ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 



:;xi 



tures, or from a liquid culture— is smeared over the surface of the agar. 

 After drying the cube at 37° for 10 minutes, a cover-glass is applied to 

 the inoculated surface and sealed in place by running a little melted 

 agar round the edges. The block and cover-glass are then placed over 

 the opening in a moist chamber, the block lowermost, and the Microscope 

 focussed upon the bacteria. 



Ink for Writing on Glass.* — W. E. Hubbert states that the ink 

 used at the University of Berne for writing on glass is very satisfactory. 

 It consists of a mixture of 3 parts of a 13 p.c. solution of shellac in 

 alcohol in the cold and 5 parts of the same strength solution of borax 

 in distilled water. The solutions are mixed a drop at a time, and if 

 a precipitate form the mixture is heated until clear. Methylen-blue is 

 added to colour it a deep blue. 



New Reversible Live-Box. — The live-box (fig. 93) exhibited by 

 Mr. T. D. Ersser at the Meeting on April 16th, is specially intended 

 for showing under the Microscope spiders building their webs ; it is 

 also adapted for a lantern-slide, the images being clearly defined when 

 thrown on the screen. 



The apparatus consists of two brass plates with a circular box 



Fig. 93. 



attachment to each, the one fitting over the other. A screw S, tapped 

 into the inner box, passes through a slot cut in the outer one, thus 

 keeping the two rings taut and in position. The box attachments 

 when closed in with thin glass form a cell, the diameter of which is 

 1^ in. and the depth § in. They can bs unscrewed for the purpose of 

 replacing the cover-glass Cg. 



Cattle Plague.f — M. Nicolle and Adil-Bey, continuing their re- 

 searches on rinderpest, offer some general observations on the factors 

 concerned in the filtration of fluids containing bacteria, such as the 

 thickness and porosity of the filter bougie, the temperature and pressure 

 at Avhich the operation is conducted, the medium in which the organisms 

 are suspended and the degree of concentration, and also the biological 

 characters of the organisms with respect to size and motility. Under 

 the terra Plasmisation the authors describe an ingenious method of 

 clearing turbid fluid as a preliminary to filtration. Plasmisation con- 

 sists of the addition to any turbid fluid of one-tenth of its volume of 

 horse's plasma (obtained by refrigerating the blood), mixing the fluids 



* Journ. App. Micr., v. (1902) p. 1680. 



f Ann. Inst. Pasteur, xvi. (1902) pp. 56-64. 



June 18th, 1902 



2 c 



