance from the window, the farther it is from it the larger is the image: now move the mirror, K L, by the two nuts M N, till the sun’s rays come through the instrument in an horizontal direction to the screen, forming a round spot thereon; screw the microscope, Fig. 5, into its place E F; put the slider with the lenses, Fig. 8, at q , Fig. 5, and the object slider between the plates at h ; adjust the object to the focus of the magnifying lens by the screw b , till the object appears distinct and clear on the screen. By moving the internal tube of the body, the object may be placed at different distances from the lens which is fixed at A B, so as to be sufficiently illuminated, and not burnt by the solar rays. If the screws O, P, are to pass inside the room, the two nuts, Fig. 12, must be previously fixed.

THE SCREW BARREL, OR WILSON’S SINGLE POCKET MICROSCOPE. Plate II. B. Fig. 1 and 2.

This microscope of Mr. Wilson’s is an invention of many years standing, and was in some measure laid aside, till Dr. Lieberkühn introduced the solar apparatus to which he applied it, there being no other instrument at that time which would answer his purpose so well; it is much esteemed in particular cases. The body of the microscope is represented at A B, Fig. 1, and is made either of silver, brass, or ivory. C C is a long fine-threaded male screw, that turns into the body of the microscope. D, a convex glass at the end of the said screw, on which may be placed, as occasion requires, one of the two concave apertures of thin brass to cover the said glass, and thereby diminish the aperture when the greatest [116] magnifiers are used. E, three thin plates of brass within the body of the microscope, one whereof is bent to an arched cavity for the reception of a tube of glass. F, a piece of wood or brass, curved in the manner of the said plate, and fastened thereto. G, the other end of the microscope, where a female screw is adapted to receive the different magnifiers. H, a spiral spring of steel, between the said end, G, and the plates of brass, E, intended to keep the plates in a due position, and counteract against the long screw, C. I, a small ivory handle. To this microscope belong seven different magnifying glasses, six of which are set in cells, as in Fig. K, and are marked from 1, to 6: the lowest numbers to the greatest magnifiers. L is the seventh magnifier, set in the manner of a little barrel, to be held in the hand for viewing any large object. M is an ivory slider with the objects. Six of these, and one of brass, are usually sold with this microscope. There is also a brass slider not shewn in the figure, to confine any small object, that it may be viewed without crashing or destroying it. N, a pair of forceps, or pliers, for the taking up of insects or other objects, and applying them to the sliders or glasses. O, a camel hair brush, to take up and examine a small drop of liquid, brush the dust away, &c. P is a glass tube to confine living objects, such as frogs, fishes, &c.

When you view an object, push the ivory slider, in which the said object is placed, between the two flat brass plates, observing always to put that side of the slider, where the brass rings are, farthest from the eye; then screw in the magnifying glass you intend to use at the end of the instrument G, and looking through it against the light, turn the long screw, C C, till your object is brought to appear distinct, or to the true focal distance. To examine any object accurately, view it first through a magnifier that will shew the whole at once, and afterwards inspect the several parts more particularly with one of the greatest magnifiers; for [117] thus you will gain a true idea of the whole, and all its parts: and, though the greatest magnifiers can shew but a minute portion of any object at once, such as the claw of a flea, the horn of a louse, &c. yet by gently moving the slider that contains your object, the eye will gradually see the whole; and if any part should be out of the focal distance, the screw, C C, will easily bring it to the true focus. As objects must be brought very near the glass, when the greatest magnifiers are used, be particularly careful not to rub the slider against the glasses as you move it in or out. A few turns of the screw, C C, will easily obviate this.

DESCRIPTION OF A SCROLL FOR FIXING WILSON’S POCKET MICROSCOPE, AND A MIRROR FOR REFLECTING LIGHT INTO IT.

A B C, Fig. 2, is a brass scroll, which, for the better conveniency of carriage, is made to unscrew into three parts, and may be put into the drawer upon which it stands, with its reflecting mirror D, and Wilson’s pocket microscope, G. The upper part of the scroll is taken off at B, by unscrewing half a turn of the screw; then, if lifted up, it will come out of the socket. The lower part unscrews at C, and the base at E. The mirror lifts out at F, which, with the scroll, lies in one partition of the box.

To apply this scroll for use, fix the body of the microscope to the top thereof by the screw, A, as in Fig. 2, by screwing it in the same hole as the ivory handle was applied to before. The brass or ivory slider being fixed as before described, and the microscope placed in a perpendicular position, move the mirror, D, in such a manner as to reflect the light of the sky, of the sun, or a candle, directly upwards through the microscope; by which means the object will be most conveniently viewed. It is further useful for viewing opake objects, by screwing the arm, Q R, Fig. 1, into the body of the microscope at G; then screwing into the [118] round hole, R, that magnifier which you think will best suit your object, and putting the concave speculum, S, on the outside of the ring, R, you will observe in the body of the microscope, between the wood or brass, F, and the end of the male screw, C C, a small hole, u , through which slides the long wire, T, which has a point at one end, and forceps at the other, that may be used occasionally as your objects require. When you have fixed this, and your object on it, turn the arm, R, till the magnifier is brought over the object; it may be then adjusted to the true focus, by turning the screw, as before. It must also be brought exactly over the speculum, by turning the upper part of the scroll to one side, till your object and the two specula are in one line, as will be found by trial; and then fix it by the screw, B, at which time the upper surface of the object will be enlightened by the light reflected from the mirror, D, to the concave speculum.

DESCRIPTION OF A SMALL MICROSCOPE FOR OPAKE OBJECTS. Plate II. B. Fig. 3 and 4.

A, Fig. 3, is a fixed arm, through which passes a screw, B, the other end is fastened to the moveable arm, C. D, a nut fitted to the said screw, which, when turned, will either separate or bring together the two arms, A C. E, a steel spring, that separates the two sides when the nut is unscrewed. F, a piece of brass turning round in a spring socket, moving on a rivet, in which moves a steel wire pointed at the end G, and the other end a pair of pliers, H: these are either to thrust into, or take up and hold any object, and may be turned round as required. I, a ring of brass, with a female screw fixed on an upright piece of the same metal, turning on a rivet, that it may be set at a due distance when the least magnifiers are used, and is adapted to the screws of all the magnifiers.

Fig. 4, K, a concave speculum of polished silver, in the center of which a lens is placed. On the back of this speculum a male [119] screw, L, is made to fit the brass ring I, Fig. 3. Four of these specula of different concavities, with four glasses of different magnifying powers, as the objects may require. The greatest magnifiers have the least apertures. M, a round object plate, one side white and the other black, intended to render objects the more visible, by placing them, if black, upon the white, and if white, on the black side. A steel spring, N, turns down on each side, to secure any object; from the object plate there is a hollow pipe, to screw it on the needle’s point G, Fig. 3. O, a small box of brass, with a glass on each side, to confine any living object in order to examine it, having a pipe to screw upon the end of the needle at G. P, an ivory handle. Q, a pair of pliers to take up any object. R, a soft hair brush.

To view any object, screw the speculum, with the magnifier you intend to use, into the brass ring, I; place your object either on the needle G, in the pliers H, on the object plate M, or in the brass hollow box O, as may be most convenient; then holding up your instrument by the handle P, look against the light through the magnifying lens, and by means of the nut, D, together with moving of the needle at its lower end, the object may be turned about, raised or depressed, brought nearer the glass, or put farther from it, till you have the true focal distance, and the light be seen reflected from the speculum strongly upon the object. [35]

[35] Opake microscopes are now constructed more elegantly and simply. The chief merit of Wilson’s microscope appears, in being particularly adapted to minute objects, and these principally of the transparent kind; the barrel form is useful for excluding adventitious light. Excepting these peculiarities, its general utility is considered far short of the universal pocket microscope hereafter to be described. Edit.

OF ELLIS’S SINGLE OR AQUATIC MICROSCOPE. Plate VII. B.

This instrument takes its name from Mr. John Ellis, author of “An Essay towards a Natural History of Corallines,” and of the [120] “Natural History of many curious and uncommon Zoophytes.” By this instrument he was enabled to explain many singularities in the œconomy and construction of these wonderful productions of nature. To the practical botanist this instrument is recommended by the respectable authority of Mr. Curtis, author of the Flora Londinensis, a work which does credit to the author and the nation. This microscope is simple in its construction, easy in its use, and very portable; these advantages, as well as some others which it also has over other portable microscopes, have accelerated the sale thereof, and caused it to be very much adopted.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE MICROSCOPE.

K, the box which contains the whole apparatus; it is generally made of fish-skin; on the top of the box there is a female screw, for receiving the screw which is at the bottom of the brass pillar A, and which is to be screwed on the top of the box, K. D, a brass pin which fits into the pillar; on the top of this pin is a hollow socket to receive the arm which carries the magnifiers; the pin is to be moved up and down, in order to adjust the lenses to their focal or proper distance from the object.

In the representation of this microscope, Plate VII. B. Fig. 1, the pin, D, is delineated as passing through a socket at one side of the pillar, A; it is now usual to make it pass down a hole bored through the middle of the pillar.

E, the bar which carries the magnifying lens; it fits into the socket, X, which is at the top of the pillar, D. This arm may be moved backwards and forwards in the socket X, and sidewise by the pin, D; so that the magnifier, which is screwed into the ring at the end, E, of this bar, may be easily made to traverse over any part of the object lying on the stage or plate B. F is a polished silver speculum, with a magnifying lens placed at the [121] center thereof, which is perforated for this purpose. The silver speculum screws into the arm E, as at F. G, another speculum of a different concavity from the former, with its lens. H, the brass semicircle which supports the mirror, I; the pin, R, affixed to the semicircle, H, passes through the hole which is towards the bottom of the pillar, A. B, the stage or the plane on which the objects are to be placed; it fits into a small dove-tailed arm which is at the upper end of the pillar, A. C, a plane glass, with a small piece of black silk stuck on it; this glass is fitted to a groove made in the stage, B. M, a deep concave glass, to be laid occasionally on the stage instead of the plane glass, C. L, a pair of nippers; these are fixed to the hole of the stage, a , by the pin K; the steel wire of these nippers slides backwards and forwards in the socket, and this socket is moveable upwards and downwards by means of the joint, so that the position of the object may be varied at pleasure. The object may be fixed in the nippers, stuck on the point, or affixed by a little gum-water, &c. to the ivory cylinder, N. O, a small pair of brass forceps to take up minute objects by. P, a brush to clean the glasses.

To use this microscope; begin by screwing the pillar, A, to the cover thereof; pass the pin, R, of the semicircle which carries the mirror through the hole that is near the bottom of the pillar, A; push the stage into the dove-tail at B; slide the pin into the pillar, then pass the bar, E, through the socket, X, which is at the top of the pin D, and screw one of the magnifying lenses into the ring at F.

Now place the object either on the stage, or in the nippers L, and in such a manner, that it may be as nearly as possible over the center of the stage; bring the speculum, F, over the part you mean to observe; then get as much light on the speculum as you can, by means of the mirror, I; the light received on the speculum [122] is reflected by it on the object. The distance of the lens, F, from the object is regulated by moving the pin, D, up and down, until a distinct view of it is obtained. The rule usually observed is, to place the lens beyond its focal distance from the object, and then gradually slide it down, till the object appears sharp and well defined. The adjustment of the lenses to their foci, and the distribution of the light on the object, are what require the most attention.

These microscopes are sometimes fitted up with a rack and pinion to the pillar A, and pin D, for the more ready adjustment of the glasses to their proper foci.

DESCRIPTION OF LYONET’S ANATOMICAL MICROSCOPE. Plate VI. Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 represents the instrument with which M. Lyonet made his microscopical and wonderful dissection of the chenille de saule or caterpillar of the goat moth, [36] of which a specimen is given in Plate XII. Fig. 1, &c. of this work. This portable instrument needs no further recommendation. By it, other observers may be enabled to dissect insects in general with the same accuracy as M. Lyonet, and thus advance the knowledge of comparative anatomy, by which alone the characteristic, nature, and rank of animals, can be truly ascertained.

[36] Phalæna cossus. Linn. 63.

A B is the anatomical table, which is supported by the pillar O N; this is screwed on the mahogany foot, D C. The table A B, is prevented from turning round by means of two steady pins; in this table or board there is a hole, G, which is exactly over the center of the mirror, F E, that is to reflect the light on the [123] object; the hole, G, is, designed to receive a flat or a concave glass, on which the objects are to be placed that you design to examine or dissect. R X Z is an arm formed of several balls and sockets, by which means it may be moved in every possible position; it is fixed to the board by means of the screw, H; the last arm, I Z, has a female screw, into which a magnifier may be screwed, as at Z. By means of the screw, H, a small motion may be occasionally given to the arm I Z, for adjusting the lens with accuracy to its focal distance from the object. Another chain of balls is sometimes used, carrying a lens to throw light upon the object; the mirror is also so mounted, as to be taken from its place at K, and fitted on a clamp, by which it may be fixed to any part of the table, A B.

To use the dissecting table.

Let the operator sit with his left side near a light window; the instrument being placed on a firm table, the side, D L, towards his breast, the observations should be made with the left eye: this position is well adapted for observing, drawing, or writing. In dissecting, the two elbows are to be supported by the table on which the instrument rests, the hands resting against the board, A B, in order to give it greater stability, as a small shake, though imperceptible to the naked eye, is very visible in the microscope; the dissecting instruments are to be held one in each hand, between the thumb and two fore-fingers. Farther directions are given on the mode of dissecting small objects in the following chapter.

DR. WITHERING’S BOTANICAL MICROSCOPE. Plate VI. Fig. 1.

This small instrument consists of three brass parallel plates, A, B, C; two wires, D and E, are rivetted into the upper and lower plate; the middle plate or stage is moveable on the aforesaid wires, by two little sockets which are fixed to it. The two [124] upper plates each contain a magnifying lens, but of different powers; one of these confines and keeps in their places the fine point F, the forceps G, and the small knife H.

To use this instrument, unscrew the upper lens, and take out the point, the knife, and the forceps; then screw the lens on again, place the object on the stage, and then move it up or down till you have gained a distinct view of the object, as one lens is made of a shorter focus than the other; and spare lenses of a still deeper focus are sometimes added. The principal merit of this microscope is its simplicity.

THE POCKET BOTANICAL AND UNIVERSAL MICROSCOPE.

This pocket instrument is represented at Plate VI. Fig. 2. It is by most naturalists deemed preferable to Dr. Withering’s, being equally simple, more extensive in its application, and the stage unincumbered; though that of M. Lyonet seems better adapted than either to the purposes of dissection only.

A B, a small arm, carrying three magnifiers, two fixed to the upper part, as at B, the other to the lower part of the arm, at C; these may be used separately or combined together, by which you have seven powers. The arm, A B, is supported by the square pillar I K, the lower end of which fits into the socket, E, of the foot, F G; the stage, D L, is made to slide up and down the square pillar. H, a mirror for reflecting light on the object.

To use this microscope, place the object on the stage, L, reflect the light on it from the mirror H, and regulate it to the focus, by moving the stage nearer to or further from the lenses at B C. The ivory sliders pass under the stage, L; other objects may be fixed in the nippers, M N, and then brought under the magnifiers; or they may be laid on one of the glasses fitted to the stage. The [125] apparatus to this instrument consists of three ivory sliders, a pair of nippers, a pair of forceps, a flat glass, and a concave ditto, all fitted to the stage, L. By taking out the pin, M, the pillar, I K, may be turned half round, and the foot, F G, made to answer as an handle. [37]

[37] An adjusting screw, Fig. 13*, to move the stage, with other additions, are made by Messrs. Jones; and which then, in my opinion, constitute the most complete pocket microscope hitherto made; for the particulars of which, I refer the reader to their printed description. Fig. 14, represents the common flower or insect microscope. There are two lenses, a and b , that are used separately or conjointly. Edit.

BOTANICAL MAGNIFIERS.

Since botany has been cultivated with so much ardor, it has been found necessary to contrive some very portable instrument, by which the botanist might investigate the object of his pursuits as it rises before him. Plate VIII. Fig. 7 and 8, represent two of the most convenient sort.

In the tortoiseshell case, Fig. 7, three lenses are contained, d , e , f , of different foci, which are all made to turn into the case, and may be used combined or separately. The three lenses in themselves afford three different magnifying powers; by combining two and two, we make three more; and the three together make, a seventh magnifying power. When the three lenses are used together, it is best to turn them into the case, and look through the hole, for more distinctness, and the exclusion of superfluous light. In the case, Fig. 8, are also three lenses, g , h , i , of different magnifying powers, that all turn up, and shut into the case; but these are not capable of combination.

DESCRIPTION OF A PORTABLE MICROSCOPE AND TELESCOPE. Plate VIII. Fig. 1, to 6.

The telescope is one of those which are composed of several sliding drawers or tubes, for the convenience of being put into the [126] pocket; the sliding tubes are made of thin brass, the outside tube of mahogany. The sliding tubes are contrived to stop, when drawn out to a proper length, so that by applying one hand to the outside tube, and the other hand to the end of the smallest tube, the telescope may at one pull be drawn out to its full length; then any of the tubes (that next the eye is most generally used) may be pushed in gradually, while you are looking through it, till the object is rendered distinct to the eye. To make the tubes slide properly, they all pass through short springs or tubes; these springs may be unscrewed from the ends of the sliding tubes, by means of the milled edges which project above the tubes, and the tubes taken from each other if required, and the springs set closer if at any time they be too weak.

Fig. 5 represents the exterior tube of the telescope, which is to be unscrewed from the rest, at m l , as it does not make any part of the microscope; the cover, k , which protects the object-glass, serves also as a box to contain two ivory wheels, Fig. 1 and 2, with the objects, and a small mirror, Fig. 6.

Fig. 4 is a view of this cover when taken off: unscrew the top part of it, and the mirror, Fig. 6, may be taken out; unscrew the cover of the lower part, and you will find therein the two circular object-wheels above mentioned.

Fig. 3 represents the three internal tubes of the telescope, which constitute the microscopic part thereof. Draw the tubes out in the manner as shewn in the figure; then at the inside, but at the lower end of the exterior tube, a, you will find a short tube, which serves as a stage to hold the object and support the mirror; pull this tube partly out, and turn it, so that a circular hole which is pierced in it may coincide with a similar hole in the exterior tube. This tube is represented as drawn out at Fig. 3, [127] the mirror, Fig. 6, placed therein at b c , and the transparent object-wheel fixed at a.

Fig. 1 represents the slider with transparent objects.

Fig. 2, that with the opake. They are made of ivory, and turn on a pin at the center; the slit end of this pin fits on the edge of the tube, which is then to be pushed up, so that the lower end of the exterior tube may bear lightly on the upper side of the slider, agreeable to the view which is given at a, Fig. 3. Now push down the second tube till the milled part falls on the milled edge of the extreme tube, being careful of the circular hole in the exterior one. Nothing now remains to be done but to adjust for the focus, which is effected by pushing in the tube R, and moving only the first, n .

The instrument may be used in two ways for transparent objects: first, in a vertical position, when the light is to be thrown on the object by the mirror, b c ; or it may be examined by looking up directly at the light; in the latter case the mirror must be taken away. In viewing opake objects the mirror is not used; as much light as possible must be admitted on them through the circular holes of the tubes. Any object may be viewed by first pushing in the tube, R, and then bringing the tube, n , to its focal distance from the object. The telescope, when shut up, is about eight inches in length, and when drawn out, is about twenty inches. It is of the achromatic construction.

DESCRIPTION OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR CUTTING THIN TRANSVERSE SECTIONS OF WOOD, Plate IX. Fig. 1.

It consists of a wooden base, which supports four brass pillars; on the top of the pillars is placed a flat piece of brass, near the [128] middle of which there is a triangular hole. A sharp knife which moves in a diagonal direction, is fixed on the upper side of the afore-mentioned plate, and in such a manner, that the edge always coincides with the surface thereof. The knife is moved backwards and forwards by means of the handle, a . The piece of wood is placed in the triangular trough, which is under the brass plate, and is to be kept steady therein by a milled screw which is fitted to the trough; the wood is to be pressed forward for cutting, by the micrometer screw, b . The pieces of wood should be applied to this instrument immediately on being taken out of the ground, or else they should be soaked for some time in water, to soften them, so that they may not hurt the edge of the knife. When the edge of the knife is brought in contact with the piece of wood, a small quantity of spirit of wine should be poured on the surface of the wood, to prevent its curling up; it will also make it adhere to the knife, from which it may be removed by pressing a piece of blotting paper on it.

Fig. 2, is an appendage to the cutting engine, which may be used instead of the micrometer screw, being by some practitioners preferred to it. It is placed over the triangular hole, and kept flat down upon the surface of the brass plate, while the piece of wood is pressed against a circular piece of brass which is on the under side of it. This circular piece of brass is fixed to a screw, by which its distance from the flat plate on which the knife moves may be regulated. [38]

[38] Many other kinds of cutting engines have been constructed, but the specimens from them have not yet appeared with that perfection which is requisite to this sort of objects; whether it lies in the preparation of the woods, or engine, I do not take upon me to determine. Mr. Custance has certainly produced the most exquisite. Edit.

CHAP. IV. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE MICROSCOPE AND PREPARING THE OBJECTS.

A s the advantages which are obtained from any instrument are considerably increased, if it be used by a person who is master of its properties, attentive to its adjustments, and habituated by practice to the minutiæ of management, it is the design of this chapter to point out those circumstances which more peculiarly require the attention of the observer, and to give such plain directions, as may enable him to examine any object with ease; to shew how he may place it in the best point of view, and if necessary, prepare it for observation.

A small degree of diligence will render the observer master of every necessary rule, and a little practice will make them familiar and habitual: the pains he takes to acquire these habits will be rewarded by an increasing attachment to his instrument, and the wonders it displays. Let him only persevere till he has overcome the natural indolence that opposes the advancement of every kind of knowledge, and he will most assuredly find himself very amply recompensed, by the gratification arising from the acquisition of a science that has the unlimited treasures of INFINITE WISDOM for the object of its researches: and his mind [130] being strengthened by the victory it has gained, will be more keen in perceiving, and more patient in the investigation of truth.

It has long been a complaint, [39] that many of those who purchase microscopes are so little acquainted with their general and extensive usefulness, and so much at a loss for objects to examine by them, that after diverting themselves and their friends some few times with what they find in the sliders, which generally accompany the instrument, or perhaps two or three common objects, the microscope is laid aside as of little further value: whereas no instrument has yet appeared in the world capable of affording so constant, various, and satisfactory an entertainment to the mind. This complaint will, I hope, be obviated by these Essays, in which I have endeavoured to make the use of the microscope easy, point out an immense variety of objects, and direct the observer how to prepare them for examination.

[39] Baker’s Microscope made Easy, p. 51.

The subject treated of in this chapter naturally divides itself into three heads: the first describes the necessary preparation and adjustment of the microscope; the second treats of the proper quantity of the light, and the best method of adapting it to the objects under examination; and the third shews how to prepare and preserve the various objects, that their nature, organization, and texture, may be properly understood.

OF THE NECESSARY PREPARATION OF THE MICROSCOPE FOR OBSERVATION.

We have in the last chapter explained those particulars that constitute the difference of one microscope from another, and shewn the manner of using each instrument, and how the several [131] parts are to be applied to it. We shall now proceed to give some general directions applicable to every microscope. The observer is therefore supposed to have made himself master of his instrument, and to know how to adapt the different parts of the apparatus to their proper places.

The first circumstance necessary to be examined into, is, whether the different glasses belonging to the microscope are perfectly clean or not; if they be not clean, they must be taken out and wiped with a piece of wash leather, taking care at the same time not to soil the surface of the glass with the fingers: in replacing the glasses, you must also be careful not to lay them in an oblique situation, to place the convex sides as before, and if one glass be taken out, wiped, and replaced before the next, it may prevent the misplacing of them by an unskilful hand.

The object should be brought as near the center of the field of view as possible, for there only will it be exhibited in the greatest perfection.

The eye should be moved up and down from the eye-glass of a compound microscope, till you find that situation where the largest field, and most distinct view of the object is obtained; and as the sight differs very much in different persons, and even in the same person, we frequently find each eye to have a different sight from the other, particularly in those called myopes, or short-sighted, every one ought to adjust the microscope to his own eye, and not depend upon the situation in which it was placed by another.

Care must be taken not to let the breath fall upon the eye-glass, nor to hold that part of the body of the microscope where [132] the glasses are placed with a warm hand, because the damp that is expelled from the metal by the heat will be attracted and condensed by the glasses, and obstruct the sight of the object.

The observer should always begin with a small magnifying power; with this he will gain an accurate idea of the situation and connection of the whole, and will therefore be less liable to form any erroneous opinion, when the parts are viewed separately by a deeper lens. By a shallow magnifier he will also discover those parts which merit a further investigation. Objects that are transparent will bear a much greater magnifying power than those that are opake.

Every object should, if possible, be examined first in that position which is most natural to it: if this circumstance be neglected, very inadequate ideas of the structure of the whole, as well as of the connection and use of the parts, will be formed. If it be a living animal, care must be taken not to squeeze, hurt, or discompose it.

There is a great difference between merely viewing an object by the microscope, and investigating its nature: in the first, we only consider the magnified representation thereof; in the second, we endeavour to analyse and discover its nature and relation to other objects. In the first case, we receive the impression of an image formed by the action of the glasses; in the second, we form our judgment by investigating this image. It is easy to view the image which is offered to the eye, but not so easy to form a judgment of the things that are seen; an extensive knowledge of the subject, great patience, and many experiments, will be found necessary for this purpose: for there are many circumstances where the images seen may be very similar, though originating [133] from substances totally different; it is here the penetration of the observer will be exercised, to discover the difference, and avoid error. [40]

[40] Fontana sur les Poisons, vol. ii, p. 245.

Hence Mr. Baker cautions us against forming too suddenly an opinion of any microscopic object, and not to draw our inferences till after repeated experiments and examinations of the objects, in all lights and various positions; to pass no judgment upon things extended by force, or contracted by dryness, or in any manner out of a natural state, without making suitable allowances.

The true colour of objects cannot be properly determined when viewed through the deepest magnifiers; for, as the pores and interstices of an object are enlarged, according to the magnifying power of the glasses made use of, the component parts of its substance will appear separated many thousand times farther asunder than they do to the naked eye; it is, therefore, very probable, that the reflection of the light from these particles will be very different, and exhibit different colours.

Some consideration is also necessary in forming a judgment of the motion of living creatures, or even of fluids, when seen through the microscope; for as the moving body, and the space wherein it moves, are magnified, the motion will also be increased.

If an object be so opake as not to suffer any light to pass through it, as much as possible must be thrown on its upper surface, by that part of the apparatus which is peculiarly adapted to opake objects. As the apertures of deep magnifiers are but small, and consequently admit but little light, they are not proper for [134] the examination of opake objects: this, however, naturally leads us to our second head.

OF THE MANAGEMENT OF THE LIGHT.

The pleasure arising from a just view of a microscopic object, the distinctness of vision, &c. depend on a due management of the light, and adapting the quantity of it to the nature of the object, and the focus of the magnifier; therefore, an object should always be viewed in various degrees of light. It is difficult to distinguish in some objects between a prominency and a depression, between a shadow and a black stain; and in colour, between a reflection and a whiteness; a truth which the reader will find fully exemplified in the examination of the eye of the libellula, and other flies, which will be found to appear exceedingly different in one position of the light from what they do in another.

The brightness of an object depends on the quantity of light; the distinctness of vision, on regulating the quantity to the object; for some will be lost and drowned, as it were, in a quantity of light that is scarce sufficient to render another visible, as a different portion of light under the same apparatus will often exhibit in perfection, or totally conceal an object in the substance to be examined. This is more particularly the case with the animalculæ infusoriæ, whose thin and transparent form blend as it were with the water in which they swim; the degree of light must therefore be suited to the object, which, if dark, will be seen best in a strong and full light, but if very transparent, it should be examined in a fainter.

A strong light may be thrown on an object various ways: first, by means of the sun and a convex lens; for this purpose, place [135] the microscope about three feet from a southern window; take a deep convex lens, that is mounted in a semicircle and fixed on a stand, so that its position may be easily varied; place this lens between the object and the window, so that it may collect a considerable number of the solar rays, and refract them on the object, or the mirror of the microscope. If the light thus collected from the sun be too powerful, it may be tempered by placing a piece of oil paper, or a glass lightly greyed, between the object and the lens: by these means, a convenient degree of light may be obtained, and diffused in an equal manner over the whole surface of an object, a circumstance that should be particularly attended to; for if the light be thrown in an irregular manner, that is, larger portions of it on some parts than on others, it will not be distinctly exhibited.

Where the solar light is preferred, it will be found very convenient to darken the room, and to reflect the rays of the sun on the above mentioned lens, by means of the mirror of a solar microscope fitted to the window-shutter; for, by this apparatus, the observer will be enabled to preserve the light on his object, notwithstanding the motion of the sun.

Cutting off the adventitious light as much as possible, by darkening the room where you are using the microscope, and admitting the light only through a hole in the window-shutter, or at most, keeping one window only open, will also be found very conducive towards producing a distinct view of the object.

As the motion of the sun, and the variable state of our atmosphere, render solar observations both tedious and inconvenient, it will be proper for the observer to be furnished with a large tin lanthorn, made something like the common magic lanthorn, fit to [136] contain one of Argand’s lamps. [41] The lanthorn should have an aperture in front, that may be moved up and down, and capable of holding a lens; by this a pleasing uniform dense light may be easily procured. The lamp should move on a rod, that it may be readily elevated or depressed. The lanthorn may be used for many other purposes, as for viewing of pictures, exhibiting microscopic objects on a screen, &c.

[41] The lamp should not be of the fountain kind, because the rarefaction of the air in the lanthorn will often force the oil over.

Many transparent objects are seen best in a weak light; among these we may place the prepared eyes of flies and animalculæ in fluids; the quantity of light from a lamp or candle may be lessened by removing the microscope to a greater distance from them, or it may be more effectually lessened by cutting off a part of the cone of rays that fall on the object, either by placing the cone, as already described with the apparatus to different microscopes, under the stage, or by forming circular apertures of black paper of different sizes, and placing either a large or small one on the reflecting mirror, as occasion may require.

There is an oblique position of the mirrors, and consequently of the light, which is easily acquired by practice, but for which no general rule can be given, that will exhibit an object more beautifully and more distinctly than any other situation, shewing the surface, as well as those parts through which the light is transmitted.

A better view of most objects is obtained by a candle or lamp than by day-light; it is more easy to modify the former than the latter, and to throw it on the object with different degrees of [137] density. From what has been said, the reader will have observed the importance of being able to examine the object in the greatest variety of positions and appearances, which cannot be effected with equal convenience by any microscope, but the improved lucernal.

OF THE PREPARATION OF OBJECTS FOR THE MICROSCOPE.

In the preparation of objects, no man was more successful or more indefatigable than Swammerdam. In minutely anatomizing, in patiently investigating, and in curiously exhibiting the minute wonders of the creation, he stands unrivalled, far exceeding all those that preceded, as well as those which have succeeded him. Deeply impressed and warmly animated by the amazing scenes that he continually discovered, his zeal in pursuit of truth was not to be abated by disappointment, or alarmed by difficulty; and he was never satisfied till he had attained a rational and clear idea of the organization of the object, whose structure he wished to explore; his “Book of Nature,” of which a translation was published by Dr. Hill, is a work of such vast extent of knowledge, and so excellent in execution, as to raise the highest admiration in even a superficial observer.

It is much to be regretted, that we are ignorant of the methods he employed in his investigations. To discover these, the great Boerhaave examined with a scrupulous attention all the letters and manuscripts of Swammerdam, and has communicated the result of his researches, which, though but small, may enable us to form some idea of his immense labours in the field of science.

For dissecting of small insects he had a brass table, which was made by that excellent artist, S. Musschenbroeck; to this table [138] were affixed two brass arms, moveable at pleasure to any part of it. The upper portion of these arms was constructed so as to have a slow vertical motion, by which means the operator could readily alter their height, as he saw most convenient to his purpose; the office of one of these arms was to hold the minute bodies, and that of the other to apply the lens or microscope.

His microscopes or lenses were of various foci, diameters, and sizes, from the least to the greatest, and the best that could be procured in regard to the exactness of the workmanship, and transparency of the substance. His mode was, to begin his observations with the smallest magnifiers, and from thence proceed by degrees to the greatest. Formed by nature, and habituated by experience, he was so incomparably dexterous in the management of these instruments, that he made every observation subservient to the next, and all tend to confirm each other, and complete the description.

His chief art seems to have been in constructing very fine scissars, and giving them an extreme sharpness: these he made use of to cut very minute objects, because they dissected them equally; whereas knives and lancets, let them be ever so fine and sharp, are apt to disorder delicate substances, as in going through them, they generally draw after and displace some of the filaments. His knives, lancets and styles, were so very fine, that he could not see to sharpen them without the assistance of a magnifying glass; but with them he could dissect the intestines of bees with the same accuracy and distinctness that the most celebrated anatomist does those of large animals. He was particularly expert in the management of small glass tubes, which were no thicker than a bristle, and drawn to a very fine point at one end, but thicker at the other. These he made use of to shew and blow [139] up the smallest vessels discovered by the microscope, to trace, distinguish, and separate their courses and communications, or to inject them with very subtil coloured liquors.

He used to suffocate the insects in spirit of wine, in water, or spirit of turpentine, and likewise preserved them for some time in these liquids; by which means he kept the parts from putrefaction, and consequently from collapsing and mixing together; and added to them besides such strength and firmness, as rendered the dissections more easy and agreeable. When he had divided transversely with his fine scissars the little creature he intended to examine, and had carefully noted every thing that appeared without further dissection, he then proceeded to extract the viscera in a very cautious and deliberate manner, with other instruments of great fineness; first taking care to wash away and separate with very fine pencils, the fat with which insects are very plentifully supplied, and which always prejudices the internal parts before it can be extracted. This operation is best performed upon insects while in the nympha state.

Sometimes he put into water the delicate viscera of the insects he had suffocated; and then shaking them gently he procured himself an opportunity of examining them, especially the air vessels, which by these means he could separate from all the other parts whole and intire, to the great admiration of all those who beheld them; as these vessels are not to be distinctly seen in any other manner, or indeed seen at all without damaging them, he often made use of water, injected by a syringe, to cleanse thoroughly the internal parts, then blew them up with air and dried them, and thus rendered them durable, and fit for examination at a proper opportunity. Sometimes he has examined with the greatest success, and made the most important discoveries in insects that he had preserved in balsam, and kept for years together [140] in that condition. Again, he has frequently made punctures in other insects with a very fine needle, and after squeezing out all their moisture through the holes made in this manner, he filled them with air, by means of very slender glass tubes, then dried them in the shade, and last of all anointed them with oil of spike, in which a little rosin had been dissolved; by which process they retained their proper forms a long time. He had a singular secret, whereby he could so preserve the nerves of insects, that they used to continue as limber and perspicuous as ever they had been.

He used to make a small puncture or incision in the tail of worms, and after having gently and with great patience squeezed out all their humours, and great part of their viscera, he then injected them with wax, so as to give and continue to them all the appearance of healthy vigorous living creatures. He discovered that the fat of all insects was perfectly dissoluble in oil of turpentine; thus he was enabled to shew the viscera plainly; only after this dissolution he used to cleanse and wash them well and often in clean water. He frequently spent whole days in thus cleansing a single caterpillar of its fat, in order to discover the true construction of this insect’s heart. His singular sagacity in stripping off the skin of caterpillars that were upon the point of spinning their cones, deserves particular notice. This he effected by letting them drop by their threads into scalding water, and suddenly withdrawing them; for, by these means the epidermis peeled off very easily; and when this was done, he put them into distilled vinegar and spirit of wine, mixed together in equal portions, which, by giving a proper firmness to the parts, gave him an opportunity of separating them with very little trouble from the exuviæ, or skins, without any danger to the parts; so that by this contrivance, the nymph could be shewn to be wrapped up in the caterpillar and the butterfly in the nymph. Those who [141] look into the works of Swammerdam, will be abundantly gratified, whether they consider his astonishing labour and unremitted ardour in these pursuits, or his wonderful devotion and piety. On one hand, his genius urged him to examine the miracles of the great Creator in his natural, productions; whilst, on the other, the love of that same all-perfect Being rooted in his mind struggled hard to persuade him that God alone, and not the creatures, were worthy of his researches, love, and attention.

M. Lyonet always drowned first those insects he intended to anatomize, as by these means he was enabled to preserve both the softness and transparency of the parts. If the insect, &c. be very small, for instance one-tenth of an inch, or a little more in length, it should be dissected in water, on a glass which is a little concave; if, after a few days, there be any fear that the insect will putrefy, it should be placed in weak spirit of wine, instead of water. In order to fix the little creature, it must be suffered to dry, and then be fastened by a piece of soft wax; after which it may be again covered with water.

Larger objects require a different process; they should be placed in a small trough of thin wood; the bottom of a common chip box will answer very well, by surrounding the edge of it with soft wax, to keep in the water or spirit of wine. The insect is then to be opened, and if the parts be soft, like those of a caterpillar, they should be turned back and fixed to the trough by small pins; the pins are to be set by a pair of small nippers, the skin being stretched at the same instant by another pair of finer forceps; the insect must then be placed in water, and dissected therein, and after two or three days it should be covered with spirit of wine, which should be renewed occasionally; by these means the subject is preserved in perfection, and its parts may be gradually unfolded, without any other change being perceived [142] than that the soft elastic parts become stiff and opake, and some others lose their colour.

M. Lyonet used the following instruments in his curious dissection of the caterpillar of the cossus. As small a pair of scissars as could be made, the arms long and fine; a small and sharp knife, the end brought to a point; a pair of forceps, the ends of which had been so adjusted, that they would easily lay hold of a spider’s thread or a grain of sand. But the most useful instruments were two fine steel needles, fixed in small wooden handles, about 2- 3 ⁄ 4 of an inch in length.

An observation of Dr. Hooke’s may be very useful if attended to, for fixing objects intended to be delineated by the microscope. He found no creature more troublesome to draw than the ant or pismire, not being able to get the body quite in a natural posture. If, when alive, its feet were fettered with wax or glue, it would so twist and twine its body, that it was impossible any way to get a good view of it; if it was killed, the body was so small, that the shape was often spoiled before it could be examined. It is the nature of many minute bodies, when their life is destroyed, for the parts to shrivel up immediately; this is very observable in many small plants, as well as in insects; the surface of these small bodies, if porous, being affected by almost every change of the air, and this is particularly the case with the ant. But if the little creature be dropped in well rectified spirit or wine, it is immediately killed; and when taken out, the spirit of wine evaporates, leaving the animal dry and in its natural posture, or at least so constituted, that you may easily place it with a pin in what posture you please. [42]

[42] Hooke’s Micrographia, p. 203.

Having thus given a general account of the methods used by Swammerdam and Lyonet, in their examination and dissection of insects, we shall proceed to shew how to prepare several of their parts for the microscope, beginning with the WINGS . Many of these are so transparent and clear, as to require no previous preparation; but the under wings of those that are covered with elytra, or crustaceous cases, being constantly folded up when at rest, they must be unfolded before they can be examined by the microscope; for this purpose a considerable share of dexterity and some patience is necessary, for the natural spring of the wings is so strong, that they immediately fold themselves again, except they are carefully prevented.

One of the most curious and beautiful wings of this kind, is that of the FORFICULA AURICULARIA , or EARWIG , of which we have given a drawing, Plate XIV. Fig. 1, represents it considerably magnified, and Fig. 2, the same object of its natural size. When expanded, it is a tolerably large wing, yet folds up under a case not one-eighth part of its size. It is very difficult to unfold these wings, on account of their curious texture. They are best opened immediately after the insect is killed. Hold the earwig by the thorax, between the finger and thumb; then with a blunt-pointed pin endeavour gently to open the wing by spreading it over the fore-finger, gradually sliding at the same time the thumb over it. When fully expanded, separate it from the insect by a sharp knife, or a pair of scissars. The wing should be pressed for some time between the thumb and finger before it be removed; it may then be placed between two pieces of paper, and again pressed for at least an hour; after which it may be put between the talcs without any danger of folding up again.

The wings of the NOTONECTA , or BOAT-FLY , and other water insects, as well as most species of the grylli, require equal care [144] and delicacy with that of the earwig to display them properly.

The wings of BUTTERFLIES and MOTHS are covered with very minute scales or feathers, that afford a beautiful object for the microscope; near the shoulder, the thorax, the middle of the wing, and the fringes of the wings, they are generally intermixed with hair. The scales of one part, also, often differ in shape from those of another; they may be first scraped off or loosened from the wing with a knife, and then brushed into a piece of paper with a camel’s hair pencil; the scales may be separated from the hairs with the assistance of a common magnifying glass.

The proboscis of insects, as of the CULEX or GNAT , the TABANUS or BREEZE-FLY , &c. requires much attention and considerable care to be dissected properly for the microscope; and many must be prepared before the observer desides upon the situation and shape of the parts; he will often also be able to unfold in one specimen some parts that he can scarce discover in another. It is well known that the COLLECTOR OF THE BEE forms a most beautiful object; a figure of it is given in plate XIII. Fig. 3, shews it greatly magnified, and Fig. 4, of the natural size. In it is displayed a most wonderful mechanism, admirably adapted to collect and extract the various sweets from flowers, &c. To prepare this, it should first be carefully washed with spirit of turpentine, by which means it will be freed from the unctuous and melliferous particles which usually adhere to it; when dry, it must be again washed with a camel’s hair pencil, to disengage and bring forward the small hairs which form one part of its microscopic beauty.

The case which encloses THE STING OF THE BEE , the wasp, and the hornet, are so hard, that it is very difficult to extract [145] them without breaking or otherwise injuring them. It will be found, perhaps, the best way to soak the case, and the rest of the apparatus for some time in spirit of wine or turpentine, then lay it on a piece of clean paper, and with a blunt knife draw out the sting, holding the sheath by the nail of the finger, or by any blunt instrument; great care is requisite to preserve the feelers, which when cleaned add much to the beauty of the object.

The EYES OF THE LIBELLULA or DRAGON-FLY , and different flies, of the LOBSTER , &c. are first to be cleaned from the blood and other extraneous matter; they should then be soaked in water for some days, after which you may separate one or two skins from the eye, which, if they remain, render it too opake and confused; some care is, however requisite in this separation, otherwise the skin may be made too thin, so as not to enable you to form an accurate idea of its organization.

The EXUVIÆ or CAST-OFF OF SKINS of insects are in general very pleasing objects, and require but little preparation. If they be curled or bent up, keep them in a moist atmosphere for a few hours, and they will soon become so relaxed that you may extend them with ease to their natural positions. The steam of warm water answers the purpose very well.

The BEARD OF THE LEPAS ANATIFERA or BARNACLE is to be soaked in clean soft water, and frequently brushed, while wet, with a camel’s hair pencil; it may then be left to dry; after which it must be again brushed with a dry pencil, to disengage and separate the hairs, which are apt to adhere together. A picture of this object is represented in plate XIII. Fig. 1, magnified; Fig. 2, natural size.

To view the MUSCULAR FIBRES , take a very thin piece of dried flesh, lay it upon a slip of glass, and moisten it with warm water; when this is evaporated, the vessels will appear plain and more visible, and by repeated macerations the parts may be further disengaged.

To examine FAT , BRAINS , and other similar substances, we are advised by Dr. Hooke to render the surface smooth, by pressing it between two thin plates of flat glass, by which the substance will be made much thinner and more transparent; otherwise, the parts lying thick one upon the other, it appears confused and indistinct.

Some substances are, however, so organized, that if their peculiar form be altered, the parts we wish to discover are destroyed; such as nerves, tendons, muscular fibres, pith of wood, &c. Many of these are best to be examined while floating in some convenient transparent fluid. For instance, very few of the fibres of any of the muscles can be discovered when they are viewed in the open air; but if placed in water or oil, great part of their wonderful fabric may be discovered. If the thread of a ligament be viewed in this manner, it will be seen to consist of an indefinite number of smooth round threads lying close together.

Objects of an elastic nature should be pulled or stretched out while they are under the microscope, that the texture and nature of those parts, whose figure is altered by being thus pulled out, may be more fully discovered.

To examine BONES with the microscope. These should first be viewed as opake objects; afterwards, by procuring thin sections, they should be looked at as if transparent. The sections [147] should be cut in all directions, and be well washed and cleaned; a degree of maceration will be useful in some cases. Or the bones may be put in a clear fire till they are red hot, and then taken out; by these means the bony cells will appear more conspicuous and visible, being freed from extraneous matter.

To examine the PORES OF THE SKIN . First, cut or pare off with a razor as thin a slice as possible of the upper skin; then cut a second from the same place; apply the last to the microscope.

The SCALES OF FISH should be soaked in water for a few days, and then be carefully rubbed, to clean them from the skin and dirt which may adhere to them.

To procure the scales of the eel, which are a great curiosity, and the more so, as the eel was not known to have any, till they were discovered by the microscope, take a piece of the skin of the eel that grows on the side, and while it is moist spread it on a piece of glass, that it may dry very smooth; when thus dried, the surface will appear all over dimpled or pitted by the scales, which lie under a sort of cuticle or thin skin; this skin may be raised with the sharp point of a penknife, together with the scales which will then easily slip out, and thus you may procure as many as you please. [43]

[43] Martin’s Micrographia Nova, p. 29.

On the lizard, the guana, &c. are two skins; one of these is very transparent, the other is thicker and more opake; by separating these we procure two beautiful objects.

The LEAVES of many trees, and some plants, when dissected, form a very pleasing object. To dissect them, take a few of the [148] most perfect leaves you can find, and place them in a pan with clean water; let them remain three weeks or a month without changing the water, then take them up, and try if they feel very soft, and appear almost rotten; if so, they are sufficiently soaked. You are then to lay them on a flat board, and holding them by the stalk, draw the edge of the knife over the upper side of the leaf, which will take off most of the skin; turn the leaf, and do the same with the under side. When the skin is taken off on both sides, wash out the pulpy matter, and the fibres will be exhibited in a beautiful manner. By slitting the stalk you may separate the anatomized leaf into two parts. The skins that are peeled from the fibres will also make a very good object. The autumn is the best season for the foregoing operation, as the fibres of the leaves are much stronger at that season, and less liable to break.

Ores and MINERALS should all be carefully washed and cleansed with a small brush, to remove any extraneous matter that may adhere to them. Shells may be ground down on a hone, by which their internal structure will be displayed.

To view the circulation and examine the particles of the blood. The principal part the observer must aim at, in order to view the circulation of the blood, is to procure those small animals or insects that are most transparent, that by seeing through them he may be enabled to discover the internal motion. The particular kinds best adapted for the purpose will be enumerated in the descriptive catalogue at the end of this work.

If a small eel be used for this purpose, it must be cleansed from the slime which covers it; after which it maybe put either in the fish-pan, or a glass tube filled with water, and then placed under the microscope. If the eel be small enough, the circulation may be viewed in the most satisfactory manner. Leeuwenhoeck [149] has given, in his 112th Epistle, an accurate description of the blood vessels in part of the tail of an eel. The same figure may also be seen in my father’s Micrographia Illustrata, fourth edition, Plate XVII . The tail of any other small fish may be applied in the same manner, or tied on a slip of flat glass, and be thus laid before the microscope. Flounders, eels, and gudgeons, are to be had at almost any time in London. N. B. By filling the tube with water, when an eel is used, it will in a great measure prevent the sliminess of the eel from soiling the glass.

To view the particles of the blood, take a small drop of it when warm, and spread it as thin as possible upon a flat piece of glass. By diluting it a little with warm water, some of the larger particles will divide from the smaller, and many of them will be subdivided into still smaller; or a little drop of blood may be put into a capillary tube of glass, and be then presented before the microscope. Mr. Baker advises the mixing the blood with a little warm milk, which he says, will cause the unbroken particles to be very distinctly seen. But the most accurate observer of these particles was Mr. Hewson, and he says they have been termed globules with great impropriety, being in reality flat bodies. When we consider how many ingenious persons have been employed in examining the blood with the best microscopes, it appears surprizing that the figure of the particles should be mistaken; but the wonder is lessened when we reflect how many obvious things are overlooked, till our attention is particularly directed towards them; and besides, the blood in the human subject, and in quadrupeds, is so full of these particles, that it is with great difficulty they can be seen separate, until the blood is diluted. It was by discovering a proper method to effect this, that Mr. Hewson was indebted for his success. He diluted the particles with serum, in which they would remain undissolved, and as he could dilute them to any degree with the serum, he could easily [150] examine the particles distinct from each other; for example, take a small quantity of the serum of the human blood, and shake a piece of crassamentum in it, till it be coloured a little with the red particles; then with a soft hair pencil spread a little of it on a piece of thin glass, and place this glass under the microscope, in such a manner as not to be quite horizontal, but rather higher at one end than the other; by which means the serum will flow from the higher to the lower extremity, and as it flows, some of the particles will be found to swim on their flat sides, and will appear to have a dark spot in the middle; others will turn over from one side to the other, as they roll down the glass.

Several authors have described an apparatus for viewing the circulation of the blood in the mesentery of a frog; but as the cruelty attendant on these kinds of investigations would deprive the humane reader of a great part of the gratification which might otherwise result from them, he will probably rest satisfied with the accounts of such experiments to be met with in authors; especially as there is an abundant variety of objects on which he may exercise his ingenuity without sacrificing the nicer feelings of humanity. [44]

[44] Whatever right mankind may claim over the lives of every creature that is placed in a subordinate rank of being to themselves, in respect of food and self-defence, as well as for the improvement of science, and their judicious and ingenious application to the various purposes of use and ornament in human life, we certainly cannot, on the principles of reason and justice, assert a privilege to gratify a wanton curiosity, or the sports of an inordinate fancy, by the exercise of an unnecessary cruelty over them. The immortal Shakspeare , in a passage which has often been quoted, says,

It may, however, be doubted whether this particular instance is strictly conformable to fact; different animals certainly possess different degrees of sensibility, and some are consequently more susceptible of pain than others. It is a remarkable circumstance that the Hippobosca equina, or Horse-fly, will live, run, nay even copulate, after being deprived of its head; most flies will survive that loss for some time, and the loss of a leg or two does not prevent their appearing as lively and alert as if they had sustained no injury. Many insects, on being caught, will freely and voluntarily part with their limbs to escape; and it is well known that lobsters shed their claws. Numbers of other instances might be adduced, but on this subject it may be prudent not to enlarge.

Montaigne remarks, that there is a certain claim of kindness and benevolence which every species of creatures has a right to, from us. It is to be regretted, that this general maxim is not more attended to in the affairs of education, and pressed home upon tender minds in its full extent and latitude; the early delight which children discover in tormenting different animals should by all possible means be discouraged, as, by being unrestrained in such sports, they may at least acquire a habit of confirmed inattention to every kind of suffering but their own, if not progressively be led to the perpetration of more atrocious acts of cruelty. The supreme court of judicature at Athens thought an instance of this sort not below its cognizance, and punished a boy for putting out the eyes of a poor bird that had unhappily fallen into his hands; and the inimitable Hogarth , “the great painter of mankind,” has in his “Five Stages of Cruelty,” admirably depicted the consequences which may result from an early indulgence of a propensity towards cruelty.

In order to awaken as early as possible in the minds of children an extensive sense of humanity, it might be prudent to indulge them with a view of several sorts of insects as magnified by the microscope, and to explain to them that the same marks of divine wisdom prevail in the formation of the minutest insect, as in the most enormous leviathan; that they are equally furnished with whatever is necessary, not only for the preservation, but the happiness of their beings, in that class of existence which Providence has assigned them: in a word, that the whole construction of their respective organs distinctly and decisively, proclaims them the objects of divine benevolence, and therefore they justly ought to be so of ours. Edit.

OF ANIMALCULA IN INFUSIONS, &C.

These require little or no preparation. The first object is to procure them, the second, to render them visible by the microscope. A few observations, however, may be of use. Many drops of water may be examined before any can be found; so that if the observer be too hasty, he may be easily disappointed, though other parts of the same water may be fully peopled by them.

The surface of infused liquors is generally covered with a thin pellicle, which is easily broken, but acquires thickness by standing; the greatest number of animalcula are generally to be found in this superficial film.

In some cases it is necessary to dilute the infusions; but this is always to be done with distilled water, and that water should be examined in the microscope before it is made use of: the neglect of this precaution has been a source of many errors.

Animalcula are in general better observed when the water is a little evaporated, as the eye is not confused, nor the attention diverted by a few objects. To separate one or two animalcula from the rest, place a small drop of water on the glass near that of the infusion; make a small neck or gutter between the two drops with a pin, which will join them together; then the instant you perceive that an animalculum has traversed the neck or gutter, and entered the drop, cut off the communication between the two drops.

To procure the eels in paste, boil a little flower and water, till it becomes of a moderate consistence; expose it to the air in an open vessel, and beat it together from time to time, to prevent the surface thereof from growing hard or mouldy; after a few days, especially in summer time, it will turn sower, then if it be examined with attention, you will find myriads of eels on the surface.

To preserve these eels all the year, you must keep the surface of the paste moist, by putting a little water or fresh paste from [153] time to time to the other. Mr. Baker advises a drop or two of vinegar to be put into the paste now and then. The continual motion of the eels, while the surface is moist, will prevent the paste getting mouldy. Apply them to the microscope upon a slip of flat glass, first putting on it a drop of water, taken up by the head of a pin, for them to swim in.

To make an infusion of pepper. Bruise as much common black pepper as will cover the bottom of an open jar, and lay it thereon about half an inch thick; pour as much soft water in the vessel as will rise about an inch above the pepper. The pepper and water are then to be well shaken together; after which they must not be stirred, but be left exposed to the air for a few days, when a thin pellicle will be formed on the surface of the water, containing millions of animalcula.

The observer should be careful not to form a judgment of the nature, the use, and the operations of small animalcula, from ideas which he has acquired by considering the properties of larger animals: for, by the assistance of glasses, we are introduced as it were into a new world, and become acquainted not only with a few unknown animals, but with numerous species thereof, which are so singular in their formation and habits, that without the clearest proofs even their existence would not be credited; and while they afford fresh instances of the Creator’s power, they also give further proofs of the limits and weakness of the human understanding.

DIRECTIONS FOR FINDING, FEEDING, AND PRESERVING THE POLYPES.

These little animals are to be found upon all sorts of aquatic plants, upon branches of trees, pieces of board, rotten leaves, [154] stones, and other substances that lie in the water; they are also to be met with upon the bodies of several aquatic animals, as on the water-snail, on several species of the monoculus, &c. they generally fix themselves to these by their tail, so that it is a very good method when you are in search of the polypes, to take up a great many of these substances, and put them in a glass full of water. If there be any polypes adhering to these, you will soon perceive them stretching out their arms, especially if the glass be suffered to be at rest for a while; for the polypes, which contract themselves on being first taken out of the water, will soon extend again when they are at rest.

They are to be sought for in the corners of ditches, puddles, and ponds, being frequently driven into these with the pieces of wood or leaves to which they have attached themselves. You may, therefore, search for them in vain at one period, in a place where at another they will be found in abundance. They are more easily perceived in a ditch when the sun shines on the bottom, than at another time. In winter they are seldom to be met with; about the month of May they begin to appear and increase.

They are generally to be found in waters which move gently; for neither a rapid stream, nor stagnant waters ever abound with them. As they are always fixed to some substance by their tails, and are very rarely loose in the water, taking up water only can signify but little; a circumstance which has probably been the cause of much disappointment to those who have searched for them.

The green polypes are usually about half an inch long when stretched out; those of the second and third sort are between three quarters of an inch and an inch in length, though some are to be found at times which are an inch and a half long.

Heat and cold has the same effect upon these little creatures, that it has upon those of a larger size. They are animated and enlivened by heat, whereas cold renders them faint and languid; they should therefore be kept in such a degree of heat, that the water may not be below temperate.

It is convenient for many experiments to suspend a polype from the surface of the water. To effect this, take a hair pencil in one hand, and hold a pointed quill in the other; with the pencil loosen the polype from the receiver in which it is kept, and gradually raise it near the top of the water, so that the anterior end may be next the point of the pencil; then lift it out of the water, and keep it so for a minute; after which, thrust the point of the pencil, together with the anterior end, by little and little under water, until no more than about the twentieth part of an inch of the polype’s tail remains above its surface; at this instant, with the pointed quill remove that part of the polype from the pencil which is already in the water, at the same time blowing against the polype, by which it will be loosened, and remain out of the water.

When the polypes were first discovered, Mr. Trembley had some difficulty to find out the food which was proper for them; but he soon discovered, that a small species of the millepede answered the purpose very well: the pulices aquatices have also been recommended. The small red worms, which are to be found on the mud-banks of the Thames, particularly near the shores, answer the purpose also, they are easily found when the tide is out, when they rise in such swarms on the surface of the mud, that it appears of a red colour. These worms are an excellent food for the polype. If a sufficient quantity be gathered in November, and put into a large glass full of water, with three or four inches of earth at the bottom, you will have a supply for the [156] polypes all the winter. They may also be fed with common worms, with the larva of gnats and other insects, and even with butcher’s meat, &c. if it be cut small enough.

River, or any soft water, agrees with them; but that which is hard and sharp prevents their thriving, and generally kills them in a few days. The worms with which they are fed should be always cleansed before you feed the polypes with them.

The polypes are commonly infested with little lice; from these it is necessary to free them, in order to preserve your polypes in a good state of health. They may be cleansed from the lice by rubbing them with a hair pencil; this cannot be easily done, unless they adhere to some substance: so that if they are suspended from the surface of the water, you must endeavour to get them to fix themselves to a piece of packthread; when they are fastened thereto, you may then rub them with a hair pencil, without loosening them from the thread.

The lice which torment the polype are not only very numerous, but they are also very large proportionably to its size: they may be said to be nearly as large with respect to them, as a common beetle is to us. If not rubbed off, they soon cover their bodies, and in a little time totally destroy them.

To preserve the polypes in health, it is also necessary often to change the water they are kept in, and particularly after they have done eating; it is not sufficient to pour the water off, all the polypes should be taken out, and the bottom and sides of the vessel rubbed from the slimy sediment adhering thereto; this is caused by their fæces, and is fatal to them if not cleaned away. The fæces often occasion a species of mortification, which daily increases; its progress may be stopped by cutting off the [157] diseased part. To take them out, first loosen their tails from the sides or bottom of the glass; then take them up one by one, with a quill cut in the shape of a scoop, and place them in another glass with clean water; if they cling to the quill, let it remain a minute or two in the water, and they will soon disengage themselves.

They are preserved best in large glasses that hold three or four quarts of water; for in a glass of this size the water need not be renewed so often, particularly, if the fæces are taken out from time to time with the feathered end of a pen, to which they readily adhere; and further, the trouble of feeding each individual is in some measure saved, as you need only throw in a parcel of worms, and let the polypes divide them for themselves.

To observe with accuracy the various habitudes, positions, &c. of this little animal, it will be necessary to place some of them in narrow cylindrical glasses; then, by means of the microscope, Fig. 3. Plate VI. you may observe them exerting all their actions of life with ease and convenience; the facility with which the lens of the fore-mentioned microscope may be moved and placed in any direction, renders it a most convenient instrument for examining any object that requires to be viewed in water.

It is also very proper to dry some of them, and place them between talcs in a slider; this, however requires some dexterity and a little practice; though, when executed with success, it fully rewards the pains of the observer. Choose a proper polype, and put it into a small concave lens, with a drop of water; when it is extended, and the tail fixed, pour off a little of the water, and then plunge it with the concave into some spirit of wine contained in the bowl of a large spoon; by this it is instantly killed, the [158] arms and body contracting more or less; rub it gently while in the spirit with a small hair pencil, to cleanse it from the lice.

The difficulty now begins; for the parts of the polype, on being taken out of the spirit, immediately cling together, so that it is not practicable to extend the body, and separate the arms on the talc, without tearing them to pieces; therefore the only method is, to adjust them upon the talc while in the spirit: this may be done by slipping the talc under the body of the polype, while it lies in the spirit, and displaying its arms thereon by the small hair pencil and a pair of nippers; then lift the talc, with the polype upon it, out of the spirit; take hold of it with the nippers in the left hand, dip the pencil in the spirit with the right hand, and therewith dispose of the several parts, that they may lie in a convenient manner, at the same time brushing away any lice that may be seen upon the talc; now let it dry, which it does in a little time, and place the talc carefully in the hole of the slider. To prevent the upper talc and ring pressing on the polype, you must cut three pieces of cork, about the bigness of a pin’s head, and the depth of the polype, and fix them by gum in a triangular position, partly on the edges of the said talc, and partly to the sides of the ivory hole itself; the upper talc may then be laid on these corks, and pressed down by the ring as usual. [45]

[45] Baker on the Polypes.

OF VEGETABLES.

It were to be wished a satisfactory account could here be given of all the preparations which are requisite to fit for the microscope the objects of the vegetable kingdom. Dr. Hill is the only writer who has handled this subject. I shall, therefore, extract from his [159] “Treatise on the Construction of Timber,” what he has said; this, together with the improvements I have made on the cutting engine, will enable the reader to pursue the subject and extend it further, both for his own pleasure, and the advantage of the public.

THE MANNER OF OBTAINING THE PARTS OF A SHOOT SEPARATE.

In the beginning of April, take a quantity of young branches from the scarlet oak, and other trees. These are first cut into lengths, of the growth of different seasons; and then part is left entire, part split, and the rest quartered. In this state they are put into a wicker basket, with large openings, or of loose work, and a heavy stone is put in with them; a rope is tied to the handle of the basket, and it is thrown into a brook of running water: at times it is taken up, and exposed a little to the air; it is frequently shook about under water, to wash off filth; and once in ten days the sticks are examined.

By degrees the parts loosen from one another, and by gentle rubbing in a bason of water just warmed, they will be so far separated, that a pencil brush will perfect the business, and afford pieces of various sizes, pure, distinct, and clean. One part will in this way separate at one time, and another, at another; but by turning the sticks to the water, and repeating the operation, in the course of four or five weeks every part may be obtained distinct. They are best examined immediately; but if any one wish to preserve them for repeated inquiries, it may be done in this manner: dissolve half an ounce of alum in two quarts of water; drop the pieces thus separated, for a few moments, into this solution, then dry them upon paper, and put them up in vials of spirit of wine, no other fluid being so well adapted to preserve these tender bodies.

TO PREPARE THE RIND FOR OBSERVATION.

As the vessels of the rind are of different diameters in various trees, though their construction and that of the blebs is perfectly the same in all, it will be best to choose for this purpose the rind of a tree wherein they are largest. The rind of the ash-leaved maple is finely suited. A piece of this may be obtained of two inches long, and will very successfully answer the intention. Such a piece being prepared without alum or spirit, but dried from the water in which it had been macerated, it is to be impregnated with lead in the following manner, to shew the apertures by their colour.

Dissolve one drachm of sugar of lead in an ounce and an half of water; filter this through paper, and pour it into a tea-cup. Clip off a thin slice of what was the lower end of the piece of rind as it grew on the tree, and plunge it near an inch deep into the liquor; keep it upright between two pieces of stick, so that one half or more may be above the water; whelm a wine-and-water glass over the tea-cup, and set the whole in a warm place. When it has stood two days, take it out, clip off all that part which was in the liquor, and throw it away.

The circumstances here mentioned, trivial as they may seem, must be attended to: the operation will not succeed, even if the covering-glass be omitted; it keeps a moist atmosphere about the rind, and makes its vessels supple.

While this is standing, put into a bason two ounces of quick lime, and an ounce of orpiment; pour upon them a pint and an half of boiling water; stir the whole together, and when it has stood a day and a night, it will be fit for use. This is the [161] “liquor probatorius vini” of some of the German chymists; it discovers lead when wines are adulterated with it, and will shew it any where.

Put a little of this liquor in a tea-cup, and plunge the piece of rind half way into it.

In the former part of this experiment, the vessels of the rind have been filled with a solution of lead, that makes of itself no visible alteration in them; but this colourless impregnation, when the orpiment lixivium gets to it, becomes of a deep brown; the vessels themselves appear somewhat the darker for it; but these dots, which are real openings, are now plainly seen to be such, the colour being perfectly visible in them, and much darker than in the vessels. This object must be always viewed dry.

If a piece of the rind, thus impregnated, be gently rubbed between the fingers, till the parts are separated, we shall be able in one place or other, to get a view of the vessels all round, and of the films which form the blebs between them.

Every part of the rind, and every coat of it, even the interstitial place between its innermost coat and bark, are filled with a fine fluid. The very course and progress of the fluid may be shewn in this part, even by an easy preparation; only that different rinds must be sought for this purpose, the vessels in some being larger than in others. Repeated trials have shewn me that the whole progress may be easily marked in the three following kinds, with only a tincture of cochineal.

Put half an ounce of cochineal, in powder, into half a pint of spirit of wine; set it in a warm place, and shake it often for four days; then filter off the clear tincture. Put an inch depth of [162] this into a cup, and set upright in it pieces of the rind of ash, white willow, and ozier, prepared as has been directed, by maceration in water; for in that way one trouble serves for an hundred kinds. Let an inch of the rinds also stand up out of the tincture. After twenty-four hours take them out, clip off the part which was immersed in the fluid, and save the rest for observation.

TO PREPARE THE BLEA.

Cut the pieces in a fit season, either just before the first leaves of Spring, or in the Midsummer shooting time. Then we see all the wonders of the structure; the thousands of mouths which open throughout the course of these innumerable vessels, to pour their fluid into the interstitial matter.

These vessels, which are in nature cisterns of sap for the feeding the growth of the whole tree, are so large, that they are capable of being filled with coloured wax, in the manner of the vessels in anatomical injections; and this way they present pleasing objects for the microscope, and afford excellent opportunities of tracing their course and structure.

A METHOD OF FILLING THE SAP VESSELS OF PLANTS.

A great many shoots of the scarlet and other oaks are to be taken off in the Spring; they must be cut into pieces of about two inches in length, and immediately from the cutting they must drop into some warm rain water: in this they are to stand twenty-four hours, and then be boiled a little. When taken out, they are to be tied on strings, and hung up in a place where the air passes freely, but the sun does not shine. When they are perfectly dry, a large quantity of green wax, such as is used for the seals of law deeds, is to be gently melted in an earthen pipkin [163] set in water; the water to be heated and kept boiling. As soon as the wax runs, the sticks are to be put in, and they are frequently to be stirred about. They must be kept in this state about an hour, and then the pipkin is to be taken out of the water, and set upon a naked fire, where it is to be kept with the wax boiling for two or three hours; fresh supplies of the same wax being added from time to time.

After this it is to be removed from the fire, and the sticks immediately taken out with a pair of nippers; when they are cold, the rough wax about them is to be broken off. Both ends of each stick are to be cut off half an inch long, and thrown away, and the middle pieces saved. These are then to be cut in smaller lengths, smoothed at the ends with a fine chissel, and many of them split in various thicknesses.

Thus are obtained preparations, not only of great use, but of wonderful beauty. Many trees this way afford handsome objects as well as the oak; and in some, where the sap vessels are few, large, and distinct, the split pieces resemble striped satins, in a way scarce to be credited. It is in such that the outer coats of these vessels are most happily of all to be examined.

THE METHOD OF PREPARING SALTS AND SALINE SUBSTANCES, FOR THE VIEWING THEIR CONFIGURATIONS.

Dissolve the subject to be examined in no larger a quantity of river or rain water than is sufficient to saturate it; if it be a body easily dissoluble, make use of cold water, otherwise make the water warm or hot, or even boiling, according as you find it necessary. After it is perfectly dissolved, let it rest for some hours, till, if over-charged, the redundant saline particles are precipitated, [164] and settle at the bottom, or shoot into crystals; by which means you are most likely to have a solution of the same strength at one time as at another; that is, a solution fully charged with as much as it can hold up, and no more; and by these precautions the configurations appear alike, how often soever tried: whereas, if the water be less saturated, the proportions, at different times, will be subject to more uncertainty; and if it be examined before such separation and precipitation of the redundant salts, little more will be seen than a confused mass of crystals.

The solution being thus prepared, take up a drop of it with a goose quill, cut in fashion of a scoop, and place it on a flat slip of glass, of about three quarters of an inch in width, and between three and four inches long, spreading it on the glass with the quill, in either a round or oval figure, till it appears a quarter of an inch or more in diameter, and so shallow as to rise very little above the surface of the glass. When it is so disposed, hold it as level as you can over the clear part of a fire that is not too fierce, or over the flame of a candle, at a distance proportionable to the degree of heat it requires, which experience only can direct, and watch it very carefully till you discover the saline particles beginning to gather and look white, or of some other colour, at the extremities of the edges; then having adjusted the microscope before-hand for its reception, armed with the fourth glass, which is the fittest for most of these experiments, place it under your eye, and bring it exactly to the focus of the magnifier; and after running over the whole drop, fix your attention on that side where you observe any increase or pushing forwards of crystalline matter from the circumference towards the center.

This motion is extremely slow at the beginning, unless the drop has been over-heated, but quickens as the water evaporates, [165] and in many kinds, towards the conclusion, produces configurations with a swiftness inconceivable, composed of an infinity of parts, which are adjusted to each other with an elegance, regularity, and order, beyond what the exactest pencil in the world, guided by the ruler and compass, can ever equal, or the most luxurious imagination fancy.

When action once begins, the eye cannot be taken off, even for a moment, without losing something worth observation; for the figures alter every instant, till the whole process is over; and in many sorts, after all seems at an end, new forms arise, different entirely from any that appeared before, and which probably are owing to some small quantity of salt of another kind, which the other separates from, and leaves to act after itself has done; and in some subjects three or four different sorts are observable, few or none being simple and homogeneous.

When the configurations are fully formed, and all the water evaporated, most kinds of them are soon destroyed again by the moisture or action of the air upon them; their points and angles lose their sharpness, become uneven and defaced, and moulder as it were away; but some few are permanent, and by being inclosed between glasses, they may be preserved months or even years.

It happens oftentimes that a drop of a saline solution can hardly be spread on the slip of glass, by reason of the glass’s smoothness, but breaks into little globules, as it would do were the surface greasy: the way to prevent this is, by rubbing the broken drop with your finger over the glass, so as to leave the glass smeared with it; on which smeared place, when dry, another drop of the solution may be spread very easily in whatever form is agreeable.

It sometimes happens, that when a heated drop is placed properly for examination, the observer finds such a cloudiness that he can distinguish nothing of the object; which is owing to saline steams that arise from the drop, covering and obscuring the object glass, and therefore must immediately be wiped away with a soft cloth or leather.

In all examinations of saline solutions by the microscope, even though made in the day-time, you must use a candle; for the configurations, being exceedingly transparent, are rendered much more distinguishable by the brown light a candle affords, than by the more white and transparent day-light; and besides, either by moving the candle, or turning the microscope, such light may be varied or directed just as the subject requires.

It may be also proper to take notice, that no kinds of microscopes are fit for these observations, but such as have an open stage, whereon the slips of glass, with the liquor upon them, may be placed readily, and in a perfect horizontal position; and moreover, where they can be turned about freely, and without disordering the fluid.

CHAP. V. THE IMPORTANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY; OF INSECTS IN GENERAL, AND OF THEIR CONSTITUENT PARTS.

T here is no human science which to a rational mind exhibits a greater variety of attractions, or which is more deserving of general esteem, than that of NATURAL HISTORY ; accordingly we find, that from the earliest times in which the sciences have been promulgated, it has never been entirely destitute of its votaries; but, on the contrary, has for ages employed the lives of many learned men, as being, in fact, the study of DIVINE WISDOM displayed in the creation: the farther our researches are carried, the more striking proofs of it every where abound. In the present century, an æra particularly devoted to investigation, and propitious to discovery and improvement in various branches of science, Natural History, so far from being neglected, has been more generally cultivated, and pursued with an ardor unprecedented at any former period. Men of the first rank in literature have become indefatigable labourers in the vast and unbounded field which it presents to the eyes of an accurate and attentive observer. The animal, the vegetable, and the mineral kingdoms, have been examined with the utmost care; that confusion and perplexity which seemed unavoidably to result from a view of the immense variety of articles contained in each of those departments, [168] and which frequently deterred persons from engaging in the pursuit, have been in a great measure removed by the introduction of systematic arrangement; by these means, the various subjects are distributed into classes and genera, enabling us to form distinct and comprehensive ideas of them. To the same methodical plan, and the nicety of discrimination thence arising, we must attribute the discovery and description of many new species; this has excited an emulation still farther to pursue the inquiry, nor need any apprehension be entertained that the subject will be exhausted, as, no doubt, an infinite variety still remains unexplored to engage the utmost attention of the philosophic mind, and fully to compensate the pains bestowed on so interesting a branch of knowledge.

Of the abundance of articles enumerated in books of Natural History, there are comparatively few, whose uses are as yet known, or their properties fully understood. The true naturalist should always bear in mind that there is a vast difference between retaining the names, and investigating the nature and peculiar qualities of the creatures to which they belong. It is highly proper, indeed necessary, that the multifarious objects of Natural History should be well ascertained and distinguished with nicety in all their varieties; the science and admirers of it are, therefore, unquestionably indebted to the able naturalists who have devoted their time, and exercised their ingenuity in devising commodious methods of arrangement, and invented systems for identifying the several subjects with accuracy, and less danger of fallacy or mistake: but all who are, or would wish to be thought naturalists, ought to consider, that the best possible mode of classification is, after all, but an introduction to Natural History. The ingenious and indefatigable Linnæus , who spent his life in fabricating the curious system now generally adopted, intended it certainly for the improvement of the science, as a basis for the service of knowledge [169] and the benefit of mankind; let us be cautious not to mistake the means for the end, but in the prosecution of the science, think of the true ends of knowledge, and endeavour to promote our own instruction, and the advancement of others, with a view to the adoration of that DIVINE BEING to whom all creation is indebted for existence, and their application to the occasions and uses of life, all along conducting and perfecting the study in the spirit of benevolence.

The study of nature, or in other words, a serious contemplation of the works of GOD , is indeed a great and proper object for the exercise of our rational faculties; nor can we perhaps employ them better, than in endeavouring to make ourselves acquainted with the works of that glorious Being from whom they were received.

Though there is a great deal of pleasure in contemplating the material world, or that system of bodies into which the DIVINE ARCHITECT has so admirably wrought the mass of dead matter, with the several relations which those bodies bear to one another; there is still something more wonderful and surprizing arising from the contemplation of the animated world; by which is to be understood all those animals with which every part of the universe is furnished. The material world is only the shell of the universe; the animated world are its inhabitants.

Existence is a blessing to those beings only which are endowed with perception, and appears useless when bestowed upon dead matter, any farther than as it is subservient to beings which are conscious of their existence. Thus we find, from the bodies which lie under our observation, that matter is only made as the basis and support of animals, and that there is no more of the one than what is necessary for the exigence of the other.

There are some living creatures which are raised but just above dead matter; there are many others, but one remove from these, which have no other senses but those of feeling and taste; others have still an additional sense of hearing; others of smell, and again others of sight. It is wonderful to observe, by what a gradual progress life advances through a prodigious variety of species, before a creature is formed that possesses all these senses; and even among these, there is such a different degree of perfection in the senses which one animal enjoys beyond what appears in another, that, though the sense in different animals be distinguished by the same common denomination, it seems almost of a different nature. If, after this, we look into the several inward qualities of sagacity, or what is generally called instinct, we find them rising after the same manner imperceptibly one above another, and receiving additional improvements, according to the species in which they are implanted. This progress in nature is so very gradual, that what appears to us the most perfect of an inferior species, comes very near to the most imperfect, as we are accustomed to call it, of that which is immediately above it.

The exuberant and overflowing goodness of the SUPREME BEING , whose mercy extends to all his works, is plainly seen, as before observed, from his having made so very little matter, at least what falls within our knowledge, that does not swarm with life; nor is his goodness less visible in the diversity than in the multitude of living creatures. Had he only made one species of animals, none else could have enjoyed the happiness of existence; he has, therefore, included in his creation, every degree of life, every capacity of being. The whole chasm of nature, from a plant to a man, is filled up with diverse kinds of creatures, rising one above another, by such a gentle and easy ascent, that the little transitions and deviations from one species to the other are almost insensible. This intermediate space is so prudently managed, [171] that there is scarce a degree of perception which does not appear in some one part of the animated world. Is the goodness or the wisdom of the DIVINE BEING more manifest in this his proceeding?

In this system of creation there is no creature so wonderful in its nature, and which so much merits our particular attention, as man, who fills up the middle space between the animal and intellectual nature, the visible and invisible world; and is that link, in the chain of beings, which has been often termed the “nexus utriusque mundi.” So that he, who in one respect being associated with angels and arch-angels, may look upon a BEING of infinite perfection as his father, and the highest order of spirits as his brethren, may, in another respect, say to corruption, “Thou art my father, and to the worm, thou art my mother and my sister.” [46]

[46] Spectator, Vol. vii. Numb. 519.

There are, however, many who form their judgments of the works of nature from external appearance only; hence they imagine, that the greatest and most magnificent are the only perfect parts of creation, and worthy of our regard. Hence they confine their attention to the more splendid and shining branches of philosophy, and are too apt to treat the other parts with coolness and indifference, not to say contempt.

But surely a true philosopher is one who diligently pursues the study of nature in all its branches; who can behold with admiration her noblest productions, yet view with pleasure the smallest of her works: in short, one who thinks every thing excellent that owes its formation to the GOD of nature; and we need only take a transient view of the smaller creatures with which the [172] earth is peopled, to discover that they are perfect in their kind, and carry about them as strong marks of infinite wisdom, power, and beneficence as the greatest. It has been justly said, “that there is not a vegetable that grows, nor an insect that moves, but what is sufficient to confound the Atheist, and to afford the candid observer endless materials for devout adoration and praise.”

If we examine insects with attention, we shall soon be convinced of their divine origin, and survey with admiration the wonderful art and mechanism of their structure, wherein such a number of vessels, parts, and movements are collected in a single point; yet are they furnished with weapons to seize their prey, dexterity to escape their foes, every thing requisite to perform the business of their stations, and enjoy the pleasures of their conditions. What a profusion of the richest ornaments and the gayest colours are often bestowed on one little insect! and yet there are thousands of others that are as beautiful and wonderful in their kind; some are covered with shining coats of mail, others are adorned with plumes of feathers, all of them furnished with every thing that is proper to make them answer the purposes for which they were designed.

“After an attentive examination of the nature and fabric of both the least and largest animals, I cannot,” says the great and excellent Swammerdam, “but allow the less an equal, perhaps a superior degree of dignity; whoever duly considers the conduct and instinct of the one, with the manners and actions of the other, must acknowledge, that they are all under the direction and controul of a supreme and particular intelligence; which, as in the largest it extends beyond the limits of our comprehension, escapes our researches in the smallest. If, while we dissect with care the larger animals, we are filled with wonder at the elegant disposition of their limbs, the inimitable order of their muscles, [173] and the regular direction of their veins, arteries, and nerves, to what an height is our astonishment raised, when we discover all the parts arranged in the least, and in the same regular manner! How is it possible but we must stand amazed when we reflect, that those little animals, whose bodies are smaller than the point of the dissecting knife, have muscles, veins, arteries, and every other part common to the larger animals? Creatures so very diminutive, that our hands are not delicate enough to manage, or our eyes sufficiently acute to see them.”

The subserviency of the several beings in the visible creation to one another; the order in which each of them appears in that appointed season, when only it can be conducive to the purposes of the rest; and the preservation of a sufficient number of every species, amidst the immense havoc that reigns throughout, are, among other things, proofs of the amazing and incomprehensible wisdom by which they were all formed. With what pleasure does the mind, accustomed to look up from effects to their causes, from created beings to the GREAT SOURCE OF BEING , view that unbounded beneficence, which leaves not the smallest space, capable of supporting existence of any kind, unplanted with them. There is hardly any portion of matter, or the least drop of fluid naturally found on the surface of the earth, that is not inhabited by multitudes of animals; the subterraneous regions are peopled with their minute inhabitants, and the abyss of the sea, where no human eye can penetrate, abounds with animated beings.

The air is usually considered as the great source of destruction to bodies, whether animal or vegetable; but we do not always understand by what means or in what manner it is performed. What we term destruction and decay of one substance, occasions [174] the production and ripening a multitude of others; wherever the air is admitted, with it a thousand different things find their way; and what is usually attributed to the effects of that fluid, is in general occasioned by the multitudes of bodies with which it is fraught. Redi observed, that flesh preserved from the access of flies, would bread no maggots; and it is as constant an observation, that vegetable substances will keep a long time in whatever state they are, if the air be excluded; but as soon as it is admitted, they also produce or afford their several kinds either of animal, or minuter vegetable inhabitants. In the first of these cases, the parent flies make their way to the exposed flesh, and there deposit their eggs for the production of a new offspring; in the other, multitudes of the seeds of minute plants and ovula of animals are floating in the air, and accompany it wherever it enters; if they be thus deposited in a place proper for vegetation and accretion, they burst their inclosures, and attain their growth as regularly as the seeds of plants deposited in the earth, or the eggs of larger animals in the nest.

The same wisdom which placed the sun in the center of the system, and arranged the several planets around him in their order, has no less shewn itself in the provision made for the food and dwelling of every bird that roams in the air, and every beast that wanders in the desert; equally great in the smallest and in the most magnificent objects; in the star and in the insect; in the elephant and in the fly; in the beam that shines from heaven and in the grass that cloathes the ground. Nothing is overlooked, nothing is carelessly performed: every thing that exists is adapted with perfect symmetry to the end for which it was designed. This wisdom displayed by the Almighty in the creation, was not intended merely to gratify curiosity and to raise wonder; it ought to beget profound submission, and pious trust in every heart.

Histories of the providence and caution, the care and foresight of the most inconsiderable among animal beings, must surely ever be read with pleasure and attention, as conveying a most beautiful lesson to a reflecting mind; it is impossible for any one thus instructed to think that the Great Being, who has been so careful of those inferior creatures, can be regardless of him whom he has placed in a station infinitely more exalted. Throughout the whole system of things, we behold a manifest tendency to promote the benefit either of the rational or the animal creation. In some parts of nature, this tendency may be less obvious than in others. Objects, which to us seem useless or hurtful, may sometimes occur; and strange it were, if in so vast and complicated a system, difficulties of this kind should not occasionally present themselves to beings, whose views are so narrow and limited as ours. It is well known, that in proportion as the knowledge of nature has increased among men, these difficulties have diminished. Satisfactory accounts have been given of many perplexing appearances; useful and proper purposes have been found to be promoted by objects which were at first thought to be unprofitable or noxious. [47]

[47] The great beauty of the dye produced by the cochineal insect, and the medical virtues of the cantharis, have occasioned them to be considered as very extensive and valuable articles of commerce. The benefits derived from the bee and the silk-worm are universally known; and spiders, could a method be devised to induce them to live in harmony, might also be productive of very essential advantages to the human race. Edit.

Malignant must be the mind of that person; with a distorted eye he must have contemplated creation, who can suspect that it is not the production of infinite benignity and goodness. How many clear marks of benevolent intention appear every where around us? What a profusion of beauty and ornament is poured forth on the face of nature? What a magnificent spectacle presented to the view of man? What a supply contrived for his [176] wants? What a variety of objects set before him, to gratify his senses, to employ his understanding, to entertain his imagination, to cheer and gladden his heart? Indeed the very existence of the universe is a standing memorial of the goodness of the Creator; for nothing except goodness could originally prompt creation. No new accession of felicity or glory was to result to him from creatures whom he made: it was goodness communicating and pouring itself forth, goodness delighting to impart happiness in all its forms, which in the beginning created the heaven and the earth. Hence those innumerable orders of living creatures with which the earth is peopled, from the lowest class of sensitive being to the highest rank of reason and intelligence. Wherever there is life, there is some degree of happiness; there are enjoyments suited to the different powers of feeling; and earth, air, and water, are with magnificent liberality made to teem with life. [48]

[48] Blair’s Sermons.

Let us not then slight, or deem that unworthy our notice, in which immensity is so conspicuous; or that trivial, in which there is such a manifestation of infinite beneficence; but rather let those striking displays of creating goodness call forth, on our part, responsive love, gratitude, and veneration. To this Great Father of all existence and life, to Him who hath raised us up to behold the light of day, and to enjoy all the comforts which his world presents, let our hearts send forth a perpetual hymn of praise. Evening and morning let us celebrate Him who maketh the morning and the evening to rejoice over our heads; who “openeth his hand and satisfieth the desire of every living thing.” Let us rejoice that we are brought into a world, which is the production of infinite goodness; over which a supreme intelligence presides; and where nothing happens but by his divine [177] permission for the wisest purposes. Convinced that he hateth not the works which he hath made, nor hath brought creatures into existence merely to suffer unnecessary pain, let us even in the midst of sorrow, receive with calm submission whatever he is pleased to send; thankful for what he bestows; and satisfied that, without good reason, he takes nothing away.

Such, in general, are the effects which meditation on the works of the creation ought to produce. It presents such an astonishing conjunction of power, wisdom, and goodness, as we cannot behold without religious veneration.

In short, the world around us is the mighty volume wherein god hath declared himself; a picture wherein his perfections are displayed. The book of nature is written in a character that every one may read; it consists not of words, but things; it is a school where GOD is the teacher. All the objects of sense are as the letters of an universal language, in which all people and nations have a common interest; the Creator himself has made this use of it, revealing his will by it, and referring man to it for instruction. Hence the universal agreement between nature and revelation; hence, also, he that can understand GOD as the Fountain of truth and the Saviour of men in the holy scriptures, will be better enabled to understand and adore him as the fountain of power and goodness in the natural creation. Thus will philosophy and divinity go hand in hand, and shew that the world was made, as the scriptures were written, for our instruction; and that the creation of GOD is a school for Christians, if they use it aright. [49]

[49] It is a curious, though melancholy subject of contemplation, to observe how different have been the sentiments of learned and reputedly pious men in times less enlightened; a period when attention to, or compassion for, the animal creation could find no place in a breast that withheld and denied the mercy of God unto men; when mercy itself was deemed heresy! Even in prior and purer times it was affirmed that “It is absurd, and a disparagement to the majesty of GOD to suppose him to know how many insects there are in the world, or how many fishes in the sea; yea, that such an idea of the Omniscience of GOD would be foolish flattery to Him, and an injury to ourselves.” For the satisfaction of the learned reader, I shall here quote the original. “Absurdum est ad hoc Dei deducere Majestatem, ut sciat per momenta singula quot nascantur culices, quotve moriantur; quæ cimicum et pulicum et muscarum sit in terra multitudo; quanti pisces in aqua natent, et qui de minoribus majorum prædæ cedere debeant. Non simus tam fatui Adulatores Dei, ut dum potentiam ejus ad ima detrahimus in nos ipsos injuriosi simus.” Hieronymi Comment. in Abac. Lib. 1. Edit. Basil. Tom. vi. p. 187. Edit.

A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF INSECTS.

The subjects of that part of the creation we are now going to survey, merit our attention as exceeding the rest of animated nature in their numbers, the singularity of their appearance, and the variety of their forms. Earth, air, and water are filled with hosts of them. Being for the major part very small, and myriads so diminutive, as even to be imperceptible to the unassisted eye, our knowledge of them, and their component parts would be extremely circumscribed and imperfect, were it not for the advantages derived from the use of the microscope; but happily possessed of this valuable instrument, an inexhaustible source of entertainment and instruction is afforded to the curious inquirer into the wonders of nature. The beauties of the minuter parts of creation are not more hidden from our unassisted sight, than the ends and purposes of their œconomy from slight and superficial observation; the microscope does not more amaze and charm as with a discovery of the first, than the application of our faculties in investigating the latter.

The name of INSECT has been appropriated to these small animals on account of the sections or divisions that are observable in the bodies of the greatest part of them; though, perhaps, it is [179] impossible to find any precise term that shall embrace the whole genera, as many particulars must be described before we can attain an exact notion of these animals and their structure.

An insect is now generally defined to be, an animated being whose head is furnished with antennæ; that is destitute of bones, but which, instead thereof, is covered with a very hard skin; that has six or more feet; and that breathes through spiracula, or pores placed in the side of the body.

To be more particular, quadrupeds, birds, and fishes have an internal skeleton of bones, to which the muscles are affixed; but the whole interior body of insects is composed of soft flesh, and the muscles are attached to an external skeleton, serving the double purpose of skin and bone.

Insects are by most writers considered as divided into four principal parts: the caput, or head; the thorax, or trunk; the abdomen, or belly; and artus, or limbs. A perfect knowledge of these parts, and their several subdivisions, is requisite for those who are desirous of forming accurate ideas of these minute animals, or who wish to arrange them in their proper classes.

The head is affixed to the thorax by a species of articulation or joint; it is the principal seat of the senses, and contains the rudiments of the brain; [50] it is furnished with a mouth, eyes, antennæ, a forehead, a throat, and stemmata. In the greater part of insects the head is distinctly divided from the thorax, but in others it coalesces with it. The head of some insects is very large compared with the size of their bodies; the proportion between the head of the same insect is not always similar; in the [180] caterpillars with horny heads it is generally small, before they moult or change their skin, but much larger after each moulting. The hardness of the exterior part of the head prevents its growth before the change; it is, consequently, in proportion to the body very small; but when the insect is disposing itself for the change, the internal substance of the head retires inwards to the first ring of the neck, where it has room to expand itself; so that when the animal quits the skin, we are surprized with a head twice the former size; and, as the insect neither eats nor grows while the head is forming, there is this further circumstance to be remarked, that the body and the head have each their particular time of growth: while the head expands and grows, the body does not grow at all; when the body increases, the head remains of the same size, without any change. The heads of all kinds of insects, and their several parts, form very pleasing, as well as most diversified objects for the opake microscope.

[50] Fabricius Philos. Entomolog. p. 18.

Os, the mouth, is a part of the insect to which the naturalist will find it necessary to pay a very particular attention; Fabricius goes so far as to assert that, without a thorough knowledge of the mouth, its form, and various appendages, it will be impossible ever to discriminate with accuracy one insect from another. In the structure of the mouth considerable art and wisdom is displayed; the diversity of the figure is almost as great as the variety of species. It is usually placed in the forepart of the head, extending somewhat downwards; in the chermes, coccus, and some other insects, it is placed under the breast. In some insects, the mouth is forcipated, to catch, hold, and tear the prey; in others, aculeated, to pierce and wound animals, and suck their blood; in others, strongly ridged with jaws and teeth, to gnaw and scrape out their food, carry burdens, perforate the earth, nay the hardest wood, and even stones themselves, for habitations and nests for their young. Others are furnished with a kind of tube [181] or tongue, at one time moveable, at another fixed; with this they suck the juices of the flowers: in some again the tongue is so short, as to appear to us incapable of answering the purpose for which it was formed, and the oestri appear to have no mouth.

Maxillæ, the jaws, are generally two in number; in some, four; in others, more. They are sometimes placed in an horizontal, sometimes in a transverse direction; the inner edge is serrated, or furnished with small teeth, as in the cicada, nepa, notonecta, cimex, (bug,) aphis, and remarkably so in some curculeones.

The rostrum, or proboscis, is in general a very curious and complicated organ; it is the mouth drawn out to a rigid point. In many insects of the hemiptera class, it is bent down towards the breast and belly. It has by some writers been considered as serving at once the different purposes of mouth, nose, and windpipe, enabling the insect to extract the juices of plants, communicate the sensation of smelling, and convey air to the body.

Lingua, the tongue, is a taper and compact instrument, by which the insect obtains the juices of plants. Some can contract or expand it, others roll it up with dexterity; in some it is inclosed within a sheath. It is taper and spiral in the butterfly, tubular and fleshy in the fly; in all affording agreeable amusement for the microscope. To exemplify which in one or two instances, while it relieves the reader from the tediousness of narration, will, it is hoped, animate him to farther researches on the subject.

OF THE PROBOSCIS OF THE BEE.

Every day’s experience shews that the more we penetrate into the hidden recesses and internal parts of natural bodies, the more [182] we find them marked with perfection in form and design; of the truth of which observation the minute apparatus now to be described will, no doubt, ensure conviction. Swammerdam, when speaking thereof, breaks out into this pious and humble confession: “I cannot refrain,” says he, “from confessing to the glory of the Immense and Incomprehensible Architect, that I have but imperfectly described and represented this small organ; for, to represent it to the life in its full perfection, as truly most perfect it is, far exceeds the utmost efforts of human knowledge.”

From what has here been said, it will be easy to perceive, that the limits of these Essays will not permit our entering largely into a description of the minute parts of the proboscis of the bee; for an ample account of which recourse must be had to the works of Swammerdam and Reaumur. The last writer, like a skilful workman who takes to pieces a watch which he himself has made, exhibits to you the several parts of which it is composed, and explains their fitness, their adjustments, their uses, the play of the pivots, springs, and pillars; for all these parts, and many more, are to be found in the proboscis of a bee.

It is by this small instrument that the bee procures the food necessary for its subsistence. In a general view, it may be considered as consisting of seven pieces; one of these, i i, b c, Fig. 3. Plate XIII. is placed in the middle; this is supposed to be pervious, and to constitute what may be properly called the tongue; the other six smaller parts or sheaths, disposed in three pairs, are placed on each side of the former: they not only assist in extracting and gathering the honey from the flowers, but they also protect and strengthen the part. The proboscis itself is very curiously divided; the divisions are elegant and regular, and are beset all round with shaggy triangular fibres or villi, distributed in beautiful order: these divisions, though very numerous, appear [183] at first sight as a number of different articulations. The tongue, considered with respect to its length, may be said to have three articulations; one with the head, then a kind of cylindrical horny substance, which forms as it were a base for the true tongue, which is not horny, but soft, fleshy, and pliable. [51]

[51] Philos. Trans. for 1792, Part I.

The two pieces a a of the exterior sheath are of a substance partly between bone and horn, and partly membranaceous; they are set round with fibres, and are furnished with air vessels, which are distributed through their whole texture; the upper ends f f of this sheath appear to be a little bent, but can be straitened by the bee when they are applied to the proboscis. At d d are two articulations, by means of which the pieces a a may be occasionally bent. The joints contribute towards bending the proboscis downwards, or rather underneath, against the head. These sheaths, together with two interior ones e e, assist in defending, covering, and protecting it from injuries; it is also probable that they promote the descent of the honey, by pressing the proboscis. The parts k k of this sheath have been called by some writers the root.

The two parts e e of the interior sheath are placed higher than those of the exterior one; they originate at g g on the proboscis itself, and near that part or articulation, by which the bee can upon occasion bend the proboscis; this sheath, therefore, always moves with the middle part i i, and is carried forward by it, the exterior sheath being left behind, because its attachments and origin are below that of the proboscis. The pieces e e are very similar in structure to those of a a, only that each of them has on the upper part three joints, the lower one is much longer than the other two; they are all of them surrounded with short fibres. [184] The smaller articulated pieces never lie close to the proboscis, nor cover it, but are only placed near it, the two upper joints projecting outwards, as in this figure, even when the whole apparatus is shut up as much as possible. Swammerdam thinks these joints are of essential use to the bee, acting as it were in the manner of fingers, and assisting the proboscis, by opening the leaves of the flowers, and removing other obstructions from it; or like the two fore feet of the mole, by the help of which it pushes the earth from the sides both ways, that it may be able with its sharp trunk to search for its food more conveniently. There are two smaller pieces or sheaths, m m, near the bottom of the proboscis; these cannot be well seen without removing the sheath e e.

The proboscis is partly membranaceous, and partly of a gristly nature; the lower part is formed in such a manner, that it will swell out considerably, by which means the internal cavity may be prodigiously enlarged, and rendered capable of receiving a very large quantity of native and undigested honey, and larger than might be expected from its size. When the proboscis is shut up and inactive, it is very much flattened, and is three or four times broader than it is thick. The edges are always round; it grows tapering, though very gradually, towards the extremity. The lower and membranaceous part of the trunk has no fibres or villi on it, but is covered with little protuberant transparent pimples, that are placed in regular order, and at equal distances from each other, resembling the little risings observable on the skin of birds when the feathers have been plucked off. They are probably glandules, and may have a considerable share in changing or preparing the honey that is swallowed or taken up by the proboscis. Down the middle of the proboscis there is a tube of a much harder nature than the sides, it grows gradually smaller towards the top; at this place the tongue itself is extremely villous, having some very long villi at the point; whether they are open [185] tubes, or whether they only serve as so many claws, to keep it in its proper place while in action, has not been determined; Mr. John Hunter conceives them to act somewhat like capillary tubes.

The proboscis terminates in a small cylinder c, at the top of which there is a little globule or nipple; the bee can contract this cylindrical part, and the little membrane in which the villi are fixed, into a much smaller compass, and draw it inwards. The exterior sheaths lap over each other on the upper part, so that the outside of the proboscis is protected by a very strong double case, a covering that was unnecessary for the under part; because when this instrument is in use the sheaths are opened, but when it is inactive, it is so folded that the under part is protected by the body of the bee. Withinside the exterior sheath, and near the bottom q, are two levers, which are fixed to the end of the proboscis, and by which it is raised and lowered.

Swammerdam thinks that the honey is, as it were, pumped or sucked up by the bee through the hole at the end b of the tongue; he does not seem to have discovered the apertures which are on the cylindrical part, near the end b. But Reaumur is of opinion that it is used to lap up the fluid, which is then conveyed down between the sheath to the mouth of the bee. To ascertain this, he placed a bee in a glass tube, the inside of which was rubbed over with honey, and little pieces thereof placed in different parts; the bee placed the tongue on the honey; stretching the end beyond the piece thereof, she bent it into the form of a bow, and inserted the most convex part of the bow into the honey; by rubbing the glass backwards and forwards with this part, she soon cleaned that portion to which it was applied, conveying the honey afterwards to the throat by the vermicular motion of the tongue.

If you attentively observe a bee, when it has placed itself on a full-blown flower, the activity and address with which it uses this apparatus will be very conspicuous. It lengthens the end, and applies it to the bottom of the petals or leaves of the flower, moving it continually in a vast variety of different directions; lengthening and shortening, bending and turning it in every possible way, to adapt it to the form, &c. of the leaves of the flower. These various movements are executed with a promptitude that surpasses all description.

The whole of this curious apparatus can be folded up into a very small compass under the head and neck. The larynx, or that part next to the head, falls back into the neck, which brings the extreme end of the first portion of the proboscis within the upper lip, or behind the two teeth; then the whole of the second part is bent down upon and under the first part, and the two last sheaths or scales are also bent down over the whole; so that the true tongue is inclosed laterally by the two second horny sheaths, and over the whole lie the two first.

OF THE PROBOSCIS OF THE BUTTERFLY.

From the tongue of the bee, let us now direct our attention to that of the butterfly. This is a spiral substance, somewhat resembling the spring of a watch when wound up, consisting of eight rounds; by means of a pin you may gently pull it out to its full length; it grows gradually tapering from the base, at the end it divides or separates into two tubes, each furnished with little organs of suction; probably, it is by these that it extracts the juices on which it feeds, and not by the extreme ends of the tongue. As the butterfly has no mouth, the proboscis is the only alimentary organ; when separated from the insect, it will often [187] unroll itself, then wind and coil itself up again, continuing these motions at intervals for a considerable time.

OF THE PROBOSCIS OF THE CULEX OR GNAT.

The proboscis of the gnat consists of a great number of extremely delicate pieces, all concurring to one purpose; this is the instrument with which it strikes the flesh, and sucks the blood of animal bodies. The only part exhibited to the naked eye is the sheath, which contains all the other pieces. This sheath is a cylindrical tube, which is slit in such a manner, that the insect can separate it from the dart, and bend it more or less in proportion as the dart is plunged into the wound. From this tube the sting is darted, which consists of five or six blades or lancets of exquisite minuteness, lying one over the other; some of these are sharpened like a two-edged sword, while others are dentated and barbed at their extremities like the head of an arrow. The instant the gnat lances this bundle of darts into the flesh, and penetrates a vein, a drop or two of fluid is by it insinuated into the wound, by which the blood is attenuated, and the blades acting as so many capillary tubes, the blood ascends in them, and is conveyed into the body of the gnat. The injected fluid also by its fermentation causes that disagreeable and teazing sensation of itching, to which most persons are subjected, after having sustained an attack from one or more of these little animals. [52]

[52] To some persons the gnat (culex pipiens) is so truly formidable, that, during the Summer season, they constantly dread the approach of evening, that being the time when these blood-thirsty marauders sally forth in great numbers, pursue them wherever they go, and exempt no part of the face, hands, or even the legs from their depredations; the consequences of which are, violent, though happily only local and temporary inflammation, attended with insupportable itching, succeeded by tumors very similar to those occasioned by a scald; when these have discharged the pellucid fluid they contain, the symptoms subside. Instances have been known in the vicinity of London, where for several days the eyes of the sufferers have been closed, the nose and lips violently swelled, the fingers of both hands so affected as to prevent their motion, and the legs equally affected. It is remarkable, that in general those who thus suffer are not conscious of the moment when they receive the injury, but are soon made sensible of it by the effect it produces. The approach of the enemy is, however, always known by the singing or humming noise they make; the peculiar note of which, though rendered very familiar by daily repetition, is never esteemed sufficiently musical to render it pleasant or agreeable to the destined victims. Amongst the variety of remedies which have been recommended for the cure of this temporary evil, Barbut mentions the immediate application of volatile alkali, or scratching the part newly stung, and washing it with cold water; he likewise asserts, that rubbing the part at night with fuller’s earth and water abates the inflammation. As preventives are certainly more acceptable than curatives, I wish I were enabled to recommend such in the present case: in one instance, the application of vinegar every evening before sun-set produced a happy effect; possibly washing the parts exposed with extract of saturn properly diluted might prove effectual.

In the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1767, is an account of uncommonly numerous swarms of gnats which made their appearance at Oxford, during the months of July, August, and September of the preceding year. So many myriads sometimes occupied the same part of the atmosphere in contiguous bodies, that they resembled a very black cloud, greatly darkened the air, and almost totally interrupted the solar rays. The repeated bites of these malignant insects were so severe, that the legs, arms, heads, and other parts of many persons were swelled to an enormous size. The colour of the parts was red and fiery, perfectly similar to that of some of the most alarming inflammations. Some of these gnats had their bodies greatly distended by the uncommon quantities of blood which they had imbibed.

In short, there is no species of insects more troublesome to mankind than the gnat; others give more pain with their stings, but it is only when they are attacked, or by accident, that we are stung by them; but the gnats thirst for our blood, and follow us in whole companies to attack us. In marshy places of this country the limbs of the inhabitants are kept swelled during the whole season. In warmer climates, particularly the West Indies, they are, under the denomination of musquetoes, still more formidable.

Hooke, in his Micrographia, pleads in justification of these terrible little insects, that they do not wound the skin and suck the blood out of enmity or revenge, but through mere necessity, and to satisfy their hunger:—it may be so; and on this account we cannot annex the criminality to them which appertains to such of the highest rank in the scale of the animal creation, who, though not urged by the same powerful motive, pursue a somewhat similar conduct; but those who have experienced their assaults, will scarcely admit this plea as a sufficient apology, or feel themselves amicably disposed towards them; as, from whatever cause their attacks may proceed, the effect is so very unpleasant, as almost to justify the sufferers in addressing them in the language of the frogs in the fable to the boys, “Consider, I beseech ye, that though this may be sport to you, it is death to us,” and ejaculating a wish, that they might be enabled to gratify their rapacious appetites by some other means. Edit.

OF THE PROBOSCIS OF THE TABANUS OR OX-FLY.

Plate XVI. Fig. 1. is a microscopic view of the proboscis of a tabanus, with which it pierces the skins of horses and oxen, and nourishes itself with their blood; Fig. 2. the same of the natural size. The singular and compound structure, together with the wonderful form and exquisite beauty of this apparatus, discovers such a view of the wisdom, power, and greatness of its infinite composer, as must strike with admiration every contemplative observer, and lead him to reflect on the weakness, impotence, and nothingness of all human mechanism, when compared with the immense skill and inimitable finishing displayed in the subject before us. The whole of this formidable apparatus is composed of six parts, exclusive of the two guards or feelers a a, all of which are inclosed in a fleshy case, which in the figure is totally removed, as it contained nothing remarkably different from that [189] of other insects with two wings. The guards or feelers a a, are of a spungy or fleshy substance, and are grey, covered with short hairs or villi; they are united to the head by a little joint of the same texture, which in this view of the object could not be shewn. These guards are a defence to the other parts of the apparatus, as they are laid upon it side by side, whenever the animal stings, and by that means preserve it from external injury. The two lancets b b and B, evidently open the wound, and are of a delicate and tender structure, formed like the dissecting knife of the anatomist, with a sharp point and slender edge, but gradually increasing to the back. The two instruments, c c and C, appear as if intended to enlarge the wound, by irritating the parts round it; to accomplish which, they are jagged or serrated; they may also serve, from their hard and horny texture, to defend the tube e E, which is of a softer nature and tubular to admit the blood, and convey it to the stomach; this delicate part is inclosed in a [190] case d D, which entirely covers it. These parts are drawn separately at B, C, D, E. De Geer observes, that it is only the female that sucks the blood of animals; and Reaumur declares, that having made one disgorge itself, the blood it threw up, appeared to him to be more than the whole body of the insect could have contained.

Many other instances of the variety and curious fabrication of this little organ in different insects, may be found in the works of Reaumur and De Geer; enough has been said to shew that its mechanism not only eludes the human eye, but far surpasses every work of man; I shall therefore proceed, in the next place, to notice

THE ANTENNÆ OF INSECTS.

The antennæ are fine slender horns consisting of several articulations, moveable in various directions, and constituting one of the discriminating characteristics of insects. They are beautiful in form, and of a very delicate structure, so finely articulated, and so minutely jointed, as to be instantaneously moveable in every direction. They are situated on the fore part of the head.

The shape, the length, the number, and kind of articulations, not only vary in different species, but the antennæ of the male generally differ from those of the female. The greater number of insects have only two antennæ, but the oniscus, the pagurus, and astacus have four. Regular rows of minute holes are said to have been discovered in the antennæ. Several insects cover their eyes with them while they sleep.

We are far from being certain of the use of this organ; some writers have conjectured that they were the organs of smell and [191] hearing, others have supposed them appropriated to a delicate species of feeling, sensible to the least motion or disturbance in the circumambient fluid in which they move. [53] The following observations throw some light on this obscure subject. When a wingless insect is placed at the end of a twig, or in any other situation where it meets with a vacuity, it moves the antennæ backward and forward, elevates and depresses them from side to side, and will not advance further lest it should fall. Place a stick or any other substance near the antennæ, and the insect immediately applies them to this new object, seems to examine whether it be sufficient to support its weight, and then proceeds on its journey. From these observations it would appear that the antennæ assist the insect in judging of the vicinity of objects, and probably enable them to walk with safety in the dark.

[53] Some have thought them intended to defend the eyes, but though this might seem probable in regard to the short plumose ones, it can never hold good in those that are slender and smooth, which can be of no such service. Others have thought them made for wiping and cleaning the eyes, but for this purpose they are totally unfit; the fore legs of the insect are much better calculated for this use by the hairs or fibrilla with which they are covered. Possibly they may be the organs of smelling, since we evidently find that many insects possess this sense in a very exquisite degree, and yet we see no external organs except these to serve that purpose. Edit.

That these observations are not, however conclusive, appears from an experiment of a very ingenious naturalist: being desirous of ascertaining the nature and use of the antennæ and proboscis of a butterfly, he gently approached one that was flying about in search of food; he observed that it turned the antennæ about every way, till coming within scent of a flower, it kept them fixedly bent toward that object, directing its course by their guidance, till it arrived at the flower; there they appeared to act as an organ of smell, and that the minute holes with which it is furnished assisted in promoting this operation. When the creature had reached the flower, it hovered over it as with rapture, [192] poising itself quietly upon its wing, like a kite or hawk in the air; it then dropped suddenly, till it was on a level with the flower, when it began to agitate its wings briskly and to unroll its spiral trunk, thrusting it to the bottom of the flower; in a little time the trunk was rolled up, and again in a moment unrolled; these operations it repeated till the flower yielded no more juices, the butterfly then sought for and alighted on another. [54]

[54] After all, this subject must for the present remain undecided. Indeed, the bodies of insects are throughout formed of parts so different from ours, that we can probably conceive no more idea of the use of some of their organs, than a man born blind or deaf can of the senses of vision or hearing. They may have senses different from ours, and these may be the organs of them. Edit.

The differences in the form, &c. of the antennæ are characterized by naturalists under the following names:

Setaceæ; are those that, like a bristle, grow gradually taper towards the point or extremity, as in many of the phalenæ. Filiformes; thread-shaped, and of an uniform thickness. Moniliformes; these are filiform like the preceding, and of a regular thickness, but consist of a series of round knobs, like a necklace of beads, as in the chrysomela. Clavatæ; formed like a club, increasing gradually from the base to the extremity, as in the papilio, butterfly. Capitatæ; these are also formed like a club, but the last articulation is larger than the rest, finishing with a kind of capital or head. Fissiles; these are like the former, only that the capitulum or head is divided longitudinally into three or four parts or laminæ, as in the scarabæi. Perfoliatæ; are also capitated, but have the capitulum divided horizontally, and the laminæ connected by a kind of thread passing through their center, as in the dermestes and dytiscus. Pectinatæ; so called from their similitude to a comb, though they more properly resemble a feather, as in the phalenæ and elateres; this is most [193] obvious in the male. Aristatæ; such as have a lateral hair, which is either naked, or furnished with smaller hairs, as in the fly.

Besides the foregoing terms, the antennæ are called breviores, or short, when they are shorter than the body; mediocres, or middling, when they are of the same length; and longiores, when they are longer.

Near the mouth there is also a species of small filiform articulated antennæ, called the palpi, or feelers; they are generally four in number, sometimes six; they are placed under and at the sides of the mouth, which situation, together with their size, sufficiently distinguish them from the antennæ; they are in continual motion, the animal thrusting them in every matter, as a hog would its nose, when in search of food. Some have supposed them to be a kind of hand to assist in holding the food when it is near the mouth.

OF THE EYES OF INSECTS.

The structure of the eye has always been considered as a wonderful piece of mechanism; the admirable manner in which those of the human species are formed, and the nature of vision, are speculations which cannot but excite the attention of every inquisitive mind. The eyes of insects, though they differ considerably in their construction from those of other animals, are no less objects of our admiration. Indeed, among the exterior parts of insects, none are more worthy of minute investigation, and very few persons are to be found, who can be insensible to the beauties of this organ when exhibited under the microscope, as that instrument alone points out to us the prodigious art employed in their organization, and evidently shews how many wonders escape the unassisted sight.

The construction of the eye in insects is not only distinct from that of other animals, but also differs in different species. They vary in number, situation, connection, and figure. In other creatures the eyes are moveable, and two in number, one on each side of the head: in insects, the genus of cancri excepted, the eyes are fixed; they have no eye-brows, but the outer coating is hard and transparent.

The greater part of insects have two eyes; in the monoculus they approach so near to each other, as to appear like one; the gyrinus has four eyes, the scorpion six, the spider eight, and the scolopendra three.

Of the eyes of insects, some have them single, that is, placed at a small distance from each other; while others are furnished with an indefinite number, all placed in one common case or socket; the latter are generally termed the reticulated eyes.

OF THE RETICULATED EYES OF INSECTS.

The microscope does not disclose greater wonders, when it exhibits to us millions of animals invisible to the naked eye, where we should suppose nothing living existed, than when it discovers to us hidden beauties in those, which, though they are large enough to be seen by our natural eye, yet in their several minute parts are no ways discernible, but by the assistance of glasses.

Thus we readily discern those protuberances on the heads of insects, which are formed by a congeries of eyes; we can even perceive that they consist of a number of lines crossing each other with great regularity and exactness at some little distance, like the meshes of a net. By this we know that they are reticulated [195] substances; but in what manner they are so, can only be shewn by the microscope.

The eyes of the libellula, on account of their size, are peculiarly well adapted for microscopical examination; and, by the assistance of the instrument, you will find that they are divided into a number of hexagonal cells, each of which forms a complete eye. The external parts of these eyes are so perfectly smooth, and so well polished, that, when viewed as opake objects, they will, like so many mirrors, reflect the images of all the surrounding objects. The figure of a candle may be seen on their surface multiplied almost to infinity, shifting its beam to each eye, according to the motion given to it by the hands of the observer. Other creatures are obliged to turn their eyes towards the object, but insects have eyes directed thereto, on whatsoever side it may appear: they more than realize the wonderful accounts of fabulous history: poets gave to Argus an hundred eyes; insects are furnished with thousands, having the benefit of vision on every side with the utmost ease and speed, though without any motion of the eye or flexion of the neck.

Each of these protuberances, in its natural state, is a body cut into a number of faces; like an artificial multiplying glass; but with this superiority in the workmanship, that as there, every face is plane, here, every one is convex, immensely more numerous, and contained in a much smaller space. If one of these protuberant substances be nicely taken from the head of the insect, washed clean, and placed before the microscope, its structure is elegantly seen, and it becomes an object worthy of the highest admiration. You will find that each of the eyes is an hexagon, varying in its size according to its situation in the head, and that each of them is a distinct convex lens, and has the same effect in forming the image of an object placed before it. Of this [196] you will be convinced, by turning the mirror of the microscope so as to bring the picture of some well-defined object under the eye; thus, turn it towards a house, and in the eye of the insect you will perceive the house diminished to a box, but multiplied into a city; turn it towards a soldier, and you will have an army of pigmies performing every motion at the same instant of time; again, turn the mirror towards a candle, and you will have a beautiful and resplendent blaze from multitudes of regular flames.

Hooke, Catalan, &c. have shewn that these small eyes are furnished with every requisite of vision, and that each of them has the use, the power, and properties of an eye. But we must have recourse to the works of Swammerdam for a full account of the astonishing organization of the eyes of insects. Among other things, he has shewn, that under each facet there is a pyramid of fibres broad at the base, and growing smaller as it proceeds inwards; the pyramid has the same number of sides as the eye, and there are as many hexagonal pyramids, as there are small facets or eyes in the insect. An innumerable number of pulmonary tubes ascend these fibres, terminating in a white fibrous convex membrane; under these membranes there is another, still more delicate and transparent; beneath this, a second species of fibres is transversely applied, like so many beams to support the pyramids that are laid upon them. Still we cannot determine with certainty, how these numerous inlets to sight operate for the service of the animal; they may increase the field of view, augment the intensity of light, and be productive of advantages of which we can have no conception.

Hooke computed 14000 of these facets in the two eyes of a drone; Leeuwenhoek reckoned 6036 in the two eyes of a silkworm, when in its fly state; in the eyes of the libellula he reckoned 12544 hexangular lenses.

Swammerdam covered the reticulated eyes of certain insects with black paint; in this state they flew at random, and seemed to be deprived of their strength; when they settled, they did not avoid the hand that was going to take hold of them. Reaumur made similar experiments on the eyes of bees, which concurred with those of Swammerdam.

Some ephemera flies have four reticulated eyes, two of which are placed as in the common fly; the other two are placed, one beside the other, upon the upper part of the head, and have the appearance of a kind of mushroom, the head extended somewhat beyond the stalk. The first pair are of a brown colour, those of the mushroom form are of a very beautiful citron colour.

In some of the fly class, these reticulated eyes are little inferior in colour and brilliance to the brightest gem. The colour varies in different species; in some you find it green, in others red, &c. some have a most elegant changeable colour thrown over them, partly purple, partly green, and partly of that brassy hue, which is seen on the backs of some of our beetles, and which is not equalled by any other production of art or nature.

Fig. 3. Plate XVI. is a representation of a small part of the cornea of a libellula, as seen by the microscope; the sides of the hexagons in some positions of the light, appear of a fine gold colour, and divided into three parallel borders. Fig. 4. the same object of its natural size.

Fig. 5. Plate XVI. represents a small portion of the cornea of a lobster; here each of the eyes are small squares, not hexagons; a conformation which admits a smaller number in the same surface; so great a number was not necessary in this instance, as the eyes of the lobster are moveable. Fig. 6. the same of its natural size.

OF THE EYES OF THE MONOCULUS POLYPHEMUS.

The monoculus polyphemus, or king crab, has four eyes, two large and two small ones; the large eyes are formed of a great number of transparent amber-like cones, the small ones of a single cone,

“The internal surface of the large eyes, examined with the microscope, is found to be thick set with a great number of small transparent cones, of an amber colour, the bases of which stand downward, and their points upward next the eye of the observer. The cones in general have an oblique direction, except some in the middle of the cornea, about thirty in number, the direction of which is perpendicular. The center of every cone being the most transparent part, and that through which the light passes, on that account the perpendicular or central cones always appear beautifully illuminated at their points. In a word, they are all so disposed, as that a certain number of them receive the light from whatever point it may issue, and transmit it to the immediate organ of sight, which we may reasonably suppose is placed underneath them. The cones are not all of the same length; those on the edges of the cornea are the longest, from whence they gradually diminish as they approach the center, where they are not above half the length of those on the edges.

“The structure of the small eyes being less elaborate, their internal appearance, when placed in the microscope, will be described in a few words. They consist of an oval transparent horny plate, of an amber colour, in the center of which stands a single cone, through which and the oval plate the light passes.” [55]

[55] See Mr. André’s paper with a plate, in the Phil. Trans. for 1782, page 440.

OF THE EYES OF A SPIDER.

Though the form of this insect is naturally disgusting, yet the eyes make a beautiful object for the microscope. They have generally eight; two on the top of the head, that look directly upwards; two in the front, a little below the foregoing, to discover what passes before it; on each side a couple more, whereof one points sideways forward, the other sideways backward; so that the spider can nearly see all around. These eyes are immoveable, and seem to be formed of a hard transparent horny substance. A portion of each sphere projects externally beyond the socket, the largest part is sunk within it. There is round each eye a circular transparent membrane. Mr. Baker placed the eye of a spider over a pin-hole made through a piece of card, and then applied it as a lens to examine objects; he found it magnified the objects greatly, but that it did not exhibit them distinctly; this he however attributed to the length of time the spider had been dead whose eye he used. The number of eyes is not the same in all species of the spider.

OF THE STEMMATA.

It might be imagined, that as every fly has two reticulated eyes, they could not have occasion for more; but so it has not appeared to that GREAT BEING who formed them, for many are furnished besides with other eyes, differing in form and construction from those that are reticulated.

These were first noticed by M. de la Hire; they are three lucid protuberances placed on the back part of the head of many insects: their surface is glossy, of an hemispheric figure, and a coal black colour. They are transparent, and disposed in a triangular form; by modern naturalists they are termed stemmata.

Reaumur made experiments on these eyes, similar to those he had made on the reticulated ones, and found that when the stemmata were covered with dark varnish, the insects flew but to a small distance, and always at random.

No insect is, I believe, found with both kind of eyes, unless in its perfect state: there are many species which are not furnished with stemmata, gnats and tipulæ are without them.

We are apt to suppose that nature has lavished all her bounty upon her larger creatures, and left her minims of existence, as Shakspeare phrases it, unfinished; with what different ideas must those be impressed, who find the apparatus for vision in these small creatures so various and so wonderful in their structure, and who must perceive so much design and order manifested in the position, construction, and number of these delicate and useful organs.

OF THE BODY OF INSECTS.

The trunk or body of the insect is situated between the head and abdomen. Naturalists divide it into three parts; the thorax, scutellum, and sternum.

The thorax is the upper part of the body, it is of various shapes and proportions; the sides and back of it are often armed with points.

The scutellum, or escutcheon, is the lower part of the body, and is generally of a triangular form; though it adheres to the thorax, it is easily distinguished therefrom by its figure, and often by an intervening suture. It seems intended to assist in expanding the wings.

The sternum is situated on the under part of the thorax; in some species it is pointed behind, as in the elateres; in others, bifid, as in some of the dytisci.

OF THE ABDOMEN OF INSECTS.

The abdomen, or under part of the body, contains the stomach, the intestines, the air vessels, &c. It is composed of several rings or segments, so that it may be moved in various directions, or lengthened and shortened at pleasure; in some it is formed of one piece only. It is perforated with spiracula, or breathing holes, and is terminated by the tail.

The spiracula are small oblong holes or pores placed singly one on each side of every ring of the abdomen; these are the means or instruments of respiration, supply the want of lungs, and form a peculiar characteristic of insects.

OF THE LIMBS OF INSECTS.

By the limbs are here meant the instruments used by the insect both for motion and defence. They are, alæ, the wings; halteres, the poisers; pedes, the legs; cauda, the tail; and aculeus, the sting.

OF THE WINGS OF INSECTS.

The wings are those organs by which the insect is enabled to fly; some have only two, others are furnished with four, two on each side; these are, in some, of the same size; in others, the superior ones are much larger than the inferior: Linnæus has made them the foundation of the order into which he has divided this numerous class of beings. The variety in the form and structure [202] of the wings is almost infinite; the beauty of their colouring, the art with which they are connected to the body, the curious manner in which some are folded up, the fine articulations provided for this purpose, by which they are laid up in their cases when out of use, and yet are ready to be extended in a moment for flight; together with the various ramifications, by which the nourishing juices are circulated, and the wing strengthened, afford a fund of rational investigation highly entertaining; exhibiting, particularly when examined by the microscope, a most wonderful display of divine wisdom and power. The more delicate and transparent wings are covered and protected by elytra, or cases, which are generally hard and opake. The wings of moths and butterflies are mostly farinaceous, covered with a fine dust; by the assistance of the microscope, we discover that this dust is a regular assemblage of organized scales, which will be more particularly noticed hereafter.

The following names are made use of to describe the different kinds of wings. They are first distinguished, with respect to their surfaces, into superior and inferior. The part next the head is called the anterior part; that nearer the tail, the posterior part. The interior part is that next the abdomen; the exterior part is the outermost edge.

Those wings are termed plicatiles, which are folded when the insect is at rest, as in the wasp. Planæ; those which are incapable of being folded. Erectæ; whose superior surfaces are brought in contact when the insect is at rest, as in the ephemera, papiliones, &c. Patentes; if they are extended horizontally when the insect is at rest, as in the phalænæ geometræ. Incumbentes; those insects which, when they are not in motion, cover horizontally with their wings the superior part of the abdomen. Deflexæ; [203] those are also incumbentes, but not horizontally, the outer edges declining towards the sides, Reversæ, are also deflexæ, with this addition, that the edges of the inferior wings project from under the anterior part of the superior ones. Dentatæ; with serrated or scolloped edges. Caudatæ; in these some of the fibres of the wings are extended beyond the margin into a kind of tail. Reticulatæ; when the veins or membranes of the wings put on the appearance of net-work.

The wings are further distinguished by their ornaments, being painted with spots, maculæ; bands, fasciæ; streaks, strigæ: when these are extended lengthways, they are called lines, linæ; and if with dots, punctæ; one or more rings are termed eyes, ocelli; if the spots are shaped like a kidney, they are termed stigmata.

The elytra, or crustaceous cases of the wings are extended when the insect flies, and shut when it rests, forming a longitudinal suture down the middle of the back; they are of various shapes, and distinguished by the following names:

Abbreviata; when they are shorter than the abdomen. Truncata; when their extremities terminate in a transverse direct line. Fastigiata; when of equal or greater length than the abdomen, and terminating in a transverse line. Serrata; having their external margins edged with teeth or notches. Spinosa; when their exterior surfaces are covered with small sharp points. Scabra; when they are very rough. Striata; marked with slender longitudinal furrows. Porcata; having sharp longitudinal ridges. Sulcata; with deep furrows. They are likewise distinguished by the denomination of Hemelytra, when their cases are neither so hard as the elytra, nor so delicate as the transparent wings.

OF THE HALTERES OR POISERS OF INSECTS.

Under the wings of most insects which have only two, there is a small head placed on a stalk, frequently under a little arched scale; these are called halteres, poisers; they appear to be rudiments of the hinder wings: it has been supposed that they serve to keep the body in equilibrio when the insect is flying.

OF THE ELYTRA, AND WINGS UNDER THE ELYTRA.

I have already observed, that the delicate and transparent wings of many insects are covered and protected by elytra, or cases, which also in some measure act as wings.

These exterior cases are harder and more opake than the wings under them; they are generally highly polished, and often enriched with various colours, adorned with ornamental flutings, and studded with brilliants, whose beauties are beyond description. All these ornaments are united in the curculio imperialis, [56] or diamond beetle, one of the richest and most magnificent creatures in nature; the head, the wings, the legs, &c. are curiously beset with scales of a most splendid appearance, outvying the ruby, saphire, and emerald, forming in miniature one of the most noble phenomena that the colours of light can exhibit. It is said, that in the Brazils, from whence they come, it is almost impossible to look at them on a sunny day, when they are flying in little swarms, so great is the glowing splendor of their heightened colours.

[56] Fabriciús Spec. Ins. 184. 129.—Drury. Ins. 2 Tab. 33, Fig. 1.

The strength and hardness of the elytra are admirably adapted to the various purposes of the insects to which they are appropriated; at the same time that they protect the tender wings beneath [205] them, they serve as a shield to the body; while the ribs, and other prominences, contribute to lessen the friction and diminish the pressure to which they are often exposed. In most of these insects, the under wing is longer and larger than the exterior one, so that it is obliged to be bent and folded up, in order to lye under the elytra; for this purpose they are furnished with strong muscles, and proper articulations to display or conceal them at pleasure.

OF THE WINGS OF THE FORFICULA AURICULARIA, OR EARWIG.

Fig. 1. Plate XIV. is a magnified view of the wing of an earwig. Fig. 2. the natural size. Though the insect is so very common, yet few people know that it has wings, and fewer yet have seen them; they are of a curious and elegant texture, and wonderful structure. The upper part is crustaceous and opake, while the other part is beautifully transparent. They fold up into a very small compass, and lie neatly concealed under the elytra, which are not more than a sixth part of the wing in size. They first fold back the parts A B, and then shut up the ribs like a fan; the strong muscles used for this purpose are seen at the upper part of the figure. The ribs are extended from the center to the outer edge, others are extended only from the edge about half-way; but they are all united by a kind of band, at a small, but equal distance from the edge; the whole evidently contrived to strengthen the wing, and facilitate the various motions thereof; so that, in these wings you find all the motions that are in the most elaborate and portable umbrellas, executed with a neatness and elegance surpassing description. The earwig is a very destructive animal, doing considerable injury to most kinds of wall fruit, to carnations, and other fine flowers, &c. and as they only [206] feed in the night, they escape the search of the gardener. Reeds open at both ends, and placed among fruit trees, are a good trap for them, as they croud into these open channels, and may be blown out into a tub of water. As they conceal themselves in the day-time, those that are curious in flowers place tobacco pipes, lobster claws, &c. on the top of their garden sticks, in order to catch them. This insect differs very little in appearance in its three different states. De Geer asserts, that the female sits on her eggs, and broods over the young ones, as a hen does over her chickens.

OF THE WINGS OF THE HEMEROBIUS PERLA.

So infinite is the variety displayed in the disposition, structure, and ornaments of the wings of insects, that only to enumerate them would fill many pages; I must leave this subject to be further pursued by the reader, contenting myself with presenting him with the view of a wing of the hemerobius perla, as it appears under the microscope. The insect to which it belongs, has acquired the name of hemerobius, from the shortness of its life, as it seldom lives more than two or three days in the fly state. Linnæus has placed it in his fourth class, among those insects which have four transparent wings and no sting. The body of the insect is of a fine green colour; the eyes appear like two delicate beads of burnished gold, whence it is by many called the golden eye. The wings are delicate and elegant, nearly of a length, and exactly similar; they are composed of a beautiful thin transparent membrane, furnished with slender fine ribs, regularly and elegantly disposed, adorned with hairs, and slightly tinged with green. Fig. 1. Plate XV. exhibits its magnified appearance; Fig. 2. the natural size.

OF THE WINGS OF MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES.

The wings of these insects are mostly farinaceous, being covered with a fine dust, which renders them opake, and produces those beautiful and variegated colours by which they are so richly adorned, and so profusely decked. If this be wiped off, you find the remaining part, or naked wing, to consist of a number of ribs, like those in the leaves of plants; but of a crustaceous or talcy nature; the largest rib runs along and fortifies the exterior edge of the wing; the interior edge is strengthened by a smaller vessel or rib. The ribs are all hollow, by which means the wing, though comparatively large, is very light. The substance between the ribs, and which constitutes the body of the wing, resembles talc, [57] surprizingly thin and transparent; as this is extremely tender, one use of the scales may be to protect it from injuries. When the moth emerges from the chrysalis, the wings are soft and thick, and if they be examined in that state, will be found to consist of two membranes, that may be raised up and separated, by blowing between them with a small tube: the ribs [208] lie between these membranes. You may with the assistance of glasses discover certain strait and circular rows of extremely minute holes, running from rib to rib, or forming figures in the intermediate spaces, which seem to answer to the figures and variegations on the complete wing, and are probably the sockets for the stalks or stems of the small scales.

[57] As the author’s idea of this substance being of the nature of talc, does not appear correct, and I cannot find that entomologists are agreed in the definition of it, I shall just give the following extract on the subject from the Cyclopœdia by Rees, and submit the decision to the reader.

“The substance which connects and fills up the spaces between these ribs, is of so peculiar a nature, that it is not easy to find any name to design it by, at least there is no substance that enters the composition of the bodies of the larger animals, that is at all analogous to it. It is a white substance, transparent and friable, and seems indeed to differ in nothing from that of the large and thick ribs, but in that it is extended into thin plates; but this is saying little toward the determining what it really is, since we are as much at a loss to know by what name to call the substance they are composed of. Malpighi indeed calls them bones; but though they do serve in the place of bones, rendering the wing firm and strong, &c. yet, when strictly examined, they do not appear to have any thing of the structure of bones, but appear rather of the substance of scales, or of that sort of imperfect scales, of which, the covering of crustaceous insects is composed.” Edit.

Ever since the microscope was invented, the dust that covers these wings has engaged the attention of microscopic observers; as by this instrument it is found to be a regular collection of organized scales of various shapes, and in whose construction there is as much symmetry, as there is beauty in their colours. A view of some of these scales, as they appear in the microscope, is exhibited at F E H I, in Fig. 7. Plate XVI. and in Fig. 8. of the natural size. Their shapes are not only very different in moths of various species, but those on the same moth are also found to differ. Of the scales, some are so long and slender that they resemble hairs, except that they are a little flattened and divided at the ends; some are short and broad; some are notched at the edges, others smooth; some are nearly oval, while others are triangular: they are mostly furnished with a short stalk or stem to fix them to the wing. With the microscope, a variety of large stripes or ribs are to be discovered; between these larger lines, minuter ones may be seen with a deep magnifier. The larger stripes rise in general from the exterior notches; some have a rib running down the middle, through their whole length. The upper and under parts of the wing are equally supplied with them.

The regular arrangement of these plates, one beside and partly covering the other, as in the tiling of an house, is best seen by examining a wing in the opake microscope. The prodigious number of small scales which cover the wings of these beautiful [209] insects, is a sure proof of their utility to them, because they are given by HIM who makes nothing in vain.

That the lively and variegated colours, which adorn the wings of the moth and butterfly, arise from the small scales or plates that are planted therein, is very evident from this, that if they be brushed off from it, the wing is perfectly transparent: but whence this profusion and difference of colour on the same wing? is a question as difficult to resolve, as that of Prior, when he asks.

As the wings of the moths and butterflies are very light, they can support themselves for a long time in the air; their manner of flying is ungraceful, generally moving in a zigzag line, to the right and to the left, alternately ascending and descending; this undulating motion however has its uses, as it disappoints the birds who chase them in taking aim; by which means they frequently elude their pursuit, though continued for a considerable time.

Dr. Hooke [58] endeavoured to investigate the nature of the motions of the wings of insects; and, although he was not able, from the experiments he made, to give a satisfactory account of them, yet as they may be useful to some future inquirer, and lead him more readily into the path of truth, I hope an extract therefrom will not prove unacceptable to the reader. To investigate the mode or manner of moving their wings, he considered with attention those spinning insects that suspend, or as it were poise [210] themselves in one place in the air, without rising or falling, or even moving backwards or forwards; by looking down on these, he could, by a kind of faint shadow, perceive the utmost extremes of the vibratory motion of their wings; the shadow, while they were thus suspended, was not very long, but was lengthened when they endeavoured to fly forwards. He next tried by fixing the legs of a fly upon the top of the stalk of a feather with glue, wax, &c. and then making it endeavour to fly away; he was thereby able to view it in any posture. From hence he collected, that the extreme limits of the vibrations were usually somewhat about the length of the body distant from each other, often shorter, and sometimes longer. The foremost limit was generally a little above the back, and the hinder one somewhat beneath the belly; between these, to judge by the sound, they seemed to move with an equal velocity. The manner of their moving them, if a just idea can be formed by the shadow of the wing, and a consideration of its nature and structure, seemed to be this: the wing being supposed to be in the extreme limit, it is then nearly horizontal, the forepart only being a little depressed; in this situation the wing moves to the lower limit; before it arrives at this, the hinder part begins to move fastest; the area of the wing begins to dip behind, and in that posture it seems to be moved to the upper limit back again. These vibrations, judging by the sound, and comparing them with a string tuned in unison thereto, consist of many hundreds, if not thousands, in a second of time. The powers of the governing faculty of the insect, and the vivacity of its sensations, whereby every organ is stimulated to act with so much velocity and regularity, surpass our present comprehension.

[58] Hooke’s Micrographia, p. 172.

PEDES THE FEET, AND LEGS OF INSECTS.

These are admirably adapted for their intended service, to give the most convenient and proper motion, and, from the variety in [211] their construction, their various articulations, &c. furnish the microscopic observer with an abundance of curious and interesting objects: the most general number is six; many of the class aptera have eight, as the spider; the crab has ten; the oniscus fourteen; the julus has from seventy to one-hundred and twenty on each side. The legs of those insects that have not more than ten, are affixed to the trunk; while those that exceed that number, have part fixed to the trunk, the rest to the abdomen.

The legs of insects are generally divided into four parts. The first, which is usually the largest, is called the femur; the second, or tibia, is joined to the former, and is commonly of the same size throughout, and longer than the femur; this is followed by the third part, which is distinguished by the name of tarsus, or foot; it is composed of several joints, the one articulated to the other, the number of rings varying in different insects; the tarsus is terminated by the unguis, or claw.

The writers on natural history, in order to render their descriptions clear and accurate, have given several names to the legs of insects, from the nature of the motions produced by them. Thus cursorii, from that of running; these are the most numerous. The saltatorii, those that are used for leaping; the thighs of these are remarkably large, by which means they possess considerable strength and power to leap to great distances. The natatorii, those that serve as oars for swimming; the feet of these are flat and edged with hairs, possessing a proper surface to strike against the water, as in the dytiscus, notonecta, &c. Such feet as have no claws are termed mutici. The chelæ, or claws, are an enlargement of the extremity of the fore feet, each of which is furnished with two lesser claws, which act like a thumb and finger, as in the crab. The under part of the feet in some insects is covered with a kind of brush or sponge, by which they are [212] enabled to walk with ease, on the most polished substances, and in situations from which it would seem they must necessarily fall.

Motion is one of the principal phenomena of nature; it is as it were the soul of our system, and is as admirable in the smallest animal, as in the universe at large. It is the principal agent in producing all that diversity and change which perpetually affect every object in the creation. The motions of animals are proportioned to their weight and structure, a flea can leap to the distance of at least two hundred times its own length; were an elephant, a camel, or an horse to leap in the same proportion, their weight would crush them to atoms. The same remark is applicable to spiders, worms, and other insects; the softness of their texture, and the comparative smallness of their specific gravity, enable them to fall without injury from heights that would prove fatal to larger and heavier animals. [59]

[59] The parts of some of the larger animals are, however, so admirably constructed for swiftness, as to enable them to perform surprizing acts of agility; for instance, the Siberian jerboa, mus saliens, Pennant; this animal springs forward by successive leaping so very nimbly, that it is said to be very difficult for a man well mounted to overtake it; it is about the size of a large rat. The kanguroo, opossum of Pennant, macropus giganteus, Shaw, leaps to so uncommon a height, and to so great a distance, as to outstrip the swiftest greyhound; its size is that of a full-grown sheep. Accurate coloured figures of both these extraordinary animals are given in that elegant work, the Naturalist’s Miscellany. Edit.

Many insects can only move the thigh in a vertical direction, while others can move it in a variety of ways. The progressive motion of insects, and the various methods employed to effect it, will be found a very curious and important subject, and well worthy the attention of the naturalist. The intelligent mechanic will not find it lost labour if he bestow some time on the same subject. Very little has been done on this head, and that principally [213] by Reaumur, in his excellent Memoires; and by M. Weiss, in a Memoir published in the Journal de Physique for 1771. The reader may also consult Borelli de Motu Animalium.

OF THE TAIL AND STING OF INSECTS.

Cauda, the tail, terminates the abdomen, and is constructed in a wonderful manner for answering the purposes for which it is formed, namely, to direct the motion of the insect, to serve as an instrument of defence, or for depositing the eggs; the figure and size thereof varying in each genus and its families. In most insects it is simple, simplex, and yet capable of being extended or drawn back at pleasure; in others, elongata, elongated, as in the crab and scorpion; setacea, shaped like a bristle, as in the raphidia; triseta, with three appendages like bristles, as in the ephemera; in some it is forked, furcata, as in the podura; and in others it is furnished with a pair of forceps, forcipata, as in the forficula; in the blatta, grylli, and others, it is foliosa, or like a leaf; in the scorpion and panorpa it is telifera, furnished with a dart or sting. Further particulars may be obtained from the Philosophia Entomologica of Fabricius.

Aculeus, or the sting, is an instrument with which insects wound and instil a poison; the sting generally proceeds from the under part of the last ring of the belly: in some it is sharp and pointed, in others serrated or formed like a saw. It is used by many insects both as an offensive and defensive weapon; by others it is only used to pierce the substances where they mean to deposit their eggs. This instrument cannot be properly seen or known, but with the assistance of a microscope.

OF THE STING OF A BEE.

Of bees, it is only the labourers and the queen that have stings. The apparatus is of a very curious construction, fitted for inflicting a wound, and at the same time conveying poison into that wound.

The apparatus consists of two piercers conducted in a sheath, groove, or director.

This groove is rather large at the base, but terminates in a point; it is affixed to the last scale of the upper side of the abdomen by thirteen thin scales, six on each side, and one behind the rectum. These scales inclose the rectum all round, and are attached to each other by thin membranes which allow of a variety of motions; three of them are however attached more closely to a round and curved process, which comes from the basis of the groove in which the sting lies, as also to the curved arms of the sting which spread out externally. The two stings may be said to begin by those two curved processes at their union with the scales, and converging towards the groove at its base, which they enter, and then pass along to its point.

The two stings are serrated or notched towards the points; they can be thrust out a little way, and drawn within it. These parts are all moved by very strong muscles, which give motions in almost all directions, but most particularly outwards. It is wonderful how deep they will pierce solid bodies with this sting.

To perform this by mere force, two things are necessary, power of muscles, and strength of sting; neither of which they seem to possess in a sufficient degree. Mr. J. Hunter thinks that it cannot [215] be by simple force, because the least pressure bends the sting in any direction. It is probable that the serrated edges may assist, by cutting their way like a saw.

The apparatus for the poison consists of two small ducts, which are the glands that secrete the poison; these lie in the abdomen among the air cells, they soon however unite into one oblong bag; at the opposite end of which a duct passes out, which runs towards the angle where the two stings meet, and, entering between them, forms a canal by the union of the two stings at this point. From the serrated construction of the stings the bee can seldom disengage them, and hence, when they pass into materials of too strong a nature, the bee generally leaves them behind, and often a part of the bowels therewith. [60]

[60] Phil. Trans. for 1792, page 189.

DISTINGUISHING CRITERIA OF INSECTS.

It has already been observed, that the bodies of insects are covered with a hard skin, answering the purpose of an internal skeleton, and forming one of the characters by which they are distinguished from other animals. This external covering is very strong in those insects which, from their manner of life, are particularly liable to great friction, or violent compression; but is more tender and delicate in such as are not so exposed. The skin of insects, like that of larger animals, is porous; the pores in some species are very large; many insects often change or cast off their skin; this exuvia forms an excellent object for the microscope.

Another distinguishing criterion of insects is the colour of their circulating fluid or blood, which is never red; this, at first sight, seems liable to some objections, on account of the drop of red [216] liquor which is often procured from small insects when squeezed or pressed to pieces. It does not appear, however, that this is the blood of the little animal; when it existed as a worm there was no such appearance, and when transformed to the perfect, or fly state, it is only found in the eye, and not in the body, which would be the case if it circulated in the veins of the insect. It is probable there is a circulation of some fluid analogous to the blood in most insects: with the assistance of the microscope this circulation may be perceived in many; but the circulating liquor is not red.

To these discriminating characteristics we may also add the following particulars:

1. That the body of insects is divided by incisuræ, or transversal divisions, from whence they take their name.

2. That they are furnished with antennæ, which are placed upon the fore part of the head; these are jointed and moveable in various directions.

3. That no insect in its perfect state, or after it has gone through all its transformations, has less than six legs, though many have more. There are some moths, whose two fore feet are so small, as scarcely to entitle them to that name.

4. That insects have neither the organs of smell nor hearing; at least they have not as yet been discovered, though it is reported that Fabricius has lately found and described the organs of hearing in a lobster. [61]

[61] That many insects are susceptible of a shrill or loud noise, is a fact so well ascertained, as to be indisputable; but in what manner, or by what organs the sensation is conveyed, is not so evident; Barbut, however, supposes them to possess the sense of hearing in a very distinct manner. Many insects, he observes, are well known to be endued with the power of uttering sounds, viz. large beetles, bees, wasps, common flies, gnats, &c. The sphinx atropos squeaks, when hurt, nearly as loud as a mouse: this faculty certainly must be intended for some purpose, and as they vary their cry occasionally, it appears designed to give notice of pleasure or pain, or some affection in the creature which possesses it. “The knowledge of their sounds,” says he, “is undoubtedly confined to their tribe, and is a language intelligible to them only; saving when violence obliges the animal to exert the voice of nature in distress, craving compassion; then all animals understand the doleful cry; for instance, attack a bee or wasp near the hive or nest, or a few of them; the consequence will be, the animal or animals, by a different tone of voice will express his or their disapprobation or pain; that sound is known to the hive to be plaintive, and that their brother or brethren require their assistance, and the offending party seldom escapes with impunity. Now, if they had not the sense of hearing, they could not have known the danger their brother or brethren were in, by the alteration of their tone.” Another proof, which he reckons still more decisive, was taken from his observation on a spider, which had made a very large web on a wooden railing, and was at the time in a cavity behind one of the rails, at a considerable distance from the part where a fly had entangled himself; the spider became immediately sensible of it, though, from the situation of the rail, he could not possibly have seen the fly. This observation, however, cannot be considered as conclusive, as it is very probable that the spider was alarmed by the tremulous motion of the threads of the web occasioned by the fluttering of the fly, which he might well know how to distinguish from their vibration by the wind. It is this author’s opinion, that the organ of hearing is situated in the antennæ; he likewise supposes that the organs of smell reside in the palpi or feelers. For his reasoning on these subjects, see the Genera Insectorum, Preface, p. vii. & seq. Edit.

5. That they do not respire air by the mouth, but that they inspire and exhale it by means of organs which are placed on the body.

6. That they move the jaws from right to left, not up and down.

7. That they have neither eye-lid nor pupil.

To these we may also add, that the mechanism resulting from the LIFE of insects is not of so compound a nature as in animals of a larger size. They have less variety of organs, though some of them are more multiplied; and it is by the number and situation of these that their rank in the great scale of beings is to be determined.

These characters are often united in the same insect; there are, however, some species in which one or two of them are wanting.

The student in entomology, who wishes to attain a proper knowledge of the science, and indeed every microscopic observer, [218] desirous of availing himself of the discoveries of others, and of communicating intelligibly his own, will find it necessary to make himself conversant with the various classes, genera, &c. into which insects have been divided by Linnæus. Every system has its defects, and probably some may be found in that of this truly celebrated naturalist, but the purpose of science is answered by using those discriminations which are generally adopted.

The following general idea of the Linnæan classes may serve as a foundation for this knowledge: a more particular account may be obtained by consulting the under-mentioned works.

Institutions of Entomology, a translation of Linnæus’s Ordines et Genera Insectorum, or systematic arrangement of insects, &c. by Thomas Pattinson Yeats.

Fundamenta Entomologiæ, or an Introduction to the Knowledge of Insects, translated from Linnæus by W. Curtis, the ingenious author of Flora Londinensis, the Botanical Magazine, &c.

The Genera Insectorum of Linnæus, exemplified by various [219] Specimens of English Insects, drawn from Nature, by James Barbut. [62]

[62] This work contains two excellent plates, illustrative of the Distinctions of the Ordines and Genera Insectorum, by their antennæ, tarsi of the feet, &c. Edit.

Class the first. Coleoptera . The insects of this class have four wings; the upper ones, called the elytra, are crustaceous, being of a hard horny substance; these, when shut, form a longitudinal suture down the back, as in the scarabæus, melolontha, or cockchaffer, &c.

2. Hemiptera. These have also four wings; but the elytra are different, being half crustaceous, half membranaceous: the wings do not form a longitudinal suture, but extend the one over the other, as in the gryllus, grasshopper, &c.

3. Lepidoptera. Those which have four membranaceous wings covered with fine scales, appearing to the naked eye like powder or meal, as in the butterfly and moth.

4. Neuroptera. These have four membranaceous transparent wings, which are generally reticulated, the tail without a sting, as in the libellula, or dragon fly.

5. Hymenoptera. These, like the preceding class, have four membranaceous naked wings; but the abdomen is furnished with a sting, as in the bee, wasp, ichneumon, &c.

6. Diptera. These have only two wings, and are furnished with halteres, or poisers, instead of under wings, as in the common house fly, gnat, &c.

7. Aptera. These are distinguished by having no wings, as in the spider, louse, acarus, &c.

OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF INSECTS.

Insects are farther distinguished from other animals by the wonderful changes that all those of the winged species without exception, and some which are destitute of wings, must pass through, before they arrive at the perfection of their nature. Most animals retain, during their whole life, the same form which they receive at their birth; but insects go through wonderful exterior and interior changes, insomuch that the same individual, at its birth and middle state, differs essentially from that under which it appears when arrived at a state of maturity; and this difference is not confined to marks, colour, or texture, but is extended to their form, proportion, motion, organs, and habits of life.

The ancient writers on natural history were not unacquainted with these transformations, but the ideas they entertained of them were very imperfect and often erroneous. The changes are produced in so sudden a manner, that they seem like the metamorphoses recorded in the fables of the ancients, and it is not improbable that those fables owe their origin to the transformation of insects. It was not till towards the latter end of the last century that any just conception of this subject was formed; the mystery was then unveiled by those two great anatomists Malpighi and Swammerdam, who observed these insects under every appearance, and traced them through all their forms; by dissecting them at the time just preceding their changes, they were enabled to prove that the moth and butterfly grow and strengthen themselves, that their members are formed and unfolded under [221] the figure of the insect we call a caterpillar, and that the growth was effected by a developement of parts; they also shewed that it is not difficult to exhibit in these all the parts of the future moth, as its wings, legs, antennæ, &c. and consequently that the changes which are apparently sudden to our eyes, are gradually formed under the skin of the animal, and only appear sudden to us, because the insect then gets rid of a case which had before concealed its real members. By this case it is preserved from injuries, till its wings, and every other part of its delicate frame are in a condition to bear the impulse of the sun, and the action of the air naked; when all the parts are grown firm, and ready to perform their several offices, the perfect animal appears in the form of its parent. Though these discoveries dissipated the false wonders of the metamorphoses that the world before believed, they created a fund of real admiration by the discovery of the truth. These transformations clearly prove, that without experience every thing in nature would appear a mystery; so much so, that a person unacquainted with the transformation of the caterpillar to the chrysalis, and of this to the fly, would consider them as three distinct species; for who, by the mere light of nature, or the powers of reason unaided by experience, could believe that a butterfly, adorned with four beautiful wings, furnished with a long spiral proboscis or tongue, instead of a mouth, and with six legs, proceeded from a disgusting hairy caterpillar, provided with jaws and teeth, and fourteen feet? Without experience, who could imagine that a long white smooth soft worm hid under the earth, should be transformed into a black crustaceous beetle? Nor could any one, from considering them in their perfect state, have discovered the relation which they bear to the several changes of state, and their corresponding forms, through which they have passed, and which are to appearance as distinct as difference can make them.

The life of those insects which pass through these various changes, may be divided into four principal parts, each of which will be found truly worthy of the utmost attention of the microscopic observer.

The first change is from the EGG into the LARVA , or, as it is more generally called, into the worm or caterpillar. From the LARVA , it passes into the PUPA , or chrysalis state. From the PUPA , into the IMAGO , or fly state.

Few subjects can be found that are more expressive of the extensive goodness of Divine Providence, than these transformations, in which we find the occasional and temporary parts and organs of these little animals suited and adapted with the most minute exactness to the immediate manner and convenience of their existence; which again are shifted and changed, upon the insects commencing a new scene and state of action. In its larva state the insect appears groveling, heavy, and voracious, in the form of a worm, with a long body composed of successive rings; crawling along by the assistance of these, or small little hooks, which are placed on the side of the body. Its head is armed with strong jaws, its eyes smooth, entirely deprived of sex, the blood circulating from the hind part towards the head. It breathes through small apertures, which are situated on each side of the body, or through one or more tubes placed in the hinder part thereof. While it is in the larva state, the insect is as it were masked, and its true appearance concealed; for under this mask the more perfect form is hidden from the human eye. In the pupa, or chrysalis state, the insect may be compared to a child in swaddling cloathes; its members are all folded together under the breast, and inclosed within one or more coverings, remaining there without motion. While in this state, no insects but those of [223] the hemiptera class, take any nourishment. The change is effected various ways; in some insects the skin of the larva opens, and leaves a passage, with all its integuments; in others, the skin hardens and becomes a species of cone, which entirely conceals the insect; others form or spin cones for themselves, and in this state they remain till the parts have acquired sufficient firmness, and are ready to perform their several offices.

The insect then casts off the spoils of its former state, wakes from a death-like inactivity, breaks as it were the inclosures of the tomb, throws off the dusky shroud, and appears in its imago or perfect form; for it has now attained the state of organical perfection, which answers to the rank it is to hold in the corporeal world: the structure of the body, the alimentary organs, and those of motion, are materially changed. It is now furnished with wings magnificently adorned, soars above and despises its former pursuits, wafts the soft air, chooses its mate, and transmits its nature to a succeeding race. Those members, which in the preceding state were wrapped up, soft, and motionless, now display themselves, grow strong, and are put in exercise. The interior changes are as considerable as those of the exterior form, and that in proportion as the first state differs from the last; some organs acquire greater strength and firmness, others are rendered more delicate; some are suppressed, and some unfolded, which did not seem to exist in the former stages of its life.

OF THE LARVA STATE OF INSECTS.

As the larvæ or caterpillars of the moth and butterfly [63] form the most numerous family among the tribe of insects, I shall first [224] describe them, and their various changes from this state to their last and perfect form, and then proceed to those insects which differ most from the caterpillar in one or all of their various changes.

[63] Butterflies are distinguished from moths by the time of their flying abroad, and by their antennæ; the butterflies appear by day, their antennæ are generally terminated by a little knob; the moths fly mostly in the evening, and their antennæ are either setaceous or pectinated.

The greater part of those insects which come forth in spring or summer, perish or disappear at the approach of winter; there are very few, the period of whose life exceeds that of a year; some survive the rigours of winter, being concealed and buried under ground; many are hid in the bark of trees, and others in the chinks of old walls; some, like the caterpillar of the brown-tailed moth, [64] at the approach of winter not only secure and strengthen the web in which the society inhabit, and thus protect themselves from impertinent intruders, but each individual also spins a case for itself, where it rests in torpid security, notwithstanding the inclemency of the season, till the spring animates it afresh, and informs it, that the all-bountiful Author of nature has provided food convenient for it. Many that are hatched in the autumn retire and live under the earth during the winter months, but in the spring come out, feed, and proceed onward to their several changes; while no small part pass the colder months in their chrysalis or pupa state: but the greater number of the caterpillar race remain in the egg, being carefully deposited by the parent fly in those places where they will be hatched with the greatest safety and success; in this state the latent principle of life is preserved till the genial influences of the spring call it into action, and bring forth the young insect to share the banquet that nature has provided.

[64] This moth was uncommonly numerous and destructive near London in the year 1782, and, aided by the predictions of an empirical imposter, occasioned a considerable alarm in the minds of the ignorant and superstitious. The judicious publication of a short history of the insect, by Mr. Curtis, in some measure contributed to dissipate their fears. Edit.

All caterpillars are hatched from the egg, and when they first proceed from it are generally small and feeble, but grow in strength as they increase in size. The body is divided into twelve rings; the head is connected with the first, and is hard and crustaceous. No caterpillar of the moth or butterfly has less than eight, or more than sixteen feet; the six first are crustaceous, pointed, and fixed to the three first rings of the body; these feet are the covering to the six future feet of the moth; the other six feet are soft and flexible or membranaceous; they vary both in figure and number, and are proper only to the larva state; with respect to their external figure, they are either smooth or hairy, soft to the touch, or hard like shagreen, beautifully adorned with a great variety of the most lively teints; on each side of the body nine little oval holes are placed, which are generally considered as the organs of respiration. There are on each side of the head of the caterpillar five or six little black spots, which are supposed to be its eyes. These creatures vary in size, from half an inch long to four and five inches.

The caterpillar, whose life is one continued succession of changes, often moults its skin before it attains its full growth; not one of them arrives at perfection, without having cast its skin at least once or twice. These changes are the more remarkable, because when the caterpillar moults, it is not simply the skin that is changed; for we find in the exuvia, the skull, the jaws, and all the exterior parts, both scaly and membranaceous, which compose its upper and under lip, its antennæ, palpi, and even those crustaceous pieces within the head, which serve as a fixed basis to a number of muscles; we further find in the exuvia, the spiracula, the claws, and sheaths of the anterior limbs, and in general all that is visible of the caterpillar.

The new organs were under the old ones as in a sheath, so that the caterpillar effects the changes by withdrawing itself from the old skin, when it finds itself lodged in too narrow a compass. But to produce this change, to push off the old covering, and bring forward the new, is a work of labour and time. Those caterpillars who live in society, and have a kind of nest or habitation, retire there to change their skins, fixing the hooks of the feet, during the operation, firmly in the web of their nest. Some of the solitary species spin at this time a slender web, to which they affix themselves. A day or two before the critical moment approaches, the insect ceases to eat, and loses its usual activity; in proportion as the time of change advances, the colour of the caterpillar becomes more feeble, the skin hardens and withers, and is soon incapable of receiving those juices by which it was heretofore nourished and supported. The insect may now be seen, at distant intervals, to elevate its back, and stretch itself to its utmost extent; sometimes to lift up the head, move it a little from side to side, and then let it fall again; near the change, the second and third rings are seen to swell considerably; by these internal efforts the old parts are stretched and distended as much as possible, an operation which is attended with great difficulty, as the new parts are all weak and tender. However, by repeated exertions, all the vessels which conveyed the nourishment to the exterior skin are disengaged, and cease to act, and a slit is made on the back, generally beginning at the second or third ring; the new skin may now be just perceived, being distinguished by the freshness and brightness of its colour; the caterpillar then presses the body like a wedge into this slit, by which means it is soon opened from the first down to the fourth ring; this renders it large enough to afford the insect a passage, which it soon effects in a very curious manner. The caterpillar generally fasts a whole day after each moulting, for it is necessary [227] that the parts should acquire a certain degree of consistency, before it can live and act in its usual manner; many also perish under the operation. The body having grown under the old skin, till the insect was become too large for it, it always appears much larger after it has quitted the exuvia: now as the growth was gradual, and the parts soft, the skin pressed them together, so that they lay in a small space; but as soon as the skin is cast off, they are as it were liberated from their bonds, and distend themselves considerably. Some caterpillars, in changing their skin, from smooth, become covered with fine hair; while others, that were covered with this fine hair, have the last skin smooth. [65] The silk-worm, previous to its chrysalis or pupa state, casts its skin four times; the first is cast on the tenth, eleventh, or twelfth day, according to the nature of the season; the second, in five or six days after; the third in five or six days more, and the fourth and last in six or seven days after the third.

[65] Valmont de Bomare Dictionnaire Universel d’Histoire Naturelle, vol. ii. 2d edit. 12mo. p. 394.

Before we describe the change of the larva into the pupa state, it will be necessary to give the reader an account of those names by which entomologists distinguish the different appearances of the insect in its pupa state. It is called Coarctata, when it is straitened or confined to a case of a globular form, without the smallest resemblance to the structure of the insect it contains, as in the diptera. It is called Obtecta, disguised or shrouded, when the insect is inveloped in a crustaceous covering, consisting of two parts, one of which surrounds the head and thorax, the other the abdomen. It is termed Incompleta, when the pupa has perceptible wings and feet, but cannot move them, as in most of the hymenoptera. Semicompleta; these can walk or run, but have only the rudiments [228] of wings. The difference between the pupa and the larva of this class is very inconsiderable, as they eat, walk, and act, just as they did in their primitive state; the only remarkable difference is a kind of case which contains the wings that are to be developed in their fly state. Completa; those designed by this name take their perfect form at their birth, and do not pass, like other insects, through a variety of states, though they often change their skin.

It is a general rule, that all winged insects pass through the larva and pupa state, before they assume their perfect form: there are also insects which have no wings, and yet undergo similar transformations, as the bed bug, the flea, &c. Other insects, which have no wings, and which always remain without them, never pass through the pupa state, but are subject to considerable changes, as well with respect to the number, as the figure of their parts; thus mites have four pair of feet, and two smaller ones at the fore part of the body, near the head; yet some of these are born with only three pair of feet, the fourth is not perceived till some time after their birth. [66] The figure of the monoculus quadricornis of Linnæus (Fauna Suecica, edit. Stockholm, 1761, No. 2049) changes considerably after its birth. [67] The julus is an insect with a great number of feet, some species having an hundred pair and upwards. M. De Geer has given a description of one with more than two-hundred pair, [68] and yet these at their birth have only three pair, the rest are not perceived till some time after.

[66] De Geer Memoires pour servir a l’Histoire des Insectes, tom. 1. p. 154.

[68] Memoires des Scavans etrangers, tom. 3, p. 61.

OF THE CHANGE FROM THE LARVA TO THE PUPA STATE.

I shall now return to the caterpillar, and take notice of the care and provision it makes to pass from the larva state into that of the pupa or chrysalis; which is, in general, a state of imperfection, inactivity, and weakness, through which the insect, when it has obtained a proper size, must pass; and in which it remains often for months, sometimes for a whole year, exposed, without any means of escaping, to every event; and in which it receives the necessary preparations for its perfect state, and is enabled once more to appear upon the transitory scene of time. During its passage from one state to the other, as well as when it is in the pupa form, the microscopical observer will find many opportunities of exercising his instrument.

The transitions of the caterpillar from one state to another, are to it a subject of the most interesting nature; for in passing through them, it often runs the risk of losing its life, that precious boon of heaven, which is ever accompanied with a degree of delight, proportioned to the state in which the creature exists, and the use it makes of the gift it has received. If the caterpillar could therefore foresee the efforts and exertions it must make to put off its present form, and the state of weakness and impotence under which it must exist while in the pupa state, it would undoubtedly choose the most convenient place, and the most advantageous situation, for the performance of this arduous operation; one where it would be the least exposed to danger, at a time when it had neither strength to resist, nor swiftness to avoid the attack of an enemy. All these necessary instructions the caterpillar receives from the influence of an all-regulating Providence, which conveys the proper information to it by its own sensations: hence, when the critical period approaches, it [230] proceeds as if it knew what would be the result of its operations. Different species prepare themselves for the change different ways, suited to their nature and the length of time they are to remain in this state.

When the caterpillar has attained to its full growth, and the parts of the future butterfly are sufficiently formed beneath its skin, it prepares for its change into the pupa state; it seeks for a proper place in which to perform the important business: the different methods employed by these little animals to secure this state of rest, may be reduced to four: 1. Some spin webs or cones, in which they inclose themselves. 2. Others conceal themselves in little cells, which they form under ground. 3. Some suspend themselves by their posterior extremity; 4. While others are suspended by a girdle that goes round their body. I shall describe the variety in these, as well as the industry used in constructing them, after we have gone through the manner in which the caterpillar prepares itself for, and passes through the pupa state.

Preparatory to the change, it ceases to take any food, empties itself of all the excrementitious matter that is contained in the intestines, voiding at the same time the membrane which served as a lining to these and the stomach. The intestinal canal is composed of two principal tubes, the one inserted into the other; the external tube is compact and fleshy, the internal one is thin and transparent; it is the inner tube, which lines the stomach and intestines, that is voided with the excrement before the change. It generally perseveres in a state of rest and inactivity for several days, which affords the external and internal organs that are under the skin an opportunity of gradually unfolding themselves. In proportion as the change into the pupa form approaches, the body is observed often to extend and contract itself; [231] the hinder part is that which is first disengaged from the caterpillar skin; when this part of the body is free, the animal contracts and draws it up towards the head; it then liberates itself in the same manner from the two succeeding rings, consequently the insect is now lodged in the fore part of its caterpillar covering; the half which is abandoned remains flaccid and empty, while the fore part is swoln and distended. The animal, by strong efforts, still forcing itself against the fore part of the skin, bursts the skull into three pieces, and forms a longitudinal opening in the three first rings of the body; through this it proceeds, drawing one part after the other, by alternately lengthening and shortening, swelling and contracting the body and different rings; or else, by pushing back the exuvia, gets rid of its odious reptile form.

The caterpillar, thus stripped from its skin, is what we call the pupa, chrysalis, or aurelia, in which the parts of the future moth are inclosed in a crustaceous covering, but are so soft, that the slightest touch will discompose them. The exterior part of the chrysalis is at first exceedingly tender, soft, and partly transparent, being covered with a viscous fluid; this soon dries up, thickens, and forms a new covering for the animal, capable of resisting external injuries; a case, which is at the same time the sepulchre of the caterpillar, and the cradle of the moth; where, as under a veil, this wonderful transformation is carried on.

The pupa has been called a chrysalis, or creature made of gold, from the resplendent yellow colour with which some kinds are adorned. Reaumur has shewn us whence they derive this rich colour; that it proceeds from two skins, the upper one a beautiful brown, which lies upon or covers a highly polished and smooth white skin: the light reflected from the last, in passing through, gives it the golden yellow, in the same manner as this colour is [232] often given to leather; so that the whole appears gilt, although no gold enters into the tincture. The chrysalis of the common white butterfly furnishes a most beautiful object for the lucernal opake microscope.

Those who are desirous to discover distinctly the various members of the moth in the pupa, should examine it before the fore-mentioned fluid is dried up, when it will be found to be only the moth with the members glued together; these, by degrees, acquire sufficient force to break their covering, and disengage themselves from the bands which confine them. While in this state, all the parts of the moth may be traced out, though so folded and laid together, that it cannot make any use of them; nor is it expedient that it should, as they are too soft and tender to be used, and pass through this state merely to be hardened and strengthened.

To examine the moth concealed under the skin of a caterpillar, one of them should be taken at the last change; when the skin begins to open, it should be drowned in spirit of wine, or some strong liquor, and be left therein for some days, that it may take more consistency and harden itself; the skin of the caterpillar may then be easily removed: the chrysalis, or feeble moth, will be first discovered, after which the tender moth may be traced out, and its wings, legs, antennæ, &c. may be opened and displayed by an accurate observer.

The parts of the moth or butterfly are not disposed exactly in the same manner in the body of the caterpillar, as when left naked in the chrysalis. The wings are longer and narrower, being wound up into the form of a cord, and the antennæ are rolled up on the head; the tongue is also twisted up and laid upon the head, but in a very different manner from what it is in [233] the perfect animal, and different from that which it lies in within the chrysalis; so that it is by a progressive and gradual change, that the interior parts are prepared for the pupa and moth state. The eggs, hereafter to be deposited by the moth, are also to be found, not only in the chrysalis, but in the caterpillar itself, arranged in their natural and regular order.

While in this state, the creature generally remains immoveable, and seems to have no other business but patiently to attend the time of its change, which depends on the parts becoming hard and firm, and the transpiration of that humidity which keeps them soft; the powers of life are as it were absorbed in a deep sleep; the organs of sensation seem obliterated, being imprisoned by coverings more or less strong, the greater part remains fixed in those situations which the caterpillar had selected for them till their final metamorphosis; some, however, are capable of changing place, but their movements are slow and painful.

The time, therefore, which the moth or butterfly remains in the pupa state is not always the same, varying in different species, and depending also upon the warmth of the weather, and other adventitious circumstances; some remain in that situation for a few weeks; others do not attain their perfect form for eight, nine, or eleven months: this often depends on the season in which they assume the pupa form, or rather on the time of their birth. Some irregularities are also occasioned by the different temperature of the air, by which they are retarded or accelerated, so as to be brought forward in the season best suited to their nature and the ends of their existence. I have heard of an instance, where the pupa, produced from caterpillars of the same eggs, nourished in the same manner, and which all spun up within a few days of each other in the autumn, came into the fly state at three different and distant periods; viz. one-third of them the [234] spring following their change, one-third more the succeeding spring, and the remainder the spring after, making three years from their first hatching; a further and manifest proof of the beauty and wisdom of the laws of Divine order, which are continually operating for the best interests of all created beings. As the transformation of insects is retarded by cold, and accelerated by heat, the ordinary period of these changes may sometimes be altered, by placing them in different degrees of heat or cold; by these they may be awakened sooner to a new state of existence, or kept in one of profound sleep. [69]

[69] Reaumur Memoires sur les Insectes, tom. 2, mem. 1.

There are some caterpillars which remain in their cone eight or nine months before they acquire the complete pupa state; so that their duration in that form is much shorter than it naturally appears to be.

OF THE PREPARATION OF THE CATERPILLAR FOR THE METAMORPHOSES.

The industry of the caterpillar, in securing itself for its change into the chrysalis, must not be passed by; not only because it naturally leads the reader to consider and admire that divine agency, by which the insect is informed, but because the different modes it makes use of cannot be properly investigated, without the assistance of glasses, it therefore consequently becomes a proper subject for the microscope; we shall select from a great variety, a few instances, to animate the reader in these researches.

Some caterpillars, towards the time of their change, suspend themselves from the branch of a tree, with the head downwards; in this position they assume the pupa form, and from thence immerge [235] a butterfly or moth. In order to secure itself in this position, the insect covers with threads that part of the branch from which it means to suspend itself; it places these in different directions, and then covers them with other threads, laying on several successive thicknesses, each new layer being smaller in size than that which preceded it; forming, when finished, a little cone or hillock of silk, as will be found when examined by the microscope. The caterpillar hooks itself by the hinder feet to this hillock, and when it has found by several trials that it is strongly fixed thereto, throws itself forward, letting the body fall with the head downwards. Soon after it is thus suspended, it bends the fore part of the body, keeping this bent posture for some time, then straitening the body, again in a little time bending it, and so on, repeating this operation till it has formed a slit in the skin upon the back; part of the pupa soon forces itself through this, and extends the slit as far as the last crustaceous feet; the pupa then forces upwards the skin, as we would push down a stocking, by means of its little hooks and the motion of the body, till it has slipped it off to that part from which the caterpillar had suspended itself. But the pupa has still to disengage itself from this small packet, to which the exuvia is now reduced: here the observer will find himself interested for the little animal, anxious to learn how the pupa will quit this skin, and how it will be enabled to fix itself to the hillock, as it has neither arms nor legs. A little attention soon explains the operation, and extricates the observer from his embarrassment. It seizes the exuvia by the rings of the body, and thus holds itself as it were by a pair of pincers; then, by bending the tail, it frees itself from the old skin, and by the same method soon suspends itself to the silken mount; it lengthens out the hinder part of the body, and clasps, by means of its rings, the various foldings of the exuvia, one after another; thus creeping backward on the spoils, till it can reach the hillock with the tail; which, when [236] examined by the microscope, will be found to be furnished with hooks to fix itself by. It is surprizing to see with what exactness and ease these insects perform an operation so delicate and dangerous, which is only executed once in their lives; and nought else can account for it, but the consideration that HE , who designed that the caterpillar should pass through these changes, had provided means for that end, regularly connecting the greater steps by intermediate ones, the desire of extending their species forming and acting upon the organization, till the purposes of their life are completed. Different kinds of these insects require variety in the mode of suspension; some fix themselves in an horizontal position, by a girdle which they tie round their body; this girdle appears to the naked eye as a single thread; when examined with the microscope, it will be found to be an assemblage of fine threads, lying close to each other, so fixed as to support the caterpillar, and yet leave it in full freedom to effect the changes. Like the preceding kind, it fixes the girdle to the branch of a tree; in this situation it remains for some time motionless, and then begins to bend, move, and agitate its body in a very singular manner, till it has opened the exterior covering, which it pushes off and removes much in the same manner as we have described in the preceding article, and yet with such dexterity, that the pupa remains suspended by the same girdle.

OF THE IMAGO OR FLY STATE OF INSECTS.

As soon as the moth acquires sufficient strength to break the bonds which surround it, and of which it is informed by its internal sensations, it makes a powerful effort to escape from its prison, and view the world with new-formed eyes. The moth frees itself from the pupa with much greater ease than the pupa from the caterpillar; for the case of the pupa becomes so dry, when the moth is near the time of throwing off its covering, that [237] it will break to pieces if it be only gently pressed between the fingers; and very few of the parts will be found, on examination, to adhere to the body. Hence, when the insect has acquired a proper degree of solidity, it does not require any great exertion to split the membrane which covers it. A small degree of motion, or a little inflation of the body, is sufficient for this purpose; these motions reiterated a few times, enlarge the hole, and afford the moth room to escape from its confinement. The opening through which they pass is always at the same part of the skin, a little above the trunk, between the wings, and a small piece which covers the head; the different fissures are generally made in the same direction. If the outer case be opened, it is easy to discover the efforts the insect makes to emancipate itself from its shell; when the operation begins, there seems to be a violent agitation in the humours contained in the little animal; the fluids seem to be driven with rapidity through all the vessels, and it is seen to agitate its legs, &c. as it were struggling to get free; these efforts soon break its brittle skin. The loosening the exterior bands of the pupa is not the only difficulty many moths have to encounter with; it has often also to pierce the cone or case in which it has been inclosed, and that at a time when its members are very feeble, when it is no longer furnished with strong jaws to pierce and cut its way through; but by the regular laws of divine order, means are furnished to every creature of attaining the end for which it was produced: thus, in the present case, some of these insects are provided with a liquor with which they soften and weaken the end of the cone; some leave one end feeble, and close it only with a few threads, so that a slight effort of the head enables the moth to burst the prison doors, and immerge into day.

When the moth first sees the day, it is humid and moist; but this humidity soon evaporates, the interior parts dry and harden [238] as well as the exterior; the wings, which are wrinkled, being thick and small, then extend themselves, strengthen and harden insensibly, and the fibres which were at first flexible, become hard and stiff; so much so, that Malpighi considered them as bones: in proportion as these fibres harden, the fluid which circulates within them, and extends the wings, loses its force; so that if any extraneous circumstance prevent the motion of this fluid, at the first instant of the moth’s escape from its former state, the wings will then become ill-shaped; often expanding with such rapidity, that the naked eye cannot trace their unfolding. The wings, which were scarce half the length of the body, acquire in a few minutes their full size, so as to be nearly five times as large as they were before: nor is it the wings only which are thus increased; all their spots and colours, heretofore so minute as to be scarce discernible, are proportionably extended, so that what before appeared as only so many unmeaning and confused points, become distinct and beautiful ornaments; and those that are furnished with a tongue or trunk, curl and coil it up. When the wings are unfolded, the tongue rolled up, the moth sufficiently dried, and the different members strengthened, it takes its flight. Most of them, soon after they have attained their perfect state, void an excrementitious substance; Reaumur thinks that they eject very little, if any, during the rest of their lives.

In the progress of these insects, such changes take place, as we could have formed no conception of, if the great Author of these wonders had not been pleased to reward the industrious naturalist with the discovery.

If the moth be opened down the belly, and the unctuous parts which fill it, be removed, the gross artery, which has been called the heart, will be visible, and the contractions and dilatations, by which it pushes forward the liquor it contains, may be easily observed. [239] One of the most remarkable circumstances is, that the circulation of this fluid in the moth is directly contrary to that which took place in the caterpillar; in this, the liquor moved from the tail to the head, whereas in the moth, it moves from the head to the tail; so that the fluid which answers the purposes of the blood in the moth, goes from the superior, towards the inferior parts, but in the voracious sensual caterpillar, the order is inverted, it proceeds from the inferior towards the superior parts; all its members, formerly soft, inactive, and folded up under an envelope, are expanded, strengthened, and exposed to observation.

The food of the caterpillar is gross and solid, and even this it is obliged to earn with much labour and danger; but, when freed as it were from the jaws of death, and arrived at its perfect form, the purest nectar is its potion, and the air its element. It was supplied with coarse food, in the first state, by the painful operation of its teeth, which was afterwards digested by a violent trituration of the stomach. The intestines are now formed in a more delicate manner, and suited to a more pure and elegant aliment, which nature has prepared for its use from the most fragrant and beautiful flowers. Many internal parts of the caterpillar disappear in the chrysalis, and many that could not be perceived before, are now rendered visible: the interior changes are not less surprizing than those of the exterior form, and are, properly speaking, creative of them; for it is from these the exterior form originates, and with these it always corresponds. In a word, the creature that heretofore crept upon the earth, now flies freely through the air; and far from creating our aversion by its frightful prickles and foul appearance, it attracts our notice by the most elegant shape and apparel, and, from being scarce able to move from one shrub to another, acquires strength and agility to tower far above the tallest inhabitant of the forest.

OF THE SILK-WORM.

The industry of those that spin cones or cases, in which they inclose themselves, in order to prepare for their transformation in security, is more generally known, as it is from one species of these that we derive so many benefits, namely from the silk-worm, whose works afford an ornament for greatness, and add magnificence to royalty. All caterpillars undergo similar changes with it, and many in the butterfly state greatly exceed it in beauty: but the golden tissue, in which the silk-worm wraps itself, far surpasses the silky threads of all the other kinds; they may indeed come forth with a variety of colours, and wings bedecked with gold and scarlet, yet they are but the beings of a summer’s day; both their life and beauty quickly vanish, and leave no remembrance after them; but the silk-worm leaves behind it such beneficial monuments, as at once record the wisdom of its Creator, and his bounty to man. [70]

[70] Pullein on the Culture of Silk.

The substance of which the silk is formed, is a fine yellow transparent gum, contained in two reservoirs that wind about the intestines, and which, when they are unfolded, are about ten inches long; they terminate in two exceeding small orifices near the mouth, through which the silk is drawn, or spun to the degree of fineness which its occasions may require. This apparatus has been compared to the instrument used by wire-drawers, and by which gold and silver is drawn to any degree of minuteness. From each of these reservoirs proceeds a thread, which are united afterwards; so that if it be examined by the microscope, it will be found to consist of two cylinders or threads glued together, with a groove in the middle; a separation may sometimes be perceived.

When the silk-worm has found a convenient situation, it sets to work, first spinning some random threads, which serve to support the future superstructure; upon these it forms an oval of a loose texture, consisting of what is called the floss-silk; within this it forms a firm and more consistent ball of silk, remaining during the whole business within the circumference of the spheroid that it is forming, resting on its hinder parts, and with its mouth and fore legs directing and fastening the threads. These threads are not directed in a regular circular form, but are spun in different spots, in an infinite number of zig-zag lines; so that when it is wound off, it proceeds in a very irregular manner, sometimes from one side of the cone, then from the other. This thread, when measured, has been found to be about three-hundred yards long, and so fine, that eight or ten are generally rolled off into one by the manufacturers. The silk-worm usually employs about three days in finishing this cone; the inside is generally smeared with a kind of gum, that is designed to keep out the rain: in this cone it assumes the pupa form, and remains therein from fifteen to thirty days, according to the warmth of the climate. When the moth is formed, it moistens the end of this cone, and by frequent motions of the head loosens the texture of the silk, so as to form a hole without breaking it.

When the silk-worm has acquired its perfect growth, the reservoirs of silk are full, and it is pressed by its sensations to get rid of this incumbrance, and accordingly spins a cone, the altitude and size of which are proportioned to its wants: by traversing backwards and forwards, it is relieved, and attains by an innate desire the end for which it was formed; and thus a caterpillar, whose form is rather disgusting to the human unphilosophic eye, becomes a considerable object of manufacture and trade, a source of wealth, and, from the extensive employment it affords, a blessing to thousands. The size of the cone is not always proportioned [242] to that of the caterpillar; some that are small construct larger cones than others which exceed them in bulk.

There is a caterpillar which forms its silken cone in the shape of a boat turned bottom upwards, whence it is called by Reaumur the “coque en batteau;” the construction is complicated, and seems to require more art than is usually attributed to this insect. It consists of two principal parts, shaped like shells, which are united with considerable skill and propriety; each shell or side is framed by itself, and formed of an innumerable quantity of minute silk rings; in the fore part there is a projection, in which a small crevice may be perceived, which serves, when opened, for the escape of the moth; the sides are connected with so much art, that they open and shut as if framed with springs; so that the cone, from which the butterfly has escaped, appears as close as that which is still inhabited.

Those caterpillars which are not furnished with a silky cone, supply that want with various materials, which they possess sufficient skill to form into a proper habitation, to secure them while preparing for the perfect state; some construct theirs with leaves and branches, tying them fast together, and then strengthening the connection; others connect these leaves with great regularity; many strip themselves of their hairs, and form a mixture of hair and silk; others construct a cone of sand, or earth, cementing the particles with a kind of glue; some gnaw the wood into a kind of saw-dust, and glue it together; with an innumerable variety of modes suited to their present and future state.

OF THE BEETLE.

To make the reader more fully acquainted with a subject which affords such abundant matter for the exercise of his microscope, [243] I shall proceed to describe, in as concise a manner as I am able, the changes of a few insects of different classes, beginning with the beetle.

The beetle is of the first or coleopterous class, having four wings. The two upper ones are crustaceous, and form a case to the lower ones; when they are shut, there is a longitudinal suture down the back: this formation of the wings is necessary, as the beetle often lives under the surface of the earth, in holes which it digs by its own industry and strength. These cases save the real wings from the damage which they might otherwise sustain, by rubbing or crushing against the sides of its abode; they serve also to keep the wings clean, and produce a buzzing noise when the animal rises in the air. The strength of this insect is astonishing; it has been estimated that, bulk for bulk, their muscles are a thousand times stronger than those of a man!

The beetle is only an insect disengaged from the pupa form; the pupa is a transformation in like manner from the worm or larva, and this proceeds from the egg; so that here, as in the foregoing instances, one insect is exhibited in four different states of life, after passing through three of which, and the various inconveniences attendant on them, it is advanced to a more perfect state. When a larva, it trains a miserable existence under the earth; in the pupa form it is deprived of motion, and as it were dead; but the beetle itself lives at pleasure above and under ground, and also in the air, enjoying a higher degree of life, which it has attained by slow progression, after passing through difficulties, affliction, and death.

If we judge of the rank which the beetle holds in the scale of animation, from the places where they are generally found, from the food which nourishes them, from the disgusting and odious [244] forms of many, from their antipathy to light, and their delight in darkness, we shall not form great ideas of the dignity of their situation. But as all things are rendered subservient to the laws of divine order, it is sufficient for us to contemplate the wonders that are displayed in this and every other organ of life, for the reception of which, from the FOUNTAIN AND SOURCE OF ALL LIFE , each individual is adapted, and that in a manner corresponding to the state of existence it is to enjoy, and the energies it is called forth to represent.

The egg of the rhinoceros beetle [71] is of an oblong round figure, of a white colour; the shell thin, tender, and flexible; the teeth of the worm that is within the shell come to perfection before the other parts; so that as soon as it is hatched, it is capable of devouring, and nourishing itself with the wood among which it is placed. The larva or worm is curiously folded in the egg, the tail resting between the teeth, which are disposed on each side the belly; the worm in proper time breaks the shell, in the same manner as a chicken, and crawls from thence to the next substance suitable for its food. The worm, when it is hatched, is very white, has six legs, and a wrinkled naked body, but the other parts are all covered with hair; the head is then also bigger than the whole body, a circumstance which may be observed in larger animals, and which is founded on wise reasons. [72] If the egg be observed from time to time while the insect is within it, the beating of the heart may be perceived.

[71] Scarabæus Acteon, Lin. Syst. Nat. p. 541-3.

[72] Swammerdam’s Book of Nature, pt. 1, p. 33.

The eggs of the earth-worm, the snail, and the beetle, will afford many subjects for the microscope, and will be found to deserve a very attentive examination. Swammerdam was accustomed [245] to hatch them in a dish, covered with white paper, which he always kept in a moist state. To preserve these and similar eggs, they must be pierced with a fine needle; the contained liquors must be pressed out, after which they should be blown up by means of a small glass tube, and then filled with a little resin dissolved in oil of spike.

The worm of the rhinoceros beetle, like other insects in the larva state, changes its skin; in order to effect which, it discharges all its excrement, and forms a convenient hole in the earth, in which it may perform the wonderful operation; for it does not, like the serpent, cast off merely an external covering, but the throat, a part of the stomach, and the inward surface of the great gut, change at the same time their skin: as if it were to increase the wonder, and to call forth our attention to these representative changes, some hundreds of pulmonary pipes cast also each its delicate skin, a transparent membrane is taken from the eyes, and the skull remains fixed to the exuvia. After the operation, the head and teeth are white and tender, though at other times as hard as bone; so that the larva, when provoked, will attempt to gnaw iron. For an accurate anatomical description of this worm, I must refer the reader to Swammerdam; he will find it, like the rest of this author’s works, well worthy of his attentive perusal. To dissect it, he first killed it in spirit of wine, or suffocated it in rain water rather more than lukewarm, not taking it out from thence for some hours. This preparation prevents an improper contraction of the muscular fibres.

When the time approaches for the worm to assume the pupa form, it generally penetrates deeper into the ground, [73] or those [246] places where it inhabits, to find a situation that it can more easily suit to its subsequent process. Having found a proper place, it forms with the hinder feet a polished cavity, in this it lies for sometime immoveable; after which, by voiding excrementitious substances, and by the evaporation of humidity, it becomes thinner and shorter, the skin more furrowed and wrinkled, so that it soon appears as if it were starved by degrees. If it be dissected about this period, the head, the belly, and the thorax may be clearly distinguished. While some external and internal parts are changing by a slow accretion, others are gently distended by the force of the blood and impelled humours. The body contracting itself, while the blood is propelled towards the head, forces the skull open in three parts, and the skin in the middle of the back is separated, by means of an undulating motion of the incisions of the back; at the same time the eyes, the horns, the lips, &c. cast their exuvia. During this operation, a thin watery humour is diffused between the old and new skin, which renders the separation easier. The process going on gradually, the worm is at last disengaged from its skin, and the limbs and parts are, by a continual unfolding, transformed into the pupa state; after which, it twists and compresses the exuvia by the fundament, and throws it towards the hinder part under the belly. The pupa is at this time very delicate, tender, and flexible; and affords a most astonishing appearance to an attentive observer. Swammerdam thinks it is scarce to be equalled among the wonders which are displayed in the insect part of the creation; in it the future parts of the beetle are finely exhibited, so disposed and formed, as soon to be able to serve the creature in a more perfect state of life, and to put on a more elegant form.

[73] The larvæ of those beetles which live under ground are in general heavy, idle, and voracious; on the contrary, the larvæ which inhabit the waters are exceedingly active.

The pupa [74] of this insect weighs, a little after its change, much heavier than it does in its beetle state; this is also the case with [247] the pupa of the bee and hornet. The latter has been found to weigh ten times as much as the hornet itself; this is probably occasioned by a superabundant degree of moisture, by which these insects are kept in a state of inactivity, which may be compared to a kind of preternatural dropsy, till it is in some measure dissipated; in proportion as this moisture is evaporated, the skin hardens and dries: some days are required to exhale this superfluous moisture. If the skin be taken off at this time, many curious circumstances may be noted; but what claims our attention most is, that the horn, which is so hard in the male beetle when in a state of maturity, that it will bear to be sharpened against a grindstone, [75] in the pupa state is quite soft, and more like a fluid than a solid substance. How long the scene of mutation continues is not known; some remain during the whole winter, more particularly those which quit the larva state in autumn, when a sudden cold checks their further operations, and consequently they remain in a torpid state, without any food, for several months. Some species of the beetle tribe go through all the stages of their existence in a season, while others employ near four years in the process, and live as winged insects a year.

[74] Swammerdam’s Book of Nature, p. 144.

[75] Mouffet, p. 152.

When the proper time for the final change arrives, all the muscular parts grow strong, and are thus more able to shake off their last integuments, which is performed exactly in the same manner as in the passage of the insect from the larva to the pupa state; so that in this last skin, which is extremely delicate, the traces of the pulmonary tubes, that have been pulled off and turned out, again become visible. All parts of the insect, and more particularly the wings and their cases, are at this period swelled and extended by the air and fluids which are driven into them through the arteries and pulmonary tubes; the wings are [248] now soft as wet paper, and the blood issues from them on the least wound; but when they have acquired their proper consistency, which in the elytra is very considerable, they do not exhibit the least sign of any fluid within them, though cut or torn almost asunder. The pupa being disengaged from its skin, assumes a different form, in which it is dignified with the name of a beetle, and acquires a distinction of sex, being either male or female. The insect now begins to enjoy a life far preferable to its former state of existence; from living in dirt and filth, under briars and thorns, it raises itself towards the skies, plays in the sun-beam, rejoices in its existence, and is nourished with the oozing liquors of flowers.

OF THE MUSCA CHAMÆLEON.

I shall now proceed to illustrate the nature of the different transformations in insects, by giving an account of the musca chamæleon. In the worm or larva condition it lives in the water, breathes by the tail, and carries its legs within a little snout near its mouth. When the time arrives for its pupa state, it goes through the change without casting off the skin of the larva. Lastly, in the imago, or fly state, it would infallibly perish in the water, that element which had hitherto supplied it with life and motion, was not the larva by nature instructed where to choose a suitable situation for its approaching transformation.

This insect is characterized by Linnæus as “Musca chamæleon. Habitat larva in aquis dulcibus; musca supra aquam obambulare solet.” In a former edition of the Fauna Suecica he called it oestrus aquæ; but on a more minute examination, he found it was a musca; besides, the larvæ of all known oestri are nourished in the bodies of animals. The larva of this insect appears to consist of twelve annular divisions, see Plate XI. Fig. 1. by these it is separated into a head, thorax, and abdomen; but as the stomach [249] and intestines lie equally in the thorax and abdomen, it is not easy to distinguish their limits until the insect approaches the pupa state. The parts most worthy of notice are the tail and snout. The tail is furnished with an elegant crown or circle of hair b, disposed quite round it in an annular form; by means of this the tail is supported on the surface of the water, while the worm or larva is moving therein, the body in the mean while hanging towards the bottom; it will sometimes remain in this situation for a considerable time, without the least sensible motion. When it is disposed to sink to the bottom by means of its tail, it generally bends the hairs of that part towards each other in the middle, but much closer towards the extremity; by these means a hollow space is formed, and the bladder of air pent up in it looks like a pearl, Fig. 2. Plate XI. It is by the assistance of this bubble, or little balloon, that the insect raises itself again to the surface of the water. If this bubble escape, it can replace it from the pulmonary tubes; sometimes large quantities of air may be seen to arise in bubbles from the tail of the worm to the surface of the water, and there mix with the incumbent atmosphere. This operation may be easily seen by placing the worm in a glass full of water, where it will afford a very entertaining spectacle. The snout is divided into three parts, of which that in the middle is immoveable; the two other parts grow from the sides of the former; these are moveable, vibrating in a very singular manner, like the tongues of lizards and serpents. The greatest strength of the creature is fixed in these lateral parts of the snout; it is on these that it walks when it is out of the water, appearing, as it were to walk on its mouth, using it to assist motion, as a parrot does its beak to climb, with greater advantage.

We shall now consider the external figure of this worm, as it appears with the microscope. It is small toward the head, larger about those parts which may be considered as the thorax; it then [250] again diminishes, converging at the abdomen, and terminates in a sharp tail, surrounded with hairs in the form of the rays of a star.

This worm, the head and tail included, has twelve annular divisions, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Fig. 3. Plate XI. Its skin resembles the covering of those animals that are provided with a crustaceous habit, more than it does that of naked worms or caterpillars; it is moderately hard, and like the rough skin called shagreen, being thick set with a number of grains, evenly distributed. The substance of the skin is firm and hard, and yet very flexible. On each side of the body are nine spiracula or holes, for the purpose of respiration; there are no such holes visible on the tail ring a , nor on the third ring counting from the head; for at the extremity of the tail there is an opening for the admission and expulsion of air; in the third ring the spiracula are very small, and appear only under the skin, near the place where the embryo wings of the future fly are concealed. It is remarkable that caterpillars, in general, have two rings without these spiracula; perhaps, because they change into flies with four wings, whereas this worm produces a fly that has only two. The skin has three different shades of colour; it is adorned with oblong black furrows, with spots of a light colour, and orbicular rings, from which there generally springs a hair, as in the figure before us, only the hair that grows on the insect’s side is represented; besides this, there are here and there some other larger hairs, c c. The difference of colour in this worm arises from the quantity of grains in the same space; for in proportion as there is a greater or lesser quantity of these, the furrows and rings are of a deeper or paler colour. The head d is divided into three parts, and covered with a skin, the grains on which are hardly discernible. The eyes are rather protuberant, and lie forwards near the snout. It has also two small horns i i, on the fore part of the head. The snout is crooked, and ends in a sharp point as [251] at f; but what is altogether singular and surprizing, though no doubt wisely contrived by the great and almighty Architect, is, that this insect’s legs are placed near the snout, between the sinuses, in which the eyes are fixed. Each of these legs consists of three joints, the outermost of which is covered with hard and stiff hairs like bristles. From the next joint there springs a horny bone h h, which the insect uses as a kind of thumb; the joint is also of a black substance, between bone and horn in hardness; the third joint is of the same nature. To distinguish these particulars, the parts that form the upper sides of the mouth and the eyes must be separated by means of a small fine knife; you may then, by the assistance of the microscope, perceive that the leg is articulated, by means of some particular ligaments, with that portion of the insect’s mouth which answers to the lower jaw in the human frame. We may then also discern the muscles which serve to move the legs, and draw them up into a cavity that lies between the snout and those parts of the mouth which are near the horns i i.

This insect not only walks with these legs at the bottom of the water, but even moves itself on land by means of them; it likewise makes use of them to swim, while it keeps its tail on the surface contiguous to the air, and hangs downward with the rest of the body in the water: in this situation no motion is perceived in it, but what arises from its legs, which it moves in a most elegant manner. It is reasonable to conclude from what has been said, that the principal part of the creature’s strength lies in these legs; nor will it be difficult for those who are acquainted with the nature of the ancient hieroglyphics, which are now opening so clearly, to fix the rank of this insect in animated life, and point out those orders of being, and the moral state through which it receives its form and habits of life.

The snout is black and hard, the back part is quite solid, and somewhat of a globular form, whereas the front f, is sharp and hollow; on the back part three membranaceous divisions may be observed, by means of which, and the muscles contained in the snout, the insect can at pleasure expand or contract it.

The tail is constructed and planned with great skill and wisdom. The extreme verge or border, is surrounded by thirty hairs, and the sides adorned with others that are smaller; here and there the large hairs branch out into smaller ones, which may be reckoned as single hairs. These hairs are all rooted in the outer skin, which in this place is covered with rough grains, as may be seen by cutting it off, and holding it up, when dry, against the light, upon a thin plate of glass. By the same mode you will find, that at the extremities of the hairs there are also grains like those of the skin; in the middle of the tail there is a small opening, within it are minute holes, by which the insect inhales and expels the air it breathes. The hairs are very seldom disposed in so regular a manner as they are represented in Fig. 3. Plate XI. except when the insect floats with the body in the water, and the tail with its hairs a little lower than the surface, for they are then displayed exactly as delineated in the plate. The least motion downward of the tail produces a concavity in the water, and it then assumes the figure of a wine-glass, wide at the top, narrow at the bottom. The tail serves the larva both for the purposes of swimming and breathing, and it receives through the tail that which is the universal principle of life and motion in animals. By means of the hairs it can stop itself at pleasure when swimming, or remain suspended quietly in the water for any length of time. The motion of the insect in swimming is very beautiful, especially when it advances with its whole body floating on the surface of the water; after filling itself with air by the tail. To set out, it first bends the body to the right or left, and then contracts [253] it in the form of the letter S, and again stretches it out in a strait line: by thus alternately contracting and then extending the body, it moves along on the surface of the water. It is of a very quiet disposition, and not to be disturbed by handling.

These larvæ are generally to be found in shallow standing waters, about the beginning of June, sooner or later, as the summer is more or less favourable; in some seasons they are to be found in great numbers, while in others, it is no easy matter to meet with them. They love to crawl on the plants and grass which grow in the water, and are often to be met with in ditches, floating on the surface of the water by means of their tail, the head and thorax at the same time hanging down; and in this situation they will turn over the clay and dirt with their snout and feet in search of food, which is generally a viscous matter that is common in small ponds and about the sides of ditches. This worm is very harmless, contrary to the opinion one might form at first sight, from the surprizing vibratory motion of the legs, which resembles the brandishing of an envenomed tongue or sting. They are most easily killed for dissection in spirit of turpentine.

After a certain period they pass into the pupa form; when they are about to change, they betake themselves to the herbs that float on the surface of the water, and creep gently thereon, till at length they lie partly on the dry surface, and partly on the water; when in the larva or pupa state, they can live in water, but can by no means inhabit there when changed into flies: indeed, man also, whilst in the uterus, lives in water, which he cannot do afterwards. When these worms have found a proper situation, they by degrees contract themselves, and in a manner scarce perceptible lose all power of motion. The inward parts of the worm’s tail now separate from the outmost skin, and become greatly contracted; this probably gives the insect considerable [254] pain: by this contraction, an empty space is left in the exterior skin, into which the air soon penetrates.

Thus this insect passes into the pupa state under its own skin, entirely different from that of the caterpillar, which casts off the exterior skin at this time; this change may often be observed to take place in the space of ten or twelve hours, but in what manner it is performed we are ignorant, as it is effected in a hidden unknown way, inwardly within the skin, which conceals it from our view.

Whilst the larva is changing under the skin, the body, head, and tail, separate insensibly from their outward vesture. The legs at this time, and their cartilaginous bones, are, on account of the parts which are withdrawn from them, left empty; the worm loses also now the former skull, the beak, together with the horny bones belonging thereto, which remain in the skin of the exuvia. It is worthy of notice, that the optic nerves separate also from the eyes, and no more perform their office. The muscles of the rings in like manner, and a great part of the pulmonary points of respiration, are separated from the external skin. Thus the whole body contracts itself by degrees into a small compact mass. At this time the gullet and the pulmonary tubes cast a coat within the skin. To make this evident, it is necessary to open the abdomen, when the pupa, its parts, together with the cast off pulmonary pipes, may be clearly seen.

An exact account of all the changes of the interior parts is to be found in Swammerdam’s Book of Nature. These changes are best examined by taking the pupa out of the skin, or outside case, when it begins to harden; for as it has not then quite attained the pupa form, and the members are somewhat different from what they will be when in that state, it is more easy to observe [255] their respective situation, than when the pupa is some days older, and has lost the greatest part of the superfluous humours. The pupa is inclosed in a double garment; the interior one is a thin membrane, which invests it very closely; the other, or exterior one, is formed of the outermost hard skin of the larva, within which it performs its changes in an invisible manner: it is this skin which gives it the appearance of the larva while in the pupa state.

When the time approaches that the hidden insect, now in the pupa form within its old covering, is to attain the imago, fly, or perfect state, which generally happens in about eleven days after the preceding change, the superfluous humours are evaporated by insensible perspiration. The little pupa is contracted into the fifth ring of the skin, and the four last rings of the abdomen are filled with air, through the aperture in the respiratory orifice of the tail. This may be seen by exposing the pupa for a short space to the rays of the sun, and then putting its tail in water, when you will find it breathe stronger than it did before, and, by expressing an air bubble out of its tail, and then sucking it in again, will manifestly perform the action of inspiration and expiration. The anterior part of the pupa is drawn back from the skin, and having partly deserted it, with the beak, head, and first ring of the breast, the little creature lies still, until its exhaling members have acquired strength to burst the two membranes which surround it.

If the exterior case be opened near this period, a wonderful variety of colour may be perceived through the thin skin which invests the pupa. The colours of many of the different parts are now changed; some parts from aqueous become membranaceous, some fleshy, and others crustaceous. The whole body becomes insensibly shaggy, the feet and claws begin to move: the variations [256] may be accurately observed by opening a pupa every day until the time of change. For this purpose they should be laid on white paper in an earthen dish; they should also be made somewhat moist, and be kept under a glass: the paper serves the pupa to fix its claw to, when they come forth in the form of a fly. A little water should be poured into the dish, to keep the pupa from drying and suffocation.

When the fly begins to appear, the exterior skin is seen to move about the third and fourth anterior ring; the insect then uses all its efforts to promote its escape, and to quit the interior and exterior skin at one and the same time. The exterior skin is divided into four parts; the insect immediately afterwards breaks open its inner coat, and casting it off, escapes from the prison in which it was entombed, in the form of a beautiful fly. It is to be observed here, that there is nothing accidental in the breaking of the outermost skin, being perfectly conformable to the rule ordained, always happening in the same manner in all these changes: the skin also is, in those places where it is broke open, so constructed by the Author of nature, as if joined together by sutures. Having now acquired its perfect state, the little creature which lived before in water and mud, enters into a new scene of life, visits the fields and meadows, is transported through the air on its elegant wings, and sports in the wide expanse with unrestrained jollity and freedom.

The larva a queue de rat, [76] musca pendula, Lin. is also transformed under the skin, which hardens, and forms a case or general covering to the pupa: two horns are pushed out, while it is in this state, from the interior parts; they serve the purpose of respiration: this larva will be more particularly described in a subsequent part of this chapter.

[76] Reaum. 8vo. edit. tom. 4, pt. 2, 11 mem. p. 199, plate 30 and 31.

According to Reaumur, the insects in this class, that is, those that pass into the pupa state under the skin of the larva, go through a change more than the caterpillar, a transformation taking place while under their skin, before they assume the pupa form.

The aquatic larva of the musca chamæleon retains its form to the last; but there are many insects that are transformed under their skin, which forms a cone or case for the pupa. In these the larva loses first its length; the body becoming shorter, assumes the figure of an egg; and the skin forms a hard and crustaceous case or solid lodging for the embryo insect.

OF THE LIBELLULA OR DRAGON FLY.

In the libellula we have an instance of those insects which are termed in the pupa state, semicompleta, that is, such as proceed from the egg in the figure which they preserve till the time arrives for assuming their wings; and who walk, act, and eat as well before that period as afterwards.

Of all the flies which adorn or diversify the face of nature, there are few, if any, more beautiful than the libellulæ: they are almost of all colours, green, blue, crimson, scarlet, and white; some unite a variety of the most vivid teints, and exhibit in one animal more different shades than are to be found in the rainbow. It is not to colour alone that their beauty is confined, it is heightened by the brilliancy of their eyes, and the delicate texture and wide expansion of their wings. The larva of the libellula is an inhabitant of the water, the fly itself is generally found hovering on the borders thereof.

These insects are produced from an egg, which is deposited in the water by the parent; the egg sinks to the bottom, and remains there till the young insect finds strength to break the shell. The larva is hexapode, and is not quite so long as the fly; on the trunk are four prominences or little bunches, which become more apparent, in proportion as the larva increases in size and changes its skin. These bunches contain the rudiments of the wings, which adorn the insect when in its perfect state.

The head of the larva is exceedingly singular, the whole fore part of it being covered with a mask, which fits it more exactly than the common mask does the human face, having proper cavities within to suit the different prominences of the face; it is of a triangular form, growing smaller towards the bottom; at this part there is a knuckle which fits a cavity near the neck, on this it turns as on a pivot. The upper part of this mask is divided into two pieces or shutters, which the insect can open or close at pleasure; it can also let down the whole mask whenever it pleases. The edges of the shutters are jagged like a saw. It makes use of the mask to seize and hold its prey. There is a considerable difference in the shape of these masks in different species of the libellula, some having two claws near the top of it, which they can thrust out or draw in, as most convenient; these render it a very formidable instrument to the insects on which they feed.

These animals generally live and feed at the bottom of the water, swimming only occasionally: their manner of swimming, or rather moving in the water, is curious, being by sudden jerks given at intervals; but this motion is not occasioned by their legs, which at this time are kept immoveable and close to the body; it is by forcing out a stream of water from the tail that the body is carried forward; this may be easily perceived, by [259] placing them in a flat vessel, in which there is only just water enough to cover the bottom. Here the action of the water squirted from their tail will be very visible; it will occasion a small current, and give a sensible motion to any light bodies that are lying on the surface thereof. This action can only be effected at intervals, because after each expulsion the insect is obliged to inhale a fresh supply of water. The larva will sometimes turn its tail above the surface of the water, and eject a small stream from it as from a little fountain, and that with considerable force.

The pupa differs but very little from the larva, the bunches containing the wings grow large, and begin to appear like four short thick wings. It is full as lively as the larva, seeking and enjoying its food in the same manner: when it is arrived at its full growth, and is nearly ready to go through its last change, it approaches the edge of the water, or comes entirely out of it, fixing itself firmly to some piece of wood or other substance, by its acute claws. It remains for some time immoveable; the skin then opens down the back, and on the head; through this opening is exhibited the real head and eyes, and at length the legs; it then creeps gradually forward, drawing its wings, and then the body out of the skin. The wings, which are moist and folded, now expand themselves to their real size; the body is also extended till it has gained its proper dimensions, which extension is accomplished by the propelling force of the circulating fluids. When the wings and limbs are dry, it enters on a more noble state of life: in this new scene it enjoys itself to the fullest extent, feasts on the living fragrance issuing from innumerable openings, sports and revels in delight, and, having laid the foundation for its future progeny, sinks into an easy dissolution.

The dragon fly is of a ferocious and warlike disposition, hovering in the air like a bird of prey, in order to feed on and destroy [260] every species of fly; its appetite is gross and voracious, not confining itself to small flies only, but the large flesh-fly, moths, and butterflies, are equally subjected to its tyranny. It frequents marshy grounds, where insects mostly abound.

The female of the CYNIPS or GALL INSECT , which has no wings, passes through no transformation; while the male, which has four wings, passes through the pupa state before it becomes a fly. The only change, though a considerable one, which takes place in the female gall insect, is this, that after a certain time it fixes itself to the branch of a tree, without being able to detach itself; it afterwards increases much in size, and becomes like a true gall; the female, by remaining thus fixed for the greater part of her life, to the place where she was first seen, has very little the appearance of an animal; it is in this period of their life that they grow most and produce their young, while they appear a portion of the branch they adhere to; and what is more singular, the larger they grow, the less they appear like animals, and whilst they are employed in laying thousands of eggs, seem to be nothing but mere galls. The genera of gall insects are very extensive; they are to be found on almost every shrub and tree.

The APHIDES or PLANT LICE , to arrive at their respective state, pass through that of the semicomplete pupa, and their wings do not appear till they have quitted their pupa state; but as in all the families of the pucerons there are many which never become winged, we must not forget to observe, that these undergo no transformation, remaining always the same, without changing their figure, though they increase in size and change their skin. It is remarkable, that amongst insects of the same kind, some individuals should be transformed, while others are [261] not at all changed. These insects will be considered more fully in another part of this chapter.

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Helen Vendler, ‘Colossus’ of Poetry Criticism, Dies at 90

In the poetry marketplace, her praise had reputation-making power, while her disapproval could be withering.

By William Grimes

Helen Vendler, one of the leading poetry critics in the United States, with a reputation-making power that derived from her fine-grained, impassioned readings, expressed in crystalline prose in The New Yorker and other publications, died on Tuesday at her home in Laguna Niguel, Calif. She was 90.

The cause was cancer, said her son, David Vendler.

In an era dominated by poststructuralist and politically influenced literary criticism, Ms. Vendler, who taught at Harvard for more than 30 years, adhered to the old-fashioned method of close reading, going methodically line by line, word by word, to expose a poem’s inner workings and emotional roots.

“Vendler has done perhaps more than any other living critic to shape — I might almost say ‘create’ — our understanding of poetry in English,” the poet and critic Joel Brouwer wrote in 2015 in The New York Times Book Review, adding, “Were it not for Harold Bloom , the ‘perhaps’ would be unnecessary.”

Mr. Bloom, the literary scholar, himself said of Ms. Vendler : “She is a remarkably agile and gifted close reader. I think there isn’t anyone in the country who can read syntax in poems as well as she can.”

The writer and critic Bruce Bawer called her simply “the colossus of contemporary American poetry criticism.”

In important scholarly studies of classic authors, Ms. Vendler offered fresh interpretations of the 17th-century metaphysical poet George Herbert, Wallace Stevens, Seamus Heaney , the Keats of the odes and the Shakespeare of the sonnets — all 154 of them, analyzed in a thick volume, “The Art of Shakespeare’s Sonnets” (1997), which the poet Richard Howard called “the most intricately inquiring and ingeniously responding study of these poems yet to be undertaken.”

Her voracious appetite for contemporary poetry, and a clear, forceful prose style that allowed her to address nonacademic audiences in her reviews, made Ms. Vendler a powerful figure in the poetry marketplace, with enormous influence on artistic reputations, publishers’ decisions and the awarding of teaching positions and grants. She was the poetry critic for The New Yorker from 1978 to 1996, a frequent judge for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and a nominator for the MacArthur Foundation’s “genius” awards.

Her praise was golden. Favorites like Jorie Graham, Mr. Heaney or Rita Dove, buoyed by her exuberance, floated upward in the pantheon. Her disapproval, more rarely expressed, could be withering. “Levine’s notion of a poem is an anecdote with a flush of reflexive emotion gushing up at the end,” she once wrote of Philip Levine , a poet laureate of the United States and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1995.

Her scathing reviews of Ms. Dove’s “Penguin Anthology of 20th-Century American Poetry” and an edition of unpublished poems by Elizabeth Bishop, “Edgar Allan Poe & the Jukebox,” edited by The New Yorker’s poetry editor, Alice Quinn, touched off the kind of skirmishes rarely seen in the genteel world of poetry.

As a rule, however, Ms. Vendler devoted her attention to the poets she loved, in a lifelong engagement with the branch of literature she called, in the introduction to her 1980 essay collection “Part of Nature, Part of Us,” “the one form of writing that is to me the most immediate, natural and accessible.”

Helen Hennessy was born on April 30, 1933, in Boston, into what she described as “an exaggeratedly observant Catholic household.” Her father, George, who before his marriage had been a paymaster for United Fruit in Cuba and a teacher of English in Puerto Rico, taught Romance languages in high schools and also to his three children. Her mother, Helen (Conway) Hennessy, left her career as an elementary-school teacher when she married, as required by Massachusetts law at the time.

Her parents insisted on a Catholic education, overruling her desire to attend Girls’ Latin School and, later, Radcliffe College. Instead, she enrolled in Emmanuel College, an all-women’s Catholic school in Boston, where she majored in chemistry. Although she had been an avid reader and writer of poetry from an early age, English literature, she found to her dismay, was taught as a collection of moral texts. And French literature classes omitted the philosophes of the Enlightenment, Émile Zola, Marcel Proust and other writers on the Catholic Church’s list of proscribed authors.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in 1954 she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study mathematics at the University of Louvain in Belgium but changed her concentration to French and Italian literature. On returning to the United States, she took English courses at Boston University to qualify for the doctoral program at Harvard.

At Harvard she met Zeno Vendler, a philosopher of language and Jesuit priest completing work for his doctorate, whom she married in 1960 after he left the priesthood. The marriage ended in divorce after four years, and Mr. Vendler died in 2004. In addition to their son, David, she is survived by two grandchildren.

Ms. Vendler’s first week at Harvard was daunting. She was informed by the chairman of the English department, as he signed her program card, “You know we don’t want you here, Miss Hennessy: we don’t want any women here.” In 1959, she became the first woman to be offered an instructorship in Harvard’s English department, a year before she received her doctorate, having submitted a dissertation on William Butler Yeats that was published in 1963 as “Yeats’s ‘Vision’ and the Later Plays.”

After leaving Harvard she taught at Cornell, Haverford, Swarthmore and Smith. She began teaching at Boston University in 1966 and joined the English department at Harvard as a full professor in 1985, after dividing her time between Boston and Harvard for the previous four years.

As a critical reader of poetry, Ms. Vendler found her bearings early, while still a graduate student. “The base of poetry in the emotions was tacitly ignored in scholarship and criticism: and yet I felt one couldn’t understand the way a poem evolves without acknowledging that base,” she wrote in her introduction to the essay collection “The Ocean, the Bird and the Scholar” (2015). “If there was any conscious drive in me to alter the field of criticism as I encountered it, it was to insert into the analysis of lyric an analysis of its motivating emotions and convictions, and to demonstrate their stylistic results.”

The term “close reading,” almost automatically applied to her method, she could not abide. It sounds, she told The Paris Review in 1996, “as if you’re looking at the text with a microscope from outside, but I would rather think of a close reader as someone who goes inside a room and describes the architecture.” She proposed an alternative: “reading from the point of view of a writer.”

Two early books established Ms. Vendler as an important critical voice. In “On Extended Wings: Wallace Stevens’ Longer Poems” (1969), she made the case for a set of difficult works that many critics, notably Randall Jarrell, had dismissed as overlong and ponderous. J. Hillis Miller , writing in The Yale Review, predicted that anyone reading Ms. Vendler’s account “will find it impossible ever to see Stevens in the same way again.”

“The Poetry of George Herbert” (1975) turned the spotlight on a quiet, meditative poet overshadowed by his contemporary John Donne. With typical aplomb, Ms. Vendler declared Donne to be his inferior.

Her parallel career as a reviewer began when, divorced with a young child, she scrambled for any chance to earn extra money. In 1966, The Massachusetts Review asked her to take on its annual survey of the year’s work in poetry. She went on to review regularly for The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Book Review (where, in the early 1970s, she advised the editor, John Leonard , on what poetry books to review), and, after she left her critic’s post at The New Yorker in 1996, The New Republic.

More recently she was a regular contributor to Liberties , a journal of culture and politics edited by Leon Wieseltier.

Her essays and reviews were gathered in “Part of Nature, Part of Us: Modern American Poets” (1980), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism; “The Music of What Happens: Poems, Poets, Critics” (1988); “Soul Says: On Recent Poetry” (1996); and other collections.

Her many studies include “The Breaking of Style: Hopkins, Heaney, Graham” (1995), “The Given and the Made: Strategies of Poetic Redefinition” (1995) and “Last Looks, Last Books: Stevens, Plath, Lowell, Bishop, Merrill” (2010).

In 2004, the National Endowment for the Humanities named her a Jefferson Lecturer, the highest honor the federal government bestows on a scholar of the humanities. According to her wishes, she was to be buried on “Harvard Hill” in Mount Auburn Cemetery, in Cambridge, Mass.

In her interview with The Paris Review, Ms. Vendler compressed her critical method into seven words: “I write to explain things to myself.”

An earlier version of this obituary misstated the name of a school Ms. Vendler had wanted to attend when she was a child. It was Girls’ Latin School, not the Boston Latin School for Girls.

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1: Introduction to the Microbiology Laboratory

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Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lab period, you will be able to

• Articulate appropriate safety procedures in the microbiology lab.
• Wash your hands and disinfect lab surfaces correctly
• Identify the correct ways to dispose of lab waste (compost, biohazard, used slides, culture tubes with media, Petri dishes).
• Identify which supplies you need to purchase and bring to the next laboratory period
• Explain why most professional healthcare programs require an in-person microbiology laboratory experience.

Introduction

Welcome to the microbiology laboratory! We are delighted to have you in our classes and excited to share our passion for microorganisms with you. The microbiology laboratory will give you the opportunity to develop new skills, apply critical thinking to solve problems and work independently on a multi-week project culminating in a written report.

Today we will be reviewing basic microbiology lab safety, and waste disposal methods. We will also determine which supplies you will need to purchase and assign lockers. We often have lab coats that we can loan to students for the duration of the semester.

Be prepared to be quizzed on the content of today’s laboratory lecture, particularly the safety rules.

General Lab Safety

• Read all laboratory material before coming to class. The most important thing you can do to be safe in the lab is to be prepared and know in advance what you will be doing and why!
• Familiarize yourself with emergency exits, the eyewash station, the fire blanket and extinguisher, the first aid kit, and the broken glass container (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\))

• Wear a lab coat whenever working with microbes. You should bring your lab coat home to wash regularly (it’s a good idea to wash the coat in hot water with a little bleach).
• You must wear closed-toed shoes in the lab at all times - even if lab work is not scheduled on that day. Glassware is routinely broken in labs, and laboratory floors are not a safe place for flip-flops or strappy sandals. For your safety, the instructor will ask you to go home and return with appropriate footwear if necessary.
• Wear disposable gloves when working with microbes, and when staining microbes for viewing under the microscope. The biological stains we use will remain on your fingers for days…and they will ruin your nice shoes or clothes.
• Turn off the Bunsen burners whenever you are not working with them!
• Notify the instructor if you are pregnant, or become pregnant or have any other medical conditions that might necessitate special precautions.
• Long hair should be tied back when working in the laboratory.
• No optional or original experiments are to be conducted without prior approval.
• Do not taste any chemicals.
• Do not pour unused chemicals back into the stock bottle.
• Broken glass should be reported to the instructor who will assist you in the immediate cleanup. Broken glass is to be discarded only in a “broken glass” container.
• Place plastic Petri dishes, disposable plastic Pasteur pipettes, and other non-sharp disposable items contaminated by bacteria, blood, or body fluids in a disposable autoclave bag for decontamination by autoclaving or place them directly into a 10% bleach solution before reuse or disposal.
• Wash the laboratory table surface after you have finished the activity when applicable.
• Sanitize benches BEFORE and AFTER lab. Leave the disinfectant solution on the bench to air dry.
• Dispose of any trash or chemicals properly.
• Clean all equipment and return it to the storage area before leaving the laboratory work area.
• Report any spill, accident, or injury to the instructor immediately, and follow emergency procedures as necessary.
• Do not sit on lab benches in Microbiology!!! Ewwww….
• When staining bacteria or using any chemicals, wear safety goggles.
• Place backpacks and purses out of high-traffic areas!
• If you are not sure of something.....ask for help or clarification before you start!!

Protecting yourself, your lab partners, and your cultures from accidental contamination

• Wipe the desktop with the disinfectant (red squirt bottles) before and after each lab period. Never assume that the class before you disinfected the work area. Allow the disinfectant to evaporate; do not wipe it dry.
• Never lay culture tubes on the table; they always should remain upright in a culture tube rack.
• Report any spills of bacterial cultures immediately to your instructor, and request instructions. In general, cover any large culture spills with paper towels. Soak the towels immediately with disinfectant and allow them to stand for 20 minutes. When you are finished, place the towels in the red biohazard bin.
• If the culture spills on you, let your instructor know and they will help you (this is why you wear a lab coat!).
• If you get a microbial culture in your eyes IMMEDIATELY have a lab partner lead you to the eyewash and rinse your eyes for at least 15 minutes. Speed is important to prevent injury to the eye. Notify your instructor of the spill and your situation, and follow their instructions for handling your care and the spill.
• Take care with computers, phones, and other items that you place on the lab bench. Ensure they remain a safe distance from bacterial cultures and do not become contaminated. We do use and need our computers in the lab on a regular basis.

Safe Disposal of Trash, Contaminated Items, and Glass

In the CCSF Microbiology Lab, we separate waste into various categories.

• Paper towels that are not contaminated with bacteria are disposed of in the green bins - they are compostable. It is okay to throw away paper towels with dye or sanitizing solution on them. (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\))
• Gloves and non-recyclable trash can go in the grey trash bins. (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\))

• Contaminated materials (blood, bacteria, body fluids) that are not sharp like gloves, paper towels, plastic Petri dishes, and cotton swabs, go in a biohazard bag. (Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\))
• Sharp objects like needles must be disposed of in a designated sharps container. (Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\))

• Remove all labels from glass culture tubes using alcohol/acetone and a cotton ball. Place them upright in the designated autoclave container. (Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\))

• Notify the instructor of any broken glass. We use a lot of glass tubes, and glass does occasionally break. Your instructor is the person designated to safely dispose of broken glass. Do not touch or clean up broken glass on your own.

Biosafety Levels

Infectious agents (microorganisms) are divided into four main biosafety levels - BSL-1, BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4. BSL-1 organisms are not known to cause disease in healthy adults. BSL-2 agents are associated with some human diseases, but treatments/vaccines are usually available. BSL-3 and BSL-4 organisms are more exotic and dangerous and require special facilities in order to be safely manipulated.

At City College of San Francisco, we work with BSL-1 and BSL-2 organisms only. Most of our organisms do not typically cause disease in healthy individuals and present a minimal threat to the environment and lab personnel. These include organisms such as Escherichia coli (the strains we use), Bacillus subtilis, and Lactococcus lactis - all of which are BSL-1.

BSL-2 organisms are commonly encountered in the community and present a moderate environmental and/or health hazard. These organisms are associated with a variety of human diseases, most of which can be successfully treated if identified in a timely manner. The infection routes of primary concern are ingestion, inhalation, or penetration of the skin (percutaneous). We do not work with these organisms in a way that results in splashes or aerosol generation (even though these organisms are not generally known to be transmitted by aerosols). Therefore laboratory work in BIO 120 may be done using standard microbiological practices. BSL-2 organisms that we encounter in BIO 120 include organisms such as Salmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus .

Learn about Biosafety Levels by completing this very short tutorial which was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

You must have these by Week 2. You may share some of these with a lab partner to save on costs.

• A long-sleeved shirt or lab coat that covers you below the waist. Color unimportant.
• Nitrile or latex gloves (make sure that you are not allergic to latex)
• Hair ties for long hair
• Rubber bands
• Colored pencils or pens (include purple, pink, red, green & blue)
• A sharpie (thick point) permanent marker or wax pencil
• Box of microscope slides (one box per student)
• A blue box for holding microscope slides (CCSF Bookstore)
• Lens and blotting (bibulous) paper
• Lab Safety Goggles