The BEARD OF THE LEPAS ANATIFERA or BARNACLE is to be soaked in clean soft water, and frequently brushed, while wet, with a camel’s hair pencil; it may then be left to dry; after which it must be again brushed with a dry pencil, to disengage and separate the hairs, which are apt to adhere together. A picture of this object is represented in plate XIII. Fig. 1, magnified; Fig. 2, natural size.
To view the MUSCULAR FIBRES, take a very thin piece of dried flesh, lay it upon a slip of glass, and moisten it with warm water; when this is evaporated, the vessels will appear plain and more visible, and by repeated macerations the parts may be further disengaged.
To examine FAT, BRAINS, and other similar substances, we are advised by Dr. Hooke to render the surface smooth, by pressing it between two thin plates of flat glass, by which the substance will be made much thinner and more transparent; otherwise, the parts lying thick one upon the other, it appears confused and indistinct.
Some substances are, however, so organized, that if their peculiar form be altered, the parts we wish to discover are destroyed; such as nerves, tendons, muscular fibres, pith of wood, &c. Many of these are best to be examined while floating in some convenient transparent fluid. For instance, very few of the fibres of any of the muscles can be discovered when they are viewed in the open air; but if placed in water or oil, great part of their wonderful fabric may be discovered. If the thread of a ligament be viewed in this manner, it will be seen to consist of an indefinite number of smooth round threads lying close together.
Objects of an elastic nature should be pulled or stretched out while they are under the microscope, that the texture and nature of those parts, whose figure is altered by being thus pulled out, may be more fully discovered.
To examine BONES with the microscope. These should first be viewed as opake objects; afterwards, by procuring thin sections, they should be looked at as if transparent. The sections should be cut in all directions, and be well washed and cleaned; a degree of maceration will be useful in some cases. Or the bones may be put in a clear fire till they are red hot, and then taken out; by these means the bony cells will appear more conspicuous and visible, being freed from extraneous matter.