There is a temptation to buy a large stock of stains of all hues and of varied composition. The temptation should not be allowed to get the better of us. In our early days at anyrate, we shall do far better if we use but few stains and learn to understand their peculiarities.
The most useful selection for the beginner will comprise Haematoxylin, Safranin, Eosin, Carbol-Fuchsin, Methylene Blue, and Carmalum. These should all be obtained ready for use: this will save errors in compounding, and, in certain cases, will save time; some of the stains, Haematoxylin for example, are not fit for use till months after they have been mixed with the other ingredients which form the complete stain.
Frequently when examining small but lively water animals we may feel the necessity of some method of sobering them. All the little organisms, both plants and animals, which are provided with the little whip-like structures mentioned so often in our pages, are difficult to examine whilst they are in motion. There are many substances, we might add, which would kill them, but in doing so we shall nearly always find that they contract to such an extent as to lose all semblance of their natural shape, and become useless as objects for our microscope. Should our inclinations lead us in the direction of much study of these little beings, we shall do well to keep handy a small bottle of Rousselet’s solution; it is composed of 2 per cent. solution of hydrochlorate of cocaine, 3 parts; Methylated Spirit, 1 part; water, 6 parts. Any chemist will mix the solution for us. When we have occasion to examine a too lively specimen, we simply run a drop of the solution under the cover slip, as described in our remarks on staining with iodine, and the creature we are examining will abandon its frolics and conveniently remain in a fully expanded state.
Many of our readers will be anxious to carry their microscopic investigations to a more advanced stage than we have reached in our pages. Some will have the advantage of a teacher, and it is a great advantage to have someone who can show rather than merely explain what should be done; others not so well placed may like to know a few really useful books which will help them in their work. “The Microscope and its Revelations,” by B. H. Dallinger, is a large and therefore costly work, but it contains a rare fund of information for the microscopist. Smaller and eminently suitable for the general worker is “Modern Microscopy,” by Messrs Cross & Cole. Those who wish to specialize in one of the sciences, such as Botany, Zoology, or Geology, will find no lack of books dealing with the subject that most appeals to them. For photographers who are also microscopists, we know of no better books than “Practical Principles of Plain Photomicrography,” by G. West, or the more advanced “Handbook of Photomicrography,” by Messrs Hind & Randles.
Neither books nor teacher will be able to reveal to any of us all the secrets of the microscope. By its means a new world is unfolded before the eyes of mankind, a world of unlimited possibilities. No man will ever see all that the microscope can show him, each day some fresh wonder is looked upon for the first time.
As a hobby, microscopy can hardly be excelled. It is a sensible hobby and, after the initial outlay, need cost us but a few pence each year. We hear someone say that he prefers an outdoor hobby, but surely the microscope, if used intelligently, will take us out of doors. The search for specimens is one of the attractions of microscopy. As an instrument for the serious worker the microscope compares favourably with any other invention of mankind.
Think for a moment what we owe to the microscope in a hundred and one walks of life, and then you will realize the romance attached to the instrument, and its revelations from the days of Euclid to the present time.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Humour is here used in its original sense, meaning moisture or a liquid.