Seth Low Junior High School - Spectator Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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l VIEW THE UNKNOWN WORLD During one of our biology club periods, two boys gave us instructions concerning the making of slides for a microscope. Having been promised a microscope when I reached the ninth grade, I urged my parents to purchase one for me when I reached home that day. My parents consented to my hav- ing a microscope, and when I received it, I set it up and read the directions very carefully. The specimen slide that I received with the microscope was a soft down feather of a bird. When I examined it under the microscope, I was unable to focus it correctly. I reread the direc- tions and discovered that I had for- gotten to adjust the mirror. When I had the specimen focused correctly, I observed the barbules which are inter- locking hooks of microscopic size, that hold the barbs together. With the microscope I received di- rections for making slides. I followed these directions, and my first attempt was with a piece of potato. I took the scrapings from the underside of a po- tato peel and placed them on a clean slide. With a dropper I put a drop of water on the potato and slowly low- ered a cover slide. I placed the slide under the microscope and I anticipated seeing the starch grains but instead I was able to see only something white. My failure did not discourage me and I decided to use the directions I had received in class for making slides. I cut a very thin piece of the underside of a begonia leaf and mounted it in petrolatum on a clean slide. On this, I put a slide cover and then placed it under the microscope. When I exam- ined the leaf, I was able to see the lower epidermis cells, the function of which is to prevent the loss of water, the stomates which regulate transpira- tion of water, and the guard cells which regulate the size of the stomates. I have examined many other things under the microscope and I find it a very fascin- ating study. The N. R. A. has given people more leisure time which they will be look- ing for something to occupy. They will lind it very interesting to try to become another Leeuwenhoek or see germs for the first time as Pasteur did. This sub- ject is not only for people who want to become scientists or biologists but also for people who want a refined, f as- cinating, and educational pastime. Gloria Spiegel O . 0 AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW On Tuesday, Decemebr fourth, two enterprising interviewers tried their luck with Dr. Reed of the Botanical Gardens. The question they asked was quite general, namelyewhat work was he doing. He replied that he was experimenting with the hereditary susceptibility and resistance of oats towards two different varieties of Page Forty smuts, a form of bacteria parasitic upon grains. In the middle part of the nineteenth century, Greger Mendel experimented with heredity in peas. He made some interesting experiments and discoveries, but his work was not recognized until recently. In our own time, Luther Burbank has applied the knowledge THE SPECTATOR

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FOREWORD FOR THE BIOLOGY CONTRIBUTIONS To me, biology is an important subject, not only in school, but also in our daily routine, as it deals with the most precious thing we possess-1ife. Complex studies, the perilous work of legions of men down through the centuries, and the gradual annihilation of disease form an appealing background. Many a Seth Low studerit has felt its magnetic inspiration for either a favorite hobe' or a life work. Every nook and corner in our laboratories is occupied with living and preserved specimens, most of which have been furnished by past or present pupils as an expression of' their active interest. This study has many branches, each with unlimited possibilities. The one which capti-i vates me most is microscopy, the study of those invisible beings, which have harassedeall. humanity. This phase is most outstanding in recent achievements. Leeuwenhok, the first. man ever to see microbes through the single lens, perfected a compound microscope. Follow- ing closely upon this invention, such men as Pasteur, Koch, and Reed blazed the trail for mod-e ern methods in the cure and prevention of infectious diseases. At present only a few of the more elusive microbes have evaded the ever watchful eyes of the bacteriologists. If we add to this highly specialized study of the unseen world about us, a knowledge of the structure and function of all living things, we have formed a strong enough background to appreciate in every sense of the word that biology is indeed the science of life. RICHARD LASSER jnicrogwpic Ratbelg LEEUHENHOEK mm: M AMOEBA mum OF THE moscopg A comic? Sagzilgsh ONE-cELLED FORM OF PRQTQIOR VORTICELLR ' ' ' :' A VERY NE m w '3, BREAD MOLD Tsumme FORM OF ' A COMMON IFORM 0F PROTOIOAN LIFE if 7 FUNGOUS PLHNT A MODERN MICROSCOPE SUCH AS IS USED m scuoma AND LRBORATORIES STYL CHONIA GOOD ILLUSTRATIONS ONE OF E m .' R OZQRNS THE HNE OF THE bTRUCTURE ' PFOLTHGELLA 1 OF PLANTS SPiRlLLA THE SPIRlLLUM m: or aacwzmn 7' H E S P E C T A T O R Page Thitrty-nine

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gleaned by the Austrian monk in de- veloping new fruits. The plumeot, seedless grapefruit, and similar hybrids bring a popular interest to this work. Dr. Reed, however, is not doing his research for economic value, but pure- ly along scientific lines. He is experi- menting ehieHy with the resistance of oats towards loose and covered smuts. As oats are self-pollinated plants, the crossing may be done in one simple operation. The resulting hybrids are re-crossed, and tally is taken of the third generation. We shall follow one of his experiments, and see what re- sults. Two varieties of oats are crossed, one of them being resistant to both smuts and the other susceptible to both. The resulting hybrids are a mixture, some susceptible to one smut and not to an- other, etc. In the third generation dehnite conclusions are reached. Twen- ty-five per cent of the oats are suscep- tible to both, twenty-five resistant to both, and fifty per cent are a mixture, at times suscepible and at times resis- tant. However, susceptibility is the dominating Characteristic, and this fifty per cent may be classed as susceptible. Thus, seventy-five per cent are suscep- tible, and twenty-iive' per cent resistant, proving Mendelis 3:1 ratio which is always observed in crossing different varieties of plants. Bernard Winkler and Louis Landman MICROPHOTOGRAPHY Mierophotography is the study of photographing microscopic objects. It has its main use in recording the prog- ress and development of specimens. Its use is invaluable to the medical pro- fession. Having been in use only about ten years, it is practically a new dis- covery, the future of which has un- limited possibilities for science. The amateur will find a world of in- terest in this subject. It is an inexpen- sive hobby to take up. The camera in conjunction with the microscope can easily be rigged up at home. The camera should be of the ground glass variety and the miscroseope one that can be tilted back horizontally. A source of light, perferably a photofiood bulb, is necessary. The microscope must be lying exact- ly horizontally with the camera on a line with it. The front set of lenses THE SPECTATOR T20 must be removed before using the ca- mera. A strip of black velvet should be wrapped around the joint between the camera and microscope. After placing the slide upon the stage, it should be focused by placing the bulb under the stage, and then without having any film in the camera, expose the ground glass, and adjust your camera for time. Then work your rack and pinion until a sharp image is visible on the ground glass, and expose the film for ,one or two seconds. These pictures will afford you a great deal of pleasure, if they are done in the right way. One afternoon the Camera Club for a novelty tried making mierophoto- graphs of the villi of the small intestine and the paramecium. We followed every instruction to the letter, all of us giving helpful hints. But unfortunate- ly we underestimated the power of the Page Forty-one