Soft specimens can be observed by squashing a small sample between the slide and the cover glass. Here I would like to present: a Kiwi fruit
Materials:
microscopic slides, cover glass, a soft kiwi, tissue paper.
Method:
- Take a small piece of the soft part of a kiwi (not the seed and not the white center) and place it between the slide and the cover glass.
- Carefully tap against the cover glass with a hard object, such as a pen. This is to test if the kiwi is actually compressible (or if it is not ripe enough). A hard kiwi may result in a broken cover glass.
- Place a small piece of tissue paper on top of the cover glass and carefully and gently press down on the cover glass using your fingers (provided that the fruit is soft enough). Excess kiwi juice will be absorbed by the tissue paper. Be careful: do not move the cover glass horizontally. A thin, green kiwi film should have formed between slide and cover glass.
- Observe under the microscope as normal.
Note: The image on the right shows some (unidentified) structures found in a kiwi fruit. The final picture is a stack of 12 images, processed with the program Combine ZP. Stacking of the images increases its depth of field. Without stacking, some of the green bubbles would not be in focus.
