Half-Hours With the Microscope: Being a Popular Guide to the Use of the Microscope as a Means of Amusement and Instruction

Half-Hours With The Microscope: Being A Popular Guide To The Use Of The Microscope As A Means Of Amusement And Instruction by Edwin Lankester. This beginner-friendly manual explains how the microscope works and why it is a powerful aid to science, balancing theory with practical guidance. It covers the differences between simple and compound microscopes, the role of lenses, illumination, object-glasses, and focusing, and describes essential accessories, safety, and methods of mounting specimens. The book is organized as a series of hands-on chapters: a half-hour on the structure of the microscope; exploring the microscope in the garden, in the country, at the pond-side, at the sea-side, and indoors; and a chapter on polarized light. It also includes an appendix on the preparation and mounting of objects and an abundance of plates illustrating cells, tissues, diatoms, seeds, hairs, and other microscopic structures. Published in 1874 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, with illustrations by Tuften West; a Polariscope chapter was added later. The work aims to popularize microscopy for amusement and instruction and remains a foundational guide for amateurs.