This month we show three more homemade telescopes. Mr. Frank Murray of Axtell, Kansas, made the telescope shown on this page. Mr. Murray says: "Although my telescope is small, it is wonderful what it will reveal in the heavens. The mountains and craters of the Moon, four of Jupiter's satellites, the rings of Saturn, and the phases of Venus are all clearly visible through it.

"After three months of work I succeeded in producing a parabolic mirror, but it was certainly not without its difficulties. The total cost of the telescope was less than 25 dollars and I wasted a great deal of material due to inexperience.

"The mirror is four inches in diameter, one half inch thick, and has a focal length of 30 inches. The tube is constructed of six cypress slats screwed to a hexagonal block of wood at the bottom and bolted to an iron ring at the top. I have a portable altazimuth mounting with a drawer in the base for accessories, and a fixed equatorial mounting of the German type for astronomical work.

"I ground and polished a lens of three eighths inch focal length for the eyepiece, giving a magnification of 80 diameters. I also made the diagonal. Thus the telescope is completely home-made excepting the finder, which was a pocket spy-glass."

Here is another letter from the middle-west sent in with a photograph, by Mr. H. O. Bergstrom, a locomotive engineer at North Platte, Nebraska (P. O. Box 491). Mr. Bergstrom's first telescope was described in the issue of December, 1921, page 554. He now writes as follows, concerning a second he has finished: "I just got your letter a little while ago. I am at this moment at the round house getting ready to go out on a 'Green Fruit' (about 100 of 'em), so thought I would mail you two snapshots I have in my pocket. They are of the eight and one half-inch reflector I had mentioned to you before.

"The mounting is built on the same general plan outlined in your book. The axes are made up of two one and one half inch cross tees joined together by a nipple, set at right angles to each other, and milled out to allow a one and one half inch pipe to slip through for polar and declination motion. Plugs with holes drilled through, threaded and fitted for wheel-handled set screws, hold the axis in position after the tube has been set.

"For those who have only a little spare time to use playing with telescopes, this mounting is quickly and easily made and is very satisfactory. Worm gears and setting circles can easily be attached."

We reproduce also an interesting photograph of a telescope, sent in by Mr. P. J. Naude, 241 Market Street, Fairview, Johannesburg, South Africa. Mr. Naude's telescope has a seven-ineh mirror. He expects soon to make a 14-ineh. He furnished no further details of his instrument, but the photograph speaks for itself. The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN goes all over the world and "A. T. M." has been sent to practically every foreign country.

Just about two weeks after you receive this issue the regular annual get-together of telescope enthusiasts will be held at "Stellafane," Springfield, Vermont. This meeting is just the reverse of exclusive- everybody comes, brings his work if he can and spends a couple of days and a night communing with other souls who have made, are making or hope to make, a telescope. This will be the third of these conventions and the previous two have been a howling success-at least nobody got any sleep. Enthusiasts motor to Springfield (there is, however, a railroad) from several states and last year real telescope fanatics journeyed 1000 miles in order to be present. Whatever sleep you may miss, you will certainly get enough to eat, for the Springfield telescope makers have a member who is a real cook. Come! Write for information-A. G. I., Tel. Ed.

The Society for Amateur Scientists (SAS) is a nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to helping people enrich their lives by following their passion to take part in scientific adventures of all kinds.