The Microscope and Microscopical Methods - Softcover

Reseña del editor

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1894. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... A great field is also open for obtaining life-like portraits of water animals. Freshly killed or etherized animals are put into a vessel of water with a contrasting back ground and arranged as desired then photographed The fins have something of their natural appearance and the gills of branchiate salamanders float out in the water in a natural way. In case the fish tends to float in the water a little mercury injected into the abdomen or intestine will serve as ballast. The photographs obtainable in water are almost if not quite as clear as those made in air. Even the corrugations on the scales of such fishes as the sucker (Catostomus teres) show with great clearness. Indeed so good are the results that excellent fine tint, half tone plates may be produced from the pictures thus made, also excellent photogravures. In those cases, as in anatomical preparations, where the photograph rarely answers the requirements of a scientific figure, still a photograph serves as a most admirable basis for a scientific figure. The photograph is made of the desired size and all the parts are in correct proportion and in the correct relative position. From this photographic picture may be traced all the outlines upon the drawing paper, and the artist can devote his whole time and energy to giving the proper expression without the tedious labor of making measurements. "While the use of photography for outlines as.bases for figures diminishes the labor of the artist about one-half it increases that of the preparator; and herein lies one of its chief merits. The photographs being exact images of the preparations, the tendency will be to make them with greater care and delicacy, and the result will be less imagination and more reality in published scientific figures; aud the objects...