Franklin C. Hill

“ The drier parts were covered with a beautiful purple-topped grass, and had some showy flowers; while the wetter parts, and even the pond, were thickly set with woody shrubs of considerable size, and the wide, shallow mouth of the pond was so obstructed by them that the quiet waters of the Mississippi Sound never penetrated it. Beyond the pond were formerly some live-oaks and pines ”

“ ON islands of considerable size and height, composed of rocks and various earthy beds, springs of fresh water in the valleys are not uncommon, and their presence excites no remark. The rainfall of the island itself is laid up in its strata exactly as in the hills of the main-land, and the small size of the reservoir is made up for by the frequent rains and fogs to which islands are subject. ”

“ In selecting a stereoscope, first look that the glasses be large and heavy, and of perfectly clear glass, and see that they are wide enough
for the eyes to come opposite the middle of them, producing no feeling of being shut in by dark objects at the side. Many instrument-makers seem unaware that heads differ in width.
Then, placing a picture in the rack, see that the diaphragm hides no part of it when the rack is drawn up to a short focus. Near-sighted people have rights as well as others. ”

“ If a view does not "stand out well" when seen in a good instrument, examine each picture by itself, and try to find a well-defined object, as a post or tree, in the foreground, and note its relations to some other object in the distance. ”

“ A friend complained to me that the stereoscope she had bought, on my recommendation, was worthless. I had taken it on faith, supposing that all "Holmes" instruments must be good; but a short examination showed that the glasses were rather flat, and were placed so near together that the rays came to the eyes through the central part of the lens, and of course without refraction, and hence the eyes were not deceived. ”

“ From time immemorial the ash-leach has been in use in many civilized, that is, soap-making, countries. Essentially an ash-leach is a vessel tight enough to hold wood-ashes, but not tight enough to hold water. ”