Book Description

Excerpt from The American Monthly Microscopical Journal, Vol. 11: Containing Contributions to Biology for 1890 The slide cases sold by dealers being often expensive, many persons will prefer the one shown in the frontispiece, Figures 1 and 2. Make a pine box, of which the inside measurements are 71/2 by 8, and 3 in. deep. If deeper, the box becomes too large to grasp comfortably in the hand. The lid should hinge on one of the 71/2 in. sides, and the opposite side of the box should let down flat by means of a pair of hinges at the bottom. Cut a number of squares of cardboard for trays, 71/4 by 73/4 .Then for each tray cut two half-inch strips of stoutest pasteboard, 73/4 in. long; three strips of the same width, 61/4 in. long. With glue or thick gum affix the two long and two of the short strips to the cardboard close to the edge, and use the remaining short piece to divide the central space equally into two. The size of the spaces will be 61/2 by 31/8, and each tray will hold a dozen slides. My own box, 3 in. deep, holds 24 of these trays, capable of accommodating 288 slides, and the cost of the whole is a little over one dollar, or less than one-fifth for the same amount of accommodation in boxes sold for the purpose. The cardboard and pasteboard must be cut with a knife, not with scissors; if gum is used it must be well dissolved, strained, and very thick, and each tray as it is made must be placed under a weight, one on the top of another. If the thickness of the pasteboard is not enough to furnish depth for the slides containing objects mounted in raised cells, it can be increased by adding a thickness of cardboard, or even another of pasteboard. An Inexpensive Reagent Block. A frequently expressed need of some convenient and inexpensive block or case in which to place the reagents and apparatus used in the biological laboratories, leads me to describe the form I have used for some time. (Frontispiece, figure 3.) It is a plain whitewood block, 15 c.m. square and 4 c.m. thick. On the upper side of this three grooves are cut, each 15 c.m. deep. The first is 1 c.m. from the edge and 1 c.m. wide. The second is 1 c. m. from it and 3.5 c.m. wide. The third is 1 c.m. from it and 2 c.m. wide. Into one end there is glued a closely-fitted block 1 c. m. long, and in the other end one 5 c.m. long, leaving a trough for slides about 90 c.m. long. In the place where these last blocks is glued is bored a hole 1.5 c.m. in diameter and 1 c. m. deep, into which tightly fits a paper pill box for covers. The remainder of the block is provided with two rows of 5 holes, each 2 c.m. in diameter and 3.5 c.m. deep, for reagent phials. The first groove is used for razor, and the second for pencils, pipette, forceps, etc. The block is easily made; costs very little; is very neat in appearance, and convenient in work. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical