Transcriber’s Notes
Text printed in italics has been transcribed between _underscores_.
Small capitals have been replaced with ALL CAPITALS. ^{text}
represents superscript text.
More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of this text.
ESSAYS
ON THE
MICROSCOPE.
[Illustration: _T.S. Duché pinxit_
_Truth discovering to Time, Science instructing her Children in the
Improvements on the Microscope._
_London, Published July 1.^{st} 1787, by Geo.^{e} Adams, N.^{o} 60 Fleet
Street._]
ESSAYS
ON THE
MICROSCOPE;
CONTAINING
A PRACTICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST IMPROVED
_MICROSCOPES_;
A GENERAL HISTORY OF INSECTS,
THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS, PECULIAR HABITS, AND ŒCONOMY:
AN ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS SPECIES, AND SINGULAR PROPERTIES, OF THE
HYDRÆ AND VORTICELLÆ: A DESCRIPTION OF THREE HUNDRED
AND EIGHTY-THREE ANIMALCULA:
WITH
A CONCISE CATALOGUE OF INTERESTING OBJECTS: A VIEW OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF TIMBER, AND THE CONFIGURATION OF SALTS, WHEN
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.
_ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTY-TWO FOLIO PLATES_
BY THE LATE
GEORGE ADAMS,
MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER TO HIS MAJESTY, &c.
THE SECOND EDITION,
WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS, BY
FREDERICK KANMACHER, F. L. S.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY DILLON AND KEATING,
FOR THE EDITOR; AND FOR W. AND S. JONES, HOLBORN.
MDCCXCVIII.
PRICE 1_l._ 8_s._ IN BOARDS.
TO
THE KING.
SIR,
Every work that tends to enlarge the boundaries of science has a
peculiar claim to the protection of Kings. He that diffuses science,
civilizes man, opens the inlets to his happiness, and co-operates with
the Fountain and Source of all knowledge. By science truth is
advanced; and of DIVINE TRUTH Kings are the representatives.
The work which I have now the honour to present to YOUR MAJESTY, calls
the attention of the reader to those laws of Divine order by which the
universe is governed and supported; in it we find that the minutest
beings share in the protection, and triumph in the bounty of the
Sovereign of all things: that the infinitely small manifest to the
astonished eye the same proportion, regularity and design, which are
conspicuous to the unassisted sight in the larger parts of creation.
By finding all things formed in beauty, and produced for use, the
mind is raised from the fleeting and evanescent appearances of matter,
to contemplate the permanent principles of truth, and acknowledge that
the whole proceeds from the wisdom that originates in love.
It was by YOUR MAJESTY’S goodness and gracious patronage that I was
first induced to undertake a description of mathematical and
philosophical instruments, that I might thereby facilitate the
attainment of those sciences that are connected with them, and by
shewing what was already obtained, excite emulation, and quicken
invention.
It is to the same goodness that I am indebted for this opportunity of
subscribing myself,
SIR,
YOUR MAJESTY’S
Most humble,
Most obedient,
and most dutiful
Subject and Servant,
GEORGE ADAMS.
PREFACE.
In the preface to my ESSAYS ON ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM, I informed the
public that it was my intention to publish, from time to time, essays
describing the construction and explaining the use of mathematical and
philosophical instruments, in their present state of improvement. This
work will, I hope, be considered as a performance of my promise, as far
as relates to the subject here treated of.[1]
[1] Towards the completion of this design, our author afterwards
published, 1. Astronomical and Geographical Essays; 2. Geometrical and
Graphical Essays; 3. An Essay on Vision; 4. Lectures on Natural and
Experimental Philosophy. He had projected other compilations, and was
preparing a new edition of this work; but, alas! how uncertain are all
human projects! constant attention to an extensive business and to
literature, preyed on a constitution far from robust, and at length
rapidly accelerated his dissolution, which happened at Southampton, on
the 14th of August, 1795; aged 45. By this event, the world was
prematurely deprived of the beneficial effects of his farther labours,
and his friends of the conversation of a man, whose amiable and
communicative disposition endeared him to all those who had the
pleasure of knowing him. His life had been devoted to religious and
moral duties, to the acquisition of science, and its diffusion for the
benefit of mankind. To those who had no personal knowledge of Mr.
ADAMS, his works will continue to display his merits as an author, and
his virtues as a valuable member of society. EDIT.
The first chapter contains a short history of the invention and
improvements that have been made on the microscope, and Father Di
Torre’s method of making his celebrated glass globules. The second
treats of vision, in which I have endeavoured to explain in a familiar
manner the reason of those advantages which are obtained by the use of
magnifying lenses; but as the reader is supposed to be unacquainted with
the elements of this science, so many intermediate ideas have been
necessarily omitted, as must in some degree lessen the force, and weaken
the perception of the truths intended to be inculcated: to have given
these, would have required a treatise on optics.
In the third chapter, the most improved microscopes, and some others
which are in general use, are particularly described; no pains have been
spared to lessen the difficulty of observation, and remove obscurity
from description; the relative advantages of each instrument are briefly
pointed out, to enable the reader to select that which is best adapted
to his pursuits. The method of preparing different objects for
observation, and the cautions necessary to be observed in the use of the
microscope, are the subjects of the fourth chapter.
When I first undertook the present essays, I had confined myself to a
re-publication of my fathers work, entitled, Micrographia Illustrata;
but I soon found that both his and Mr. Baker’s tracts on the microscope
were very imperfect. Natural history had not been so much cultivated at
the period when they wrote, as it is in the present day. To the want of
that information which is now easily obtained, we may with propriety
impute their errors and imperfections. I have, therefore, in the fifth
chapter, after some general observations on the utility of natural
history, endeavoured to remedy their defects, by arranging the subject
in systematic order, and by introducing the microscopic reader to the
system of Linnæus, as far as relates to insects: by this he will learn
to discriminate one insect from another, to characterize their different
parts, and thus be better enabled to avoid error himself, and to convey
instruction to others.
As the transformations which insects undergo, constitute a principal
branch of their history, and furnish many objects for the microscope, I
have given a very ample description of them; the more so, as many
microscopic writers, by not considering these changes with attention,
have fallen into a variety of mistakes. Here I intended to stop; but the
charms of natural history are so seducing, that I was led on to describe
the peculiar and striking marks in the œconomy of these little
creatures. And should the purchaser of these essays receive as much
pleasure in reading this part as I did in compiling it; should it induce
him to study this part of natural history; nay, should it only lead him
to read the stupendous work of the most excellent Swammerdam, he will
have no reason to regret his purchase, and one of my warmest wishes will
be gratified.
In the next chapter I have endeavoured to give the reader some idea of
the internal parts of insects, principally from M. Lyonet’s Anatomical
and Microscopical Description of the Caterpillar of the Cossus or
Goat-moth. As this book is but little known in our country, I concluded
that a specimen of the indefatigable labour of this patient and humane
anatomist would be acceptable to all lovers of the microscope; and I
have, therefore, appropriated a plate, which, whilst it shews what may
be effected when microscopic observation is accompanied by patience and
industry, displays also the wonderful organization of this insect. This
is followed by a description of several miscellaneous objects, of which
no proper idea could be formed without the assistance of glasses.
To describe the fresh-water polype or hydra; to give a short history of
the discovery of these curious animals, and some account of their
singular properties, is the business of the succeeding chapter. The
properties of these animals are so extraordinary, that they were
considered at first to be as contrary to the common course of nature, as
they really were to the received opinions of animal life. Indeed, who
can even now contemplate without astonishment animals that multiply by
slips and shoots like a plant? that may be grafted together as one tree
to another, that may be turned inside out like a glove, and yet live,
act, and perform all the various functions of their contracted spheres?
As nearly allied to these, the chapter finishes with an account of those
vorticellæ which have been enumerated by Linnæus. It has been my
endeavour to dissipate confusion by the introduction of order, to
dispose into method, and select under proper heads the substance of all
that is known relative to these little creatures, and in the compass of
a few pages to give the reader the information that is dispersed through
volumes.
From the hydræ and vorticellæ, it was natural to proceed to the
animalcula which are to be found in vegetable infusions; microscopic
beings, that seem as it were to border on the infinitely small, that
leave no space destitute of inhabitants, and are of greater importance
in the immense scale of beings than our contracted imagination can
conceive; yet, small as they are, each of them possesses all that beauty
and proportion of organized texture which is necessary to its
well-being, and suited to the happiness it is called forth to enjoy. A
short account of three hundred and seventy-seven[2] of these minute
beings is then given, agreeable to the system of the laborious Müller,
enlarging considerably his description of those animalcula that are most
easily met with, better known, and consequently more interesting to the
generality of readers.
[2] To these, six more are now added, making the whole three hundred
and eighty three. EDIT.
The construction of timber, and the disposition of its component parts,
as seen by the microscope, is the subject of the next chapter; a subject
confessedly obscure. With what degree of success this attempt has been
prosecuted, must be left to the judgment of the reader. The best
treatise on this part of vegetation is that of M. Du Hamel du Monceau
sur la Physique des Arbres. If either my time or situation in life would
have permitted it, I should have followed his plan; but being confined
to business and to London, I can only recommend it to those lovers of
the works of the Almighty, who live in the country, to pursue this
important branch of natural history. There is no doubt but that new
views of the operations in nature, and of the wisdom with which all
things are contrived, would amply repay the labour of investigation.
Every part of the vegetable kingdom is rich in microscopic beauties,
from the stateliest tree of the forest, from the cedar of Lebanon, to
the lowliest moss and the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; all
conspiring to say how much is hid from the natural sight of man, how
little can be known till it receives assistance, and is benefited by
adventitious aid.
From the wonderful organization of animals, and the curious texture of
vegetables, we proceed to the mineral kingdom, and take a cursory view
of the configuration of salts and saline substances, exhibiting a few
specimens of the beautiful order in which they arrange themselves under
the eye, after having been separated by dissolution; every species
working as it were upon a different plan, and producing cubes, pyramids,
hexagons, or some other figure peculiar to itself, with a constant
regularity amidst boundless variety.
Though all nature teems with objects for the microscopic observer, yet
such is the indolence of the human mind, or such its inattention to what
is obvious, that among the purchasers of microscopes many have
complained that they knew not what subjects to apply to their
instrument, or where to find objects for examination. To obviate this
complaint, a catalogue is here given, which is interspersed with the
description of a few insects, and other objects, which could not be
conveniently introduced in the foregoing chapters. By this catalogue it
is hoped that the use of the microscope will be extended, and the path
of observation facilitated.
To avoid the formal parade of quotation, and the fastidious charge of
plagiarism, I have subjoined to this preface a list of the authors which
have been consulted. As my extracts were made at very distant periods,
it would have been impossible for me to recollect to whom I was indebted
for every new fact or ingenious observation.
The plates were drawn and engraved with a view to be folded up with the
work; but as it is the opinion of many of my friends that they would, by
this mean, be materially injured, I have been advised to have them
stitched in strong blue paper, and leave it to the purchaser to dispose
of them to his own mind.
A
LIST OF THE AUTHORS
WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSULTED IN THE COMPILATION OF THE FORMER
AND PRESENT EDITION OF THESE ESSAYS.
ADAMS. Micrographia Illustrata, or the Microscope
Explained. London, 1746 and 1781.
ADDISON. Spectator.
BAKER. An Attempt towards the Natural History of
the Polype. London, 1743.
BAKER. The Microscope made Easy. London, 1744.
BAKER. Employment for the Microscope. London, 1753.
BARBUT. Genera Insectorum of Linnæus. 4to. London, 1781.
BERKENHOUT. Botanical Lexicon. 8vo. London, 1764.
BERKENHOUT. Synopsis of Natural History. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1789.
BIRCH. History of the Royal Society. 4to. 4 vols. London, 1756.
BLAIR. Sermons. London, 1792.
BONNANI. Observationes circa Viventia, quæ in Rebus
non Viventibus reperiuntur, &c. 4to. 1691.
BONNET. Oeuvres d’Histoire Naturelle et de
Philosophie. 9 tom. 4to. Neufchatel, 1779.
BORELLUS. De vero Telescopii Inventore.
BRAND. Select Dissertations from the Amœnitates
Academicæ, &c. 8vo. London, 1781.
CURTIS. Instructions for Collecting and Preserving
Insects. 8vo. London, 1771.
CURTIS. Translation of the Fundamenta Entomologiæ.
8vo. London, 1772.
CURTIS. Flora Londinensis. Folio. London, 1777, &c.
CURTIS. Botanical Magazine. 8vo. London, 1787, &c.
CYCLOPÆDIA. By Dr. Rees. 4 vols. Folio. London, 1786.
DE GEER. Memoires pour servir a l’Histoire des
Insectes. 4to. 7 tom. 1752.
DELLEBARRE. Memoires sur les Differences de la
Construction et des Effects du Microscope. 1777.
DERHAM. Physico-Theology. 8vo. London, 1732.
DONOVAN. History of British Insects. 8vo. London, 1792, &c.
DONOVAN. Treatise on the Management of Insects. 8vo. London, 1794.
DU HAMEL DU MONCEAU. La Physique des Arbres. Paris, 1757.
ELLIS. Essay towards a Natural History of
Corallines. 4to. 1755.
ELLIS. Zoophytes, by Dr. Solander. 4to. London, 1786.
ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA. 4to. 18 vols. Edinburgh, 1797.
EPINUS. Description des Nouveaux Microscopes.
FABRICIUS. Philosophia Entomologica. 8vo. 1778.
GEOFFROY. Histoire Abregee des Insectes. 2 tom. 4to. Paris, 1764.
GLEICHEN. Les plus Nouvelles Deucouverts dans le
Regne Vegetal, &c. Folio. 1770.
GOLDSMITH. History of the Earth and Animated Nature.
8vo. London, 1774.
GREW. Anatomy of Plants. Folio. London, 1682.
HALLER. Physiologia.
HEDWIG. Theoria Generationis et Fructificationis
de Plantarum Cryptogamicarum. Petersb. 1784.
HILL. Review of the Royal Society. 4to. London, 1751.
HILL. History of Animals. Folio. London, 1752.
HILL. Essays in Natural History. 8vo. London, 1752.
HILL. The Construction of Timber explained by
the Microscope. 8vo. London, 1770.
HILL. Inspector.
HOME. Treatise on Ulcers, &c. 8vo. London, 1797.
HOOKE. Micrographia. Folio. London, 1665.
HOOKE. Lectures and Collections. 4to. London, 1678.
HOOPER. Economy of Plants. 8vo. Oxford, 1797.
JOBLOT. Observations d’Histoire Naturelle faites
avec le Microscope. 4to. 2 tom. Paris.
JOURNAL DE PHYSIQUE, PAR ROZIER, &c.
JONES. A Course of Lectures on the Figurative
Language of the Holy Scriptures. 8vo. 1787.
KIPPIS. Biographia Britannica. Folio. 1778, &c.
LEDERMULLER. Microscopische Ergötzungen. 4 theile. 4to.
LEEUWENHOEK. Arcana Naturæ. 4to. Lugd. Bat. 1722.
LEEUWENHOEK. Opera Omnia. 4to. Ibid. 1722.
LETTSOM. Naturalist’s Companion. 8vo. London, 1774.
LINNEAN SOCIETY. Transactions. 3 vols. 4to. London, 1791, &c.
LINNÆUS. Systema Naturæ. 8vo. edit. 12mo. Holmiæ, 1766.
LYONET. Theologie des Insectes de Lesser. 2 tom.
8vo. La Haye, 1742.
LYONET. Traite Anatomique de la Chenille qui ronge
le Bois de Saule. 4to.
MACQUER. Dictionary of Chemistry. London, 1777.
MAGNY. Journal d’Economie. 1753.
MALPIGHI. Opera. 4to. Lugduni Bat. 1687.
MARTIN. Micrographia Nova. 4to. Reading, 1742.
MARTIN. Optical Essays. 8vo. London.
MULLER. Animalcula Infusoria Fluviatilia et
Marina. 4to. Hauniæ, 1786.
NICHOLSON. Introduction to Natural Philosophy. 2
vols. 8vo. 1787.
NICHOLSON. Journal of Natural Philosophy, &c. 1797.
NEEDHAM. New Microscopical Discoveries. 8vo. London, 1745.
NEUERE GESCHICHTE DER MISSIONS ANSTALTEN. 4to. Halle, 1796.
PALLAS. Elenchus Zoophytorum. 8vo. Hagæ Comit. 1766.
PARSONS. Microscopic Theatre of Seeds. 4to. London, 1745.
POWER. Microscopical Observations. 4to. 1664.
PRIESTLEY. On Light, Vision, and Colours. 4to. 1772.
REAUMUR. Memoires pour servir a l’Histoire des
Insectes. 8vo. Amsterdam, 1737.
REDI. De Insectis. 1671.
REID. On the Intellectual Powers of Man. Nürnberg, 1746, &c.
ROSEL. Insecten Belustigung. 4 theile. 4to.
ROYAL SOCIETY. Philosophical Transactions.
RUTHERFORTH. Natural Philosophy. 2 vols. 4to. Cambridge, 1748.
SCHIRACH. Histoire Naturelle de la Reine des
Abeilles. A la Haye, 1771.
SHAW. Naturalist’s Miscellany. 8vo. London, 1790, &c.
SMITH, R. Optics. 2 vols. 4to. Cambridge, 1738.
SMITH, I. E. English Botany. 8vo. London, 1790, &c.
SPALANZANI. Opuscules de Physiques Animale et
Vegetale. Geneva, 1777.
STILLINGFLEET. Miscellaneous Tracts. 8vo. London, 1762.
SWAMMERDAM. The Book of Nature, revised by Hill.
Folio. London, 1758.
SWEDENBORG. Œconomia Regni Animalis, cui accedit
Introductio ad Psychologiam Rationalem.
4to. Amsterdam, 1743.
SWEDENBORG. Regnum Animale, Anatomice, Physice et
Philosophice Perlustratum. 4to. Hagæ Comit. 1744.
TREMBLEY. Memoires pour servir a l’Histoire des
Polypes d’eau douce. Paris, 1744.
VALMONT DE BOMARE. Dictionnaire Raisonne universal
d’Histoire Naturelle. Lyon, 1776.
WALKER. A Collection of Minute and Rare Shells.
4to. London, 1784.
YEATS. Institutions of Entomology. 8vo. Ibid. 1773.
LONDON, _Dec. 12, 1797_.
The Public are hereby respectfully informed, that the STOCK and
COPYRIGHT of the following Works by the same AUTHOR, lately deceased,
have been purchased by W. and S. JONES, Opticians, &c. and that they
are now to be had at their Shop in Holborn.
I. GEOMETRICAL AND GRAPHICAL ESSAYS. This Work contains, 1. A select Set
of Geometrical Problems, many of which are new, and not contained in any
other Work. 2. The Description and Use of those Mathematical Instruments
that are usually put into a Case of Drawing Instruments. Besides these,
there are also described several New and Useful Instruments for
Geometrical Purposes. 3. A complete and concise System of SURVEYING,
with an Account of some very essential Improvements in that useful Art.
To which is added, a Description of the most improved THEODOLITES, PLANE
TABLES, and other Instruments used in Surveying; and most accurate
Methods of adjusting them. 4. The Methods of LEVELLING, for the Purpose
of conveying Water from one Place to another; with a Description of the
most improved Spirit Level. 5. A Course of PRACTICAL MILITARY GEOMETRY,
as taught at Woolwich. 6. A short Essay on Perspective. The Second
Edition, corrected, and enlarged with the Descriptions of several
Instruments unnoticed in the former Edition, by W. JONES, Math. Inst.
Maker; illustrated by 35 Copper-plates, in 2 vols. 8vo. Price 14s. in
Boards.
II. AN ESSAY ON ELECTRICITY, explaining clearly and fully the Principles
of that useful Science, describing the various Instruments that have
been contrived, either to illustrate the Theory, or render the Practice
of it entertaining. To which is added, A LETTER to the AUTHOR, from Mr.
JOHN BIRCH, Surgeon, on MEDICAL ELECTRICITY. Fourth Edition, 8vo. Price
6s. illustrated with six Plates.
III. AN ESSAY ON VISION, briefly explaining the Fabric of the Eye, and
the Nature of Vision; intended for the Service of those whose Eyes are
weak and impaired, enabling them to form an accurate Idea of the State
of their Sight, the Means of preserving it, together with proper Rules
for ascertaining when Spectacles are necessary, and how to choose them
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IV. ASTRONOMICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL ESSAYS, containing, 1. A full and
comprehensive View of the general Principles of Astronomy, with a large
Account of the Discoveries of Dr. Herschel, &c. 2. The Use of the
Globes, exemplified in a greater Variety of Problems than are to be
found in any other Work; arranged under distinct Heads, and interspersed
with much curious but relative Information. 3. The Description and Use
of Orreries and Planetaria, &c. 4. An Introduction to Practical
Astronomy, by a Set of easy and entertaining Problems. Third Edition,
8vo. Price 10s. 6d. in Boards, illustrated with sixteen Plates.
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and Equatorial, being extracted from the preceding Work. Sewed, with two
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VI. AN APPENDIX to the GEOMETRICAL AND GRAPHICAL ESSAYS, containing the
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_In the Press, and speedily will be Published_,
LECTURES
ON NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY,
In Five Volumes 8vo. The Second Edition, with upwards of Forty large
Plates, considerable Alterations and Improvements; containing more
complete Explanations of the Instruments, Machines, &c. and the
Description of many others not inserted in the former Edition.
BY W. JONES, MATHEMATICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL INSTRUMENT MAKER.
_ADVERTISEMENT._
_The editor esteems it his indispensable duty, to point out the several
improvements which have been made in this work, in order to render it
still more acceptable to the public._
_The whole has been carefully revised--many typographical errors
corrected--numerous additions and emendations from the author’s own copy
incorporated, and some superfluities rejected. Wherever any ambiguity
occurred, the editor has endeavoured to elucidate the passage, observing
due caution not to misconceive the idea which the author meant to
inculcate. A more regular arrangement has been attempted, and occasional
notes subjoined: in these, and in other parts of the work, it has been
the editor’s primary object to ascertain facts, not to decide
peremptorily. Should he in any instance have erred, he can assure the
candid critic, that he shall experience a most sensible pleasure in
conviction._
_The principal additions are_,
Accounts of the latest improvements which have been made in the
construction of microscopes, particularly the lucernal.
A description of the glass, pearl, &c. micrometers, as made by Mr.
Coventry, and others.
An arrangement and description of minute and rare shells.
A descriptive list of a variety of vegetable seeds.
Instructions for collecting and preserving insects, together with
directions for forming a cabinet.
A copious list of objects for the microscope.
A list of Mr. Custance’s fine vegetable cuttings.
_With respect to the plates, three new engravings are introduced,
viz._
PLATE IV. Exhibiting the most improved compound microscopes, with
their apparatus.
PLATE XIV. Microscopical figures of minute and rare shells.
PLATE XV. Microscopical figures of a variety of vegetable seeds.
_Many additional figures have been inserted in other plates, and a
number of errors in the references corrected._
_A complete list of the plates and a more extensive index are also
added._
_It has been generally understood, that the author intended to have
published this edition in octavo; but, the impropriety of adopting that
mode must appear evident, for the very reason assigned by the author
himself in the concluding part of his preface. If the plates are liable
to sustain damage by folding them into a quarto, they would have been
subjected to far greater injury by being doubled into an octavo size,
besides, being extremely incommodious for reference. As the work now
appears, the purchaser may either retain the plates in the separate
volume, or, without much inconvenience, if properly guarded, have them
bound with the letter press._
_It affords the editor a pleasing satisfaction to mention, that
notwithstanding the additional heavy expense incurred in the article of
paper, &c. yet, by somewhat enlarging the page, and other economical
regulations in the mode of printing, this edition is offered to the
public at a trifling advance on the original price, though the
improvements now made occupy considerably more than one-hundred pages._
_Anxious, lest the reputation which the work has already acquired,
should be diminished by any deficiency on his part, the editor has
sedulously applied himself to render it extensively useful to the
serious admirer of the wonders of the creation; whether he has
succeeded, is now submitted to the decision of the intelligent part of
the public. He shall only add, that conscious of the purity of his
intentions, and convinced of the instability of all terrestrial
attainments, he trusts that he is equally secured from the weakness of
being elevated by success, or depressed by disappointment._
_Apothecaries Hall, London,
Jan. 1, 1798._
CONTENTS.
CHAP. I.
A concise History of the Invention and Improvements which have been
made upon the Instrument called a Microscope. p. 1.
CHAP. II.
Of Vision; of the optical Effects of Microscopes, and of the Manner of
estimating their magnifying Powers. p. 26.
CHAP. III.
A Description of the most improved Microscopes, and the Method of
using them. p. 64.
CHAP. IV.
General Instructions for using the Microscope, and preparing the
Objects. p. 129.
CHAP. V.
The Importance of Natural History; of Insects in general, and of their
constituent Parts. p. 167.
CHAP. VI.
A general View of the internal Parts of Insects, and more particularly
of the Caterpillar of the Phalæna Cossus. A Description of sundry
miscellaneous Objects. p. 334.
CHAP. VII.
The Natural History of the Hydra, or Fresh Water Polype. p. 357.
CHAP. VIII.
Of the Animalcula Infusoria. p. 415.
CHAP. IX.
On the Organization or Construction of Timber, as viewed by the
Microscope. p. 574.
CHAP. X.
Of the Crystallization of Salts, as seen by the Microscope; together
with a concise List of Objects. p. 600.
CHAP. XI.
An Arrangement and Description of minute and rare Shells. A
descriptive List of a Variety of vegetable Seeds, as they appear when
viewed by the Microscope. By the Editor. p. 629.
CHAP. XII.
Instructions for collecting and preserving Insects. A copious List of
microscopic Objects. By the Editor. p. 665.
ADDITIONS. p. 713.
ERRATA.
Page 16, line 22, _for_ lead _read_ led
Page 20, line 6, _for_ Fig. T _read_ Fig. 1
Page 49, last line, _for_ usefully _read_ successfully
Page 62, last but one, _for_ stop _read_ stage
Page 80, line 22, _after_ microscope _add_ by
Page 88, three lines from bottom, _for_ improvent _read_ improvement
Page 95, line 2, _for_ R _read_ K
Page 111, two lines from bottom, _for_ VK _read_ VX
Page 115, line 12, _for_ g _read_ q
Page 125, note, _for_ Fig. 13 _read_ Fig. 13*
Page 145, line 17, _for_ cast of _read_ cast-off
Page 153, line 21, _for_ unkown _read_ unknown
Page 169, eight lines from bottom, _for_ is _read_ are
Page 188, note line 9, _for_ preventatives _read_ preventives
Page 195, line 7, _for_ exagon _read_ hexagon
Page 238, line 16, _for_ scarc _read_ scarce
Page 319, line 19, _for_ rise _read_ raise
Page 346, line 18, _for_ bread _read_ bred
Page 354, three lines from bottom, _for_ Fig. 1 and 2 _read_ Fig. 1
and 3
Page 445, line 18, _for_ immediate _read_ intermediate
LIST OF THE PLATES,
WITH REFERENCES TO THE PAGES WHERE THE SEVERAL FIGURES ARE DESCRIBED.
Plate Page
I. Various diagrams illustrative of vision and the optical
effect of microscopes 29
II. A. Ibid.--Needle micrometer, 54.--Coventry’s pearl, &c.
micrometers 59
B. Fig. 1. Wilson’s microscope and apparatus, 115.--Fig.
2. Ditto with a scroll 117
Fig. 3, 4. Small opake microscope and apparatus 118
III. Fig. 1, 2, and 4. Adams’s lucernal microscope and
apparatus 64
Fig. 3. Argand’s patent lamp 69
IV. Fig. 1. Jones’s improved compound microscope and
apparatus 92
Fig. 2. Jones’s most improved ditto, ditto 99
Fig. 3. Culpeper’s three-pillared microscope and
apparatus 104
V. Martin’s improved solar opake and transparent microscope 106
VI. Fig. I. Withering’s botanical microscope, 123.--Fig. 2.
Pocket botanical and universal microscope 124
Fig. 3. Lyonet’s anatomical microscope 122
Fig. 4. Transparent solar microscope and apparatus 113
Fig. 5. Tooth and pinion microscope ibid.
Fig. 14. Common flower and insect microscope note 125
VII. A. Cuff’s double constructed microscope and apparatus 89
B. Ellis’s aquatic microscope 119
VIII. Fig. 1-6. Portable microscope and telescope with
apparatus 125
Fig. 7, 8. Botanical magnifiers ibid.
IX. Fig. 1, 2. Engine for cutting sections of wood, and
appendage 127
Fig. 3, 4. Jones’s improved lucernal microscope and
apparatus 80
Fig. 5, 7. The Rev. Dr. Prince’s and Mr. Hill’s
improvements on the illuminating lenses and lamp of the
lucernal microscope 84
Fig. 6. Lanthorn microscope and screen 88
X. Fig. 1, 2. Nest of the phalæna neustria.--Fig. 3, 4.
Vertical section of ditto.
Fig. 5, 6. Horizontal section 287
Fig. 7, 8. Scales of the parrot fish, 355.--Fig. 9, 10.
Scales of sea perch 356
XI. Fig. 1, 2, 3. Larva of the musca chamæleon 248
Fig. 4, 5. Eels in blighted wheat 469
Fig. 6, 8, 9, 10, 11. Paste eel 462
Fig. 7. Vinegar eel 461
XII. Fig. 1, 2, 3, 4. Dissection of the caterpillar of the
phalæna cossus 336
Fig. 5, 6, 7. Dissection of the head of the caterpillar 337
XIII. Fig. 1, 2. Beard of the lepas anatifera 344
Fig. 3, 4. Collector of the bee 182
XIV. Fig. 1, 2. Wing of the forficula auricularia 143 and 205
Fig. 2 to 47. Magnified figures of minute and rare
shells 629
XV. Fig. 1, 2. Wing of the hemerobius perla 206
Fig. 1 to 46. Microscopic views of a variety of
vegetable seeds 645
XVI. Fig. 1, 2, and B, C, D, E. Proboscis of the tabanus 188
Fig. 3, 4. Cornea of the libellula 197
Fig. 5, 6. Cornea of the lobster ibid.
Fig. 7, 8, E, F, H, I. Feathers of the wings of the
sphinx stellatarum 208 and 627
XVII. Fig. 1, 2, 3. Leucopsis dorsigera 347
XVIII. Fig. 1 and 6. The lobster insect 348
Fig. 2 and 7. Skin of the lump-sucker 352
Fig. 3, 4, 5. Thrips physapus 350
XIX. Fig. 1-4. Feet of the monoculus apus 354
Fig. 5 and 6. Skin of the sole fish.--Fig. 7, 8. Scale
of the haddock.--Fig. 9, 10. Scale of West Indian
perch.--Fig. 11, 12. Scale of sole fish 356
XX. Fig. 1 and A. Cimex striatus, 352.--Fig. 2 and B.
Chrysomela asparagi 353
Fig. 3 and C. Meloe monoceros 354
XXI. Fig. 1-24. Various hydræ and vorticellæ 364
XXII. Fig. 26-40. Ditto 392
XXIII. A. Fig. 1-13. Various hydræ, 365. B. Fig. 14-29. Ditto 382
XXIV. A. Fig. 1-10. and B. Fig. 11-24. Ditto 376
XXV. Fig. 1-68. A variety of animalcula infusoria 431
XXVI. Fig. 1-23. Ditto 548
XXVII. Fig. 1-66. Ditto 519
XXVIII. Fig. 1, 2. Transverse section of chenopodium 599
Fig. 3, 4. Transverse section of a reed from Portugal ibid.
XXIX. Fig. 1, 2. Transverse section of althæa frutex ibid.
Fig. 3, 4. Transverse section of hazel ibid.
Fig. 5, 6. Transverse section branch of lime tree ibid.
XXX. Fig. 1, 2. Transverse section of sugarcane. ibid.
Fig. 3, 4. Transverse section of bamboo cane ibid.
Fig. 5, 6. Transverse section of common cane ibid.
XXXI. Fig. 1, 2. Crystals of nitre 606
Fig. 3, 4. Distilled verdigrise ibid.
XXXII. Fig. 1. Microscopical crystals of salt of wormwood 607
Fig. 2. Microscopical crystals of salt of amber ibid.
Fig. 3. Microscopical crystals of salt of hartshorn ibid.
Fig. 4. Microscopical crystals of salt of sal ammoniac ibid.
N. B. The reader will find no references to the several letters which
appear in the bodies of these figures, for reasons assigned by the
author as above; in order not to deface the plate, they were suffered
to remain.
ESSAYS
ON THE
MICROSCOPE.
CHAP. I.
A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE INVENTION AND IMPROVEMENTS WHICH HAVE BEEN MADE
UPON THE INSTRUMENT CALLED A MICROSCOPE.
It is generally supposed that microscopes[3] were invented about the
year 1580, a period fruitful in discoveries; a time when the mind began
to emancipate itself from those errors and prejudices by which it had
been too long enslaved, to assert its rights, extend its powers, and
follow the paths which lead to truth. The honor of the invention is
claimed by the Italians and the Dutch; the name of the inventor,
however, is lost; probably the discovery did not at first appear
sufficiently important, to engage the attention of those men, who, by
their reputation in science, were able to establish an opinion of its
merit with the rest of the world, and hand down the name of the inventor
to succeeding ages. Men of great literary abilities are too apt to
despise the first dawnings of invention, not considering that all real
knowledge is progressive, and that what they deem trifling, may be the
first and necessary link to a new branch of science.
[3] The term microscope is derived from the Greek μικρος little, and
σκοπεω to view; it is a dioptric instrument, by means of which objects
invisible to the naked eye, or very minute, are by the assistance of
lenses, or mirrors, represented exceeding large and very distinct.
EDIT.
The microscope extends the boundaries of the organs of vision; enables
us to examine the structure of plants and animals; presents to the eye
myriads of beings, of whose existence we had before formed no idea;
opens to the curious an exhaustless source of information and pleasure;
and furnishes the philosopher with an unlimited field of investigation.
“It leads,” to use the words of an ingenious writer, “to the discovery
of a thousand wonders in the works of his hand, who created ourselves,
as well as the objects of our admiration; it improves the faculties,
exalts the comprehension, and multiplies the inlets to happiness; is a
new source of praise to him, to whom all we pay is nothing of what we
owe; and, while it pleases the imagination with the unbounded treasures
it offers to the view, it tends to make the whole life one continued act
of admiration.”
It is not difficult to fix the period when the microscope first began to
be generally known, and was used for the purpose of examining minute
objects; for, though we are ignorant of the name of the first inventor,
we are acquainted with the names of those who introduced it to the
public, and engaged their attention to it, by exhibiting some of its
wonderful effects. Zacharias Jansens and his son had made microscopes
before the year 1619, for in that year the ingenious Cornelius Drebell
brought one, which was made by them, with him into England, and shewed
it to William Borel, and others. It is possible, this instrument of
Drebell’s was not strictly what is now meant by a microscope, but was
rather a kind of microscopic telescope,[4] something similar in
principle to that lately described by Mr. Æpinus, in a letter to the
Academy of Sciences at Petersburgh. It was formed of a copper tube six
feet long and one inch diameter, supported by three brass pillars in the
shape of dolphins; these were fixed to a base of ebony, on which the
objects to be viewed by the microscope were also placed. In
contradiction to this, Fontana, in a work which he published in 1646,
says, that he had made microscopes in the year 1618: this may be also
very true, without derogating from the merit of the Jansens, for we have
many instances in our own times of more than one person having executed
the same contrivance, nearly at the same time, without any communication
from one to the other.[5] In 1685, Stelluti published a description of
the parts of a bee, which he had examined with a microscope.
[4] Vide Borellum de vero Telescopii Inventore.
[5] In 1664 Dr. Power published his “Experimental Philosophy,” the
first part of which consists of a variety of microscopical
observations; and in the following year Dr. Hooke produced his
“Micrographia,” illustrated with a number of elegant figures of the
different objects. EDIT.
If we consider the microscope as an instrument consisting of one lens
only, it is not at all improbable that it was known to the ancients much
sooner than the last century; nay, even in a degree to the Greeks and
Romans: for it is certain, that spectacles were in use long before the
above-mentioned period: now, as the glasses of these were made of
different convexities, and consequently of different magnifying powers,
it is natural to suppose, that smaller and more convex lenses were made,
and applied to the examination of minute objects. In this sense, there
is also some ground for thinking the ancients were not ignorant of the
use of lenses, or at least of what approached nearly to, and might in
some instances be substituted for them. The two principal reasons which
support this opinion are, first, the minuteness of some ancient pieces
of workmanship, which are to be met with in the cabinets of the curious:
the parts of some of these are so small, that it does not appear at
present how they could have been executed without the use of magnifying
glasses, or of what use they could have been when executed, unless they
were in possession of glasses to examine them with. A remarkable piece
of this kind, a seal with very minute work, and which to the naked eye
appears very confused and indistinct, but beautiful when examined with a
proper lense, is described “Dans l’Histoire de l’Academie des
Inscriptions,” tom. 1, p. 333. The second argument is founded on a great
variety of passages, that are to be seen in the works of Jamblichus,
Pliny, Plutarch, Seneca, Agellius, Pisidias, &c. From these passages it
is evident that they were enabled by some instrument, or other means,
not only to view distant objects, but also to magnify small ones; for,
if this is not admitted, the passages appear absurd, and not capable of
having a rational meaning applied to them. I shall only adduce a short
passage from Pisidias, a christian writer of the seventh century, Τα
μελλοντα ως δια διοπτρου συ βλεπεις: “You see things future by a
_dioptrum_:” now we know of nothing but a perspective glass or small
telescope, whereby things at a distance may be seen as if they were near
at hand, the circumstance on which the simile was founded. It is also
clear, that they were acquainted with, and did make use of that kind of
microscope, which is even at this day commonly sold in our streets by
the Italian pedlars, namely, a glass bubble filled with water. Seneca
plainly affirms it, _Literæ, quamvis minutæ et obscuræ, per vitream
pilam aqua plenam majores clarioresque cernuntur_. Nat. Quæst. lib. 1,
cap. 7. “Letters, though minute and obscure, appear larger and clearer
through a glass bubble filled with water.” Those who wish to see further
evidence concerning the knowledge of the ancients in optics, may consult
Smith’s Optics, Dr. Priestley’s History of Light and Colours, the
Appendix to an Essay on the first Principles of Natural Philosophy by
the Rev. Mr. Jones, Dr. Rogers’s Dissertation on the Knowledge of the
Ancients, and the Rev. Mr. Dutens’s Enquiry into the Origin of the
Discoveries attributed to the Moderns.[6]
[6] A new edition in French of this learned and valuable work, with
many and useful notes, is just published. EDIT.
The history of the microscope, like that of nations and arts, has had
its brilliant periods, in which it has shone with uncommon splendor, and
been cultivated with extraordinary ardour; these have been succeeded by
intervals marked with no discovery, and in which the science seemed to
fade away, or at least lie dormant, till some favourable circumstance,
the discovery of a new object, or some new improvement in the
instruments of observation, awakened the attention of the curious, and
animated their researches. Thus, soon after the invention of the
microscope, the field it presented to observation was cultivated by men
of the first rank in science, who enriched almost every branch of
natural history by the discoveries they made with this instrument: there
is indeed scarce any object so inconsiderable, that has not something to
invite the curious eye to examine it; nor is there any, which, when
properly examined, will not amply repay the trouble of investigation.
I shall first speak of the SINGLE MICROSCOPE, not only as it is the most
simple, but because, as we have already observed, it was invented and
used long before the double or compound microscope. When the lenses of
the single microscope are very convex, and consequently the magnifying
power very great, the field of view is so small, and it is so difficult
to adjust with accuracy their focal distance, that it requires some
practice to render the use thereof familiar; at the same time, the
smallness of the aperture to these lenses has been found injurious to
the eyes of some observers: notwithstanding, however, these defects,
the great magnifying power, as well as the distinct vision which is
obtained by the use of a deep single lens, more than counterbalances
every difficulty and disadvantage. It was with this instrument that
Leeuwenhoek and Swammerdam, Lyonet and Ellis examined the minima of
nature, laid open some of her hidden recesses, and by their example
stimulated others to the same pursuit.
The construction of the single microscope is so simple, that it is
susceptible of but little improvement, and has therefore undergone but
few alterations; and these have been chiefly confined to the mode of
mounting it, or the additions to its apparatus. The greatest improvement
this instrument has received, was made by Dr. Lieberkühn, about the year
1740; it consisted in placing the small lens in the center of a highly
polished concave speculum of silver, by which means he was enabled to
reflect a strong light upon the upper surface of an object, and thus
examine it with great ease and pleasure. Before this contrivance, it was
almost impossible to examine small opake objects with any degree of
exactness and satisfaction; for the dark side of the object being next
the eye, and also overshadowed by the proximity of the instrument, its
appearance was necessarily obscure and indistinct.
Dr. Lieberkühn adapted a microscope to every object; it consisted of a
short brass tube, at the eye end of which a concave silver speculum was
fixed, and in the center of the speculum a magnifying lens: the object
was placed in the middle of the tube, and had a small adjustment to
regulate it to the focus; at the other end of the tube there was a plano
convex lens, to condense and render more uniform the light which was
reflected from the mirror. But all these pains were not bestowed upon
trifling objects; his were generally the most curious anatomical
preparations, a few of which, with their microscopes, are, I believe,
deposited in the British Museum. It will be proper, in this place, to
give some account of Mr. Leeuwenhoek’s microscopes, which were rendered
famous throughout all Europe, on account of the numerous discoveries he
had made with them, as well as from his afterwards bequeathing a part of
them to the Royal Society. The microscopes he used were all single, and
fitted up in a convenient simple manner; each of them consisted of a
very small double convex lens, let into a socket between two plates
rivetted together, and pierced with a small hole; the object was placed
on a silver point or needle, which, by means of screws adapted for that
purpose, might be turned about, raised or depressed at pleasure, and
thus be brought nearer to, or be removed farther from the glass, as the
eye of the observer, the nature of the object, and the convenient
examination of its parts required. Mr. Leeuwenhoek fixed his objects, if
they were solid, to the foregoing point with glue; if they were fluid,
he fitted them on a little plate of talc, or exceeding thin blown glass,
which he afterwards glued to the needle, in the same manner as his other
objects. The glasses were all exceeding clear, and of different
magnifying powers, which were proportioned to the nature of the object,
and the parts designed to be examined. But none of those, which were
presented to the Royal Society, magnify so much as the glass globules,
which have been used in other microscopes. He had observed, in a letter
of his to the Royal Society, that from upwards of forty years
experience, he found that the most considerable discoveries were to be
made with such glasses, as magnifying but moderately, exhibited the
object with the most perfect brightness and distinctness. Each
instrument was devoted to one or two objects: hence he had always some
hundreds by him.[7] There is some reason for supposing, that Leeuwenhoek
was acquainted with a mode of viewing opake objects, similar to that
invented by Dr. Lieberkühn.[8]
[7] Philosophical Transactions, No. 980, No. 458.
[8] Priestley’s History of Optics, p. 220.
About the year 1665, small glass globules began to be occasionally
applied to the single microscope, instead of convex lenses. By these
globules, an immense magnifying power is obtained. The invention of them
has been generally attributed to M. Hartsoeker; it appears, however, to
me, that we are indebted to the celebrated Dr. Hooke for this discovery;
for he described the manner of making them in the preface to his
“Micrographia,” which was published in the year 1665. Now the first
account we have of any microscopical discovery by M. Hartsoeker, was
that of the spermatic animalculæ, made by him when he was eighteen years
old; which brings us down to the year 1674, long after Dr. Hooke’s
publication.
As these glass globules have been very useful in the hands of
experienced observers, I shall lay before my readers the different modes
which have been described for making them, that the reader may be
enabled thereby to ascertain the reality of the discoveries that have
been said to be made with them.