122 



SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



of sarcode, arc soaked in benzole to extract most of the air and prepare 

 the surface of the shell for the was. They are then transferred to 

 melted paraffin wax, the wax being cooled and heated several times in 

 order to expel the air. After the air-bubbles have disappeared a little 

 melted wax is put on the centre of a slide placed on a warm stage. To 

 the melted wax the shells are transferred, and arranged so that there is a 

 clear space around each. The slide is then allowed to cool. When the 

 wax has become hard the wax above and around the shells is removed by 

 means of a brush dipped in benzole. After this the preparations are 

 brushed with soap and water, and then immersed in a beaker filled with 

 water. To this hydrochloric acid is added until effervescence takes 

 place. When effervescence ceases the slide is washed, dried and mounted. 



Silicate of Soda (Water Glass) as an Injection Medium for 

 Macroscopic Preparations.* — S. Jachtchinsky recommends a saturated 

 solution of silicate of soda, to which is added a little powdered chalk 

 stained with cinnabar or ultramarine, for injecting the vascular system 

 of animals. The advantages claimed are that it is used cold, does not 

 set too quickly, does not block the syringe, has no disagreeable odour, and 

 when once dry the preparations keep excellently. 



New Small Shaking Apparatus.f— H. Zikes has devised the fol- 

 lowing shaking apparatus for use in fermentation work (fig. 22). A 



Fig. 22. 



steel bar a h is supported at each end by a rigid metal stand. From 

 this bar hangs the shaking trough c d by two short brass rods. These 

 rods can glide on the steel bar and are firmly joined to a pushing rod, 

 which by means of a projecting end / is able to move the trough to 

 and fro in one direction. This projecting end articulates with a connect- 

 ing rod, through which the movement is given by means of a turbine or 

 electro-motor. The shaking trough is a half cylinder, closed at the ends, 

 open at the top, and having a flap along one of its sides. The fixing of 

 the vessel to be shaken is accomplished by means of a steel peg attached 

 to the flap on one side, and fitting into one of a series of holes on the 

 other, according to the size of the vessel. 



Bacteriological Tests for Show Butters.:}: — D. Houston, in a 

 bacteriological examination of butters exhibited at the winter show of 

 the Royal Dublin Society, employed the following method : • 1 grm. of 



* Anat. Anzeicr., xxiv. (1903) pp. 204-5. 



t -entralbl. Bakt., 2" Abt., xi. (1903) pp. 107-8 (1 fig.). 



\ Proc. R<>y. Dublin Soc, i. CI 902) pp. 179 88. 



