ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 665 



solution. They are again washed, and then treated with 1 p.c. anilin 

 water. After washing again in distilled water the sections are passed 

 through graded alcohols to xylol and balsam. 



Method of Contrast Staining with Bleu de Lyon and Picric Acid.§ 

 — Skrobansky takes the sections which have been previously stained 

 with borax-carmin from distilled water and places them in the following 

 mixture: — Distilled water 50 parts ; saturated alcoholic solution of bleu 

 de Lyon 2 parts ; saturated aqueous solution of picric acid 5 parts. In 

 this the sections remain for 2-3 minutes, and are then passed through 

 graded alcohols to xylol and mounted in balsam. 



Staining Tubercle Bacillus. j] — A. Mendoza, in some further obser- 

 vations on this subject, remarks that other mixtures produce a perfect 

 staining. Thus iodine-green, when the water is saturated with oil of 

 turpentine, stains the bacilli beautifully, though the strength of the de- 

 coloriser must be reduced. Some pigments will give a double stain, e.g. 

 methylen-blue, when used in conjunction with thymol (saturated aqueous 

 solution of thymol 80 c.cm. ; saturated alcoholic solution of methylen-blue 

 10 c.cm.; alcohol 10 c.cm.). The bacilli stain dark blue and the rest of 

 the elements a red-violet, though to obtain this result the strength of the 

 decoloriser must be reduced to one-fifth (20-80 of water). 



New Method of Capsule Staining.^" — L. Buerger's method requires 

 the following solutions : — (1) Blood serum, diluted with equal bulk of 

 normal saline or ascitic or pleural fluid ; (2) Muller's fluid, saturated with 

 sublimate ; (3) 80-95 p.c. alcohol ; (4) tincture of iodine (7 p.c.) ; 



(5) fresh anilin water, gentian-violet solution, or fuchsin solution ; 



(6) 2 p.c. aqueous salt solution. A film is made by mixing some culture 

 with a drop of serum on a cover-glass. When it is about half dry the 

 film is covered with fixative. It is then gently warmed, and after a 

 quick wash in water is passed through alcohol, and then treated with 

 the iodine solution for about a minute. The cover-glass is then washed 

 with alcohol until no more iodine comes off. After drying in the air, 

 the film is stained for three seconds ; it is then washed and mounted in 

 salt solution. The preparation may be ringed round with vaselin before 

 examination. 



If the films be stained with fuchsin, they should be examined in 

 water. Gram's method may be adopted, and the preparations after- 

 stained with 10-15 p.c. aqueous fuchsin. Mounting in balsam destroys 

 the sharp outline of the capsule, though the preparations are fairly good. 



Demonstrating Fat in the Animal Liver.* — C. Deflandre, when 

 investigating the adipogenic function of the liver f had recourse to the 

 following histo-chemical methods. The freshly removed liver was cut 

 up into thin slices and immersed in strong Flemming [chromic acid 

 (10 p.c.) 15 parts ; osmic acid (1 p.c.) 80 parts ; glacial acetic acid 10 

 parts ; distilled water 95 parts] for 24 hours. The pieces are then 



* Intern. Monatschr. Anat. u. Phys., xxi. (1904) pp. 21-2. See also Zeitschr. 

 wiss. Mikrosk., xxii. (1905) p. 138. 



t Bol. Inst. Alfonso XIII.. i. (1905) pp. 61-2. See ante, p. 529. 



: Centralbl. Bakt.. 1* Abt. Orig., xxxix. (1905) pp. 216-24, 335-52 (9 figs.). 



§ Journ. Anat. et Physiol., xl. (1904) pp. 79-80. 



|| J.R.M.S. 1904, p. 301. 



