Use the pipette to place a drop of your culture or pond water in the center of a clean slide. Take a very small piece of cotton, shred it into a fine mesh about the size of the cover glass, and gently drop it into place on the water drop. The cotton will act as an obstacle course to slow down the specimens. Take a clean cover glass and gently lower it onto the drop of water and cotton. Do not press down on the cover glass. Remove any excess water by placing the edge of a piece of paper towel, tissue, or cloth at the edge of the cover glass and allowing the paper or cloth to soak up any excess. You have removed enough water when the cotton is trapped between the slide and the cover glass and the water doesn't bulge out from under the edges of the cover glass. This surface tension of the water will hold the cover glass and cotton securely to the microscope slide so that you can hold the PocketScope at any angle needed for good viewing. A far better mount for living cultures is the gel-mount, explained below.