_Errors of Interpretation._--To be in a position to draw an accurate conclusion of the nature and properties of the object under examination is a matter of great importance to the microscopist. The viewing of objects by transmitted light is of quite an exceptional character, rather calculated to mislead the judgment as well as the eye. It requires, therefore, an unusual amount of care to avoid falling into errors of interpretation. Among test objects the precise nature of the structural elements of the Diatomaceæ have given rise to great divergence of opinion. Then, again, the minute scales of the podura Springtails, one of the Collembola, and their congeners _Lepisma saccharina_, the structure of which is equally debatable. Mr. R. Beck, in an instructive paper published in the “Transactions of the Royal Microscopical Society,” says that the scales of the Lepisma can be made to put on an appearance which bears little resemblance to their actual structure. [Illustration: Fig. 203.--Portions of Scales of Lepisma.] In the more abundant kind of scales the prominent markings appear as a series of double lines. These run parallel and at considerable intervals from end to end of the scale, whilst other lines, generally much fainter, radiate from the quill, and take the same direction as the outline of the scale when near the fixed or quill end; but there is, in addition, an interrupted appearance at the sides of the scale, which is very different from the mere union, or “cross-hatchings,” of the two sets of lines (Fig. 203, Nos. 1 and 2, the upper portions). The scales themselves are formed of some truly transparent substance, for water instantly and almost entirely obliterates their markings, but they reappear unaltered as the moisture leaves them; therefore the fact of their being visible at all, under any circumstances, is due to the refraction of light by superficial irregularities, and the following experiment establishes this fact, whilst it determines at the same time the structure of each side of the scale, which it is otherwise impossible to do from the appearance of the markings in their unaltered state:--