The interest in amateur telescope making seems to maintain itself pretty consistently, month by month. The way the telescope editor knows this is by his mail: also by the magazine's sales of the instruction book, "Amateur Telescope Making"- "A.T.M." we call it, for short. It looks as if the hobby would be really permanent in this country- everywhere, in fact for "A.T.M." has now gone pretty nearly all over the world. Some of the earlier amateurs are now becoming expert and are discovering new ways of doing old things-an encouraging sign.

As we have done each month for almost two years past, we shall continue to publish descriptions of reflecting telescopes made from "A.T.M.," taking them in order of receipt. We have quite a number of these on hand, but we believe the majority of makers have not yet sent in pictures.

Incidentally, not all that did so included themselves in the group. Let's have it understood that an amateur is not out of order when he does this. Other amateurs want to see the maker as well as the telescope, and his countenance always lends added interest.

First of all, this month, comes the description of a telescope made by Victor H. Massey, 517 Mound Avenue, Pasadena California. It is an eight-inch, with wooden upright, much as described in "A.T.M. " and the maker states that it cost him only 12 dollars, all told, for materials. The parts of the mounting are largely ordinary pipe fittings, and the two necessary motions are made possible by the use of pipe unions.

Another interesting telescope, a six-inch, was made by E. L. Worbois, 127 Adam Street, Tonawanda, New York. Mr. Worbois says everything was done with ordinary household tools. He especially wished portability. The entire telescope weighs only 20 pounds, and folds up for transportation in a car.

More telescopes will be described next month. In future, the full addresses of persons mentioned in / will be published unless request is made to the contrary. The hope is that interested amateurs in other places will thereby be led to correspond with one another and the amateur fraternity be brought more closely together. Also, if those who wish correspondence with other amateurs will advise the telescope editor, their names will be published. State pet interests, briefly.

The telescope editor has been advised that the "Telescope Makers of Springfield" plan to hold their annual get-together of amateurs at the usual place, "Stellafane," near Springfield, Vermont, on the Saturday after July Fourth. The only open sesame needed is an interest in telescope making. All are automatically invited. The purpose of these conventions is to become mutually acquainted and to talk shop, and they have been a great success in past years. There is a small hotel at Springfield, but if last year's get-together was any criterion, nobody will have much opportunity to use it-at least not for sleep. Plan to come this time. By the way, Porter has discovered that the name for this new department of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN automatically confers a "B.A." degree on each of us!

The T. 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.