Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-05-19
MICROSCOPIC WORLD.
BoUNDLEss REALM OF MICROSCOPY

BOUNDLEss REALM OF MICROSCOPY.
Tho Compound Microscope Better than
Fast HSsss thor Homs or fsncy hnssy as Good in
or Grand Piano."
The third monthly conference meeting of
the Lancaster Microscopical society was
held at their rooms in Diffenderfer's
building, North Queen street, last even
ing at 8 o'clock. The business of the
meeting was the report of work done dur
ing the month, the report of the recent re-
ception given by the Philosophical society
of West Chester, and the reading of a
paper by Mr.. John c. Burrowes on the
staining of vegetable tissues. These matters
having been disposed, of formal adjourn
ment was followed by the examination of
microscopic objects, in great variety,
through the half-dozen instruments on the
tables. Upon two of these the polarizing
attachment was placed, the wonderful eff
feet of (which, as seen in the crystallizations
upon number of slides, were an unfailing
source of delight during the evening. Di-
atoms, seeds, pathological specimens, etc,
were shown under powers of the instru
ment ranging from fifty to four or five
hundred diameters.
Among visitors present we observed
Charles S. Moseley, esq, superintendent of
the Lancaster watch factory Mr.. Alden
Webb, chief adjuster, and other experts of
the West End, all of whom were hluch in
tcrested in the microscopes.
We give the report of the reception at
West Chester, as made by Mr.. J. p. Me-
Caskey, which will afford the reader some
idea of what is done and shown at these
very attractive and highly instructive ex-
hibitiOns
Reception of tho Philosophical Society.
The Philosophical society of West Ches-
ter few days since suddenly resolved upon
| reception. The call went forth at once,
and the response was hardly less prompt
than that to the bugle-bast of High
| land Roderick. Almost within the day
| there was the gathering of the clans ut the
headquarters of the scientists. Lancaster
| sent down five. Instruments and seven
members. Professional engagements that
were imperative-much to the disappoint
ment of us all-prevented our worthy
president, with his excellent binocrllar,
from being one of the party.
Leaving home at 3 p. M, we reached
West Chester about half-past 5 o'clock.
| The reception committee met us at the
depot and conducted us to the rooms of the
society, where our instruments were placed
in position, after which all guests adjourn
ed to the Mansion house. supper over, 4
short stroll around the town, to visit old
friends, to find a greenhouse, or to see the
handsome normal school building of which
West Chester is not a little proud, and the
| hour for the reception was come.
! The Philosophical society has it's head
quarters on the second floor of Il large
building on Gay street, near Church. The
spacious front room was occupied by the
| exhibit of twenty -One instruments belong
ing to this society. Those of the Camden
and Lancaster societies occupied tables in
the room directly to the rear, the large
folding door, enabling the two rooms to
be thrown into one. Across the passage
at the head of the stairway were two SINH
lar rooms, the front containing the exhibit
of the West Chester NIicrOscOpical society,
and the rear, the Beck and Crouch instru-
ments of London, exhibited 10y the agents
of the manufacturers.
Two hundred and seventy-tive tickets of
invitation had been issued, SO that the
| Ncll "ClC uO
time unpleasantly crowded.
| AS has been said, the exhibit of the
Philosophical society included twenty one
instruments. Three of these belonged to
DIR. John r. McCIur..,, one of which showed
| the circulation of the blood in the sala-
mander, another the circulation in the
frog-bOth animals, of course, being alive
and a third, the circulation of the sap in
| a living leaf. The extraordinary magni-
| flying power of twelve hundred 12OO) di-
ameters was used in showing the last
named object, or ,44O, 900 surfaces. That
is to say, if we touch the paper with a fine
pencil-point and magnify it under this
high power, we have our point increased
in size nearly million and a-half times,
extending much beyond the field of the
instrument. And yet in this very minute
section of the leaf we see distinctly the
flow of the sap and the movement of the
bioplasm. The objective used on this in
| strument is what is known as Il twenty
| fifth inch," needing to be handled very
carefully, and showing hardly a hairs
| breadth between the lens and the thin
glass by which the section of the leaf
| under examination seemed TO be covered.
Other objects of much interest were the
| fruit of the fern, sori and spores, transverse
sections of seeds and other woody struc-
ture; probOscs of blOw-fy, trichina
spiralis, sheath of wing of the diamond
beetle, etc. Among those of special inter-
est to the average visitor in this exhibit
was a microscopic edition of the Ten Com
mandments, photographed into a very
small spot upon the glass, but being
easily read in the field of the instrument
The exhibit of the Microscopical society,
which is the older of the two scientific
organizations of West Chester, included
some twenty Instruments, two of which,
belonging to DR.. j. G. Green, attracted
much attention. One of these showed
cumulose gold. deposited by the galvanic
battery on fine gold base, a rare and
unique product of the electric current.
DIR. j. B. Wood, burgess of West Chester,
showed, alon. with other objects, some
chlorate of potash, crystals that were a
delight to see. DR.. II. G. Wood exhibited
specimens of pond life, one of these show
ing the breathing apparatus of the
water flea in the living animal. Other
objects from the various kingdoms of
nature we're here in variety, as seeds, leaf
sections, pure copper, minute seaweeds,
injected preparations, etc. DR.. ROthrOck,
the botanist, had two microscopes, one
showing the leaf of the floating heart.
and the other successful staining of
one of the western woods. This
gentleman sails for Europe about
the middle of June, to be gone for several
months, for the purpose study under a
distinguished specialist of Strasburg on
the Rhine. He inquired cordially after the
e