ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 671 



dark, and 5 p.c. formalin may be added, but the addition does not appear 

 to be indispensable. The rest of the technique follows the original 

 lines.* 



Diagnostic Value of the Staining Method of Gasis.j — This method 

 depends upon the fact that certain organisms when stained with an 

 acid stain are not decolorized by strong alkalis. Films stained with an 

 •eosin solution are treated with sodium hydrate, and counterstained with 

 methylen-blue. It is thus the direct converse of the Ziehl-Xeelsen 

 process. It was claimed that, by this method, tubercle bacilli, which 

 are alkali-fast, might be distinguished from other acid-fast organisms, 

 rnore particularly smegma bacilli, which are decolorized. Levy has 

 made trial of this process, and finds that it yields very satisfactory 

 films, and thus renders easy the routine examinations for tubercle bacilli. 

 On the other hand, the staining solutions are troublesome to prepare, 

 and unstable. Further, he finds that smegma bacilli and other organisms 

 of the acid-fast group are not always decolorized. He considers, there- 

 fore, that, as a means of diagnosis, the method is worthless. 



Identity of Flemming's and Altmann's Granules.:}: — N. Samssonow 

 claims that the filaments found by Flemming in fresh cells are identical 

 with the granules or threads found in fixed preparations made by the 

 chondriosome method or by Altmann's procedure. He describes the 

 methods used and the results of treating cartilage, connective-tissue and 

 epithelial cells ; fixation with modified Flemming's solution and staining 

 with iron-hasmatoxylin, or with iron-alizarin and crystal-violet. The ripen- 

 ing of iron-ha3matoxylin (Meves) was accelerated by adding 2 # 5 c.cm. 

 peroxide of hydrogen to 100 c.cm. of the solution. 



Altmann's method consists in fixing very small pieces for 24 hours 

 in a mixture of equal parts of 5 p.c. potassium bichromate and 2 p.c. 

 osmic acid. Paraffin sections are stained in a solution consisting of 

 100 c.cm. anilin oil water plus 20 grm. acid-fuchsin. When on the 

 slide the stain is heated till it vaporizes, and after cooling it is washed 

 off with picric acid solution, made by mixing one volume of saturated 

 alcoholic solution of picric acid with two volumes of water. The picric 

 acid solution is renewed and the preparation placed in the incubator for 

 30-60 seconds to differentiate ; then alcohol, xylol, balsam. The author 

 prefers to differentiate in the cold. 



F. Meves § pursues the same subject, but in connexion with leuco- 

 cytes. He contends that his suspicion that the mitochondria and chon- 

 driokonts are identical with the granules and threads of Altmann is 

 fully confirmed. In addition to the staining methods used by Sams- 

 sonow he also adopted Schridde's modification of Altmann's method. 

 This modification consists in placing the blood-films in Orth's mixture 

 (Muller's fluid 9 parts, formalin 1 part) for 12 hours and afterwards for 

 a similar time in Muller's fluid. The preparation is then washed in 

 water, followed by 1 p.c. osmic acid for £ to 1 hour. The preparation 



* See this Journal, 1906, p. 735 ; and 1908, p. 659. 



f Centralbl. Bakt. lte Abt. Orig., lv. (1910) pp. 253-5. 



X Arch. f. Mikrosk., Anat. u. Entwickl., lxxv. (1910) pp. 635-41 (1 pi.). 



§ Tom. cit., pp. 642-58 (1 pi.). 



