The record-union., 1898-04-12
A POWERFUL MICROSCOPE.
To Make First-Class Magnifying
Glass FOR a Few Cents.

"A FOWE EaE Ill MAChOSCOFE.
To Make First-Class Magnifying
/ Glass for a Few Cents.
/ While almost everyone has heard of
| the wonderful powers of the micro
scope, yet but few have ever had an
! opportunity to look through one, and
! fewer still have been able to possess
really good instrument simple
! pocket lens is in itself sufficiently Won
derful, but one who has only looked
through a magnifying glass can have
! but a faint idea of the enormous mag
nifying powers of a microscope.
t The high price of the instrument will
always prevent it's common use, for a
serviceable microscope cannot be pur-
chased for less than $50. while the more
expensive ones cost several hundreds.
And yet very excellent little misco-
scope may be made at home in few
minutes by anyone and at cost of
next to nothing.
! First of ALL from some dealer in op-
/ tical goods, a small quantity of Canada
! balsam and a dozen cover glasses
should be bought, These cover glasses,
as they are called, are used in mount
| ing objects for the microscope, and are
! about as large around as a cent and
as thin as a sheet of writing paper.
! This is all that requires to be pur-
chased and should cost but few cents.
| Anyone who has noticed how water
| spilled on a tablecloth magnifies the
| hbers of the cloth will understand the
| principle upon which these lenses are
! to be constructed, only we shall use the
! Canada balsam instead of water.
To make a microscope, take a clean
| cover glass and in the center place a
small drop of balsam. Your microscope
! is now complete that is, the part that
does the magnifying is finished. 1t is
therefore very important that this part
should be well done. 1t is best to use
a common steel needle for the opera
| ton. Dip it well into the balsam, and
on raising it you will find that the bal
sam runs slowly down to the point,
very much as molasses would The
drop thus formed should be placed
carefully in position, and great care
must be taken to make it exactly
round A number of these microscopes
should be made of different sizes. Each
one will then have a different magnl-
| flying power, the rule being that the
smaller the drop the more it will mag
Nifty.
The microscope, as thus made, can
| be used just as it is, but it is best for
ease in working to have some kind Of
| a mounting A very good mounting
may be made as follows: In piece
| of paper, the sizegofsa cover glass, cut
a small circular hole. not quite as large
| as the drop of balsam. Paste this on
| the reverse side. of the cover opposite
the drop. This forms what is called
diaphragm. and prevents the light
from the edges of the drop interfering
with the accurate working of the lens
| Next make a small circle of thin wood,
| and in the center of it bore hole a
| little larger than the drop. Gum the
| cover glass on to this so that the drop
! shall come on the inside: thus you will
not only be able to handle the deli
cate cover glass freely. but you will
also protect the drop from dirt and
! touching with the hands while harden
| ing.
After having made your microscope,
the next question is how. to use it. For
| examining mounted transparent objects
or slides, it may be used like an ordi-
nary magnifying glass. Hold the slide
! up toward the light. and as the dis
| tance between the object and the lens
for a clear definition, or, in other words
| the focus of all these microscopes, is
very short. the microscope should first
| be placed against the slide and then
moved slowly away until the proper
| focus is reached. The eye should be
| - t1,a
| mounted objects, however, although
very beautiful, are apt to be rather
extensive. and to the average student
will not be half so interesting as the
millions of millions of tiny animals and
plants to be found in common pond
water.
Those who wish to examine the wa
ter animalcules, as they are called, may
! use the following simple device. A
plain slide may be made from common
window glass, about three inches lone
! and one inch broad. A cell or round
ring of wax may be easily made in the
! center with one of the circular glass
| covers and deep enough to contain a
| good-sized drop of water. This slide
will answer all the purposes of a store
made affair costing 81 or more. To
use il put the drop of water that you
wish to examine in the wax cell and
drop a cover glass upon it, thus flatten-
/ ing the curved surface of the drop SO
] that it may be examined without the
| image being distorted thereby. The
slide may now be viewed just like any
mounted object.
The magnifying power, as has been
| said, varies with the size Of the drop
of balsam used A drop one-quarter
! of an inch in diameter will magnify
| to about fifteen diameters; a drop halt
| that size about thirty diameteTs, while
| powers of one, two. or even three, hun
| dred diameters may be readily obtain
ed. When it is realized that the ordi-
nary pocket lens rarely magnifies more
! than i've diameters, the immense pow
/ ers of these microscopes will be under
stood In examining pond water, how
1 ever, only the lower powers should be
used, first using the lowest and increas-
! ing in power until the best results are
reached 1t is nonsense to use a higher
power than is necessary to see an OBJ
| ject Well
Appealing to the Record.
Helm tired of hearing about wo-
man being the better half" Look al
Eve. She led Adam into sim He never
| would have eaten the forbidden fruit
| If she hadn't eaten it first How dc
! Won get around that?