ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 373 



Hospital, exhibited specimens of bacteriological culture media in dry 

 concentrated form (provisional name, " Solmedia " = solid media). As 

 they are light and of small bulk, they can be sent by post at cheap 

 rate. They do not deteriorate, have hitherto kept extremely well, and 

 will probably do so for quite a long time ; hence they will be invaluable 

 for work in warm climates, especially tropical. The method of using 

 the media, which is quite simple, is as follows : 5 c.cm. of water are to 

 be added to a given weight of solmedium in a test-tube ; the test-tube 

 is then placed in a waterbath for about 30 to 45 minutes, and after- 

 wards allowed to set in the required position. In this way a tube of 

 sterile media is cheaply and easily prepared. Samples of unused 

 " solmedia " culture tubes were exhibited and also cultures of various 

 organisms in various media, as well as uninoculated tubes of media. 

 This method of producing dry concentrated media, which took the 

 inventor about two years to elaborate, will be found to be extremely 

 useful both for persons who require small quantities of cultivation media 

 and also for institutions where many tubes are used daily. A list of 

 the tubes shown will be found in the Proceedings of the Society for 

 April, p. 397. 



Solmedia are put up in tubes containing sufficient to make 12, 50 

 and 100 5-c.cm. tubes. They are also supplied in sterile test-tubes 

 plugged with sterile cotton wool. Each tube contains sufficient solmedia 

 to make a tube of media on the addition of about 5 c.cm. of water. 

 The solmedium is firmly adherent to the bottom of the tube, so that the 

 tubes will stand any amount of transport, and can be stored in any 

 position. 



Collecting and Examining Ganymedes anaspidis.* — J. S. Huxley 

 obtained specimens of Ganymedes anaspidis g. etsp. n., a Gregarine from 

 the digestive tract of Anaspidis tasmanise. Some of the hosts had been 

 pickled in formalin, others in sublimate. Preparations were made by 

 staining gut and liver tubes whole in para-carmine for 2 hours, and 

 eventually teasing out on a slide in balsam, removing as much 

 debris as possible and leaving the parasites behind. When Anaspidis 

 were fixed quite fresh, their guts were found to be filled with sand ; in 

 such case the Ganymedes had to be picked out under a dissecting 

 Microscope. They were then passed from 90 p.c. alcohol to a slide 

 previously smeared with egg-albumen. They were then stained with 

 iron haematoxylin, or with Ehrlich's hasmatoxylin and eosin, or with 

 methyl blue-eosin by Mann's method. 



Testing for Indol in Microbic Cultures. f — C. Porcher and L. 

 Panisset find that as a rule the quantity is small, and the extract must be 

 concentrated to give a proper reaction. They first obtain the extract by 

 shaking up with ether, then add a few drops of alcohol, and afterwards 

 reduce the extract to ^ of its original bulk. To about 5 c.cm. is 

 added h c.cm. of a 5 p.c. alcoholic solution of p.-dimethylaminobenz- 

 aldehyde. Then 1 c.cm. of strong HC1 is poured down the tube ; a 

 ruby-red ring appears at the junction. 



* Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci., lv. (1910) pp. 156-7. 

 t C.R. Soc. Biol. Paris, lxviii. (1900) pp. 653-5. 



