1920?s, rather bulky "hand" models were in use in many vineyards. Although complicated in construction, a modern hand refractometer is extremely easy to use. Today?s hand refractometer we are discussing looks almost like a small 5" or 6" long telescope, but it has a prism at the end opposite the viewfinder. A calibrated hand refractometer allows determination of a reading or degree brix when you place a drop of juice on the prism and flatten it with the attached cover plate. While widespread farming use (other than vineyards) traces back only some 20+ years, other (industrial & commercial) uses of hand refractometers are decades older. The devices are simple, accurate, durable, and easily carried. A refractometer's initial expense seems lessened as you use one and realize it will last as long as a pair of fine binoculars. It may even become a much-sought heirloom for family members. ENTER DOCTORS NORTHERN AND REAMS Carey A. Reams, D. Sc. (1904-1985), owned an agricultural consulting service in Orlando from the late 1920?s to the late 1960?s when he took up teaching full time. Although servicing mainly the citrus industry, the company provided high-level consulting to dozens of other crops. Reams was deeply influenced by the work of Dr. Charles Northern, an Alabama physician who stridently protested against the mineral poor food that clogged commercial channels and markets. Northern entered history when his powerful health-is-dependent-on-minerals research, as recorded by Rex Beach in an article in Cosmopolitan, was read into U. S. Senate testimony. Yes,