ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 653 



water is absorbed by the cotton-wool. Inoculations are made in the usual 

 way. By stacking these plates one on the other, considerable agar sur- 

 face is secured. The covers with care may be used several times. 



Reidemeister, W.— Ueber den Einfluss von Saure, usw. Zusatz auf die Festig- 

 keit des Agars. (Experiments showing the action of acids and other ingredients 

 on nutrient agar.) Zeitschr. wiss. Mikrosk., xxv. (1908) pp. 42-52. 



Rothig, P. — Eine Verrichtung zum lebenswarmen Fixieren nnd lichten Trans- 

 portieren der Eileitereier der Vb'gel. 



[Describes a box fitted with wide-mouthed stoppered bottles for supra-vital 

 fixation and easy transport of birds' eggs.] Tom cit., pp. 68-9 (2 figs.). 



(2) Preparing: Objects. 



Studying the Eggs of Acanthodoris pilosa.* — B. Schaposchnikoff, 

 when studying the eggs of Acanthodoris pilosa for the purpose of 

 investigating the polycentric mitoses of maturation, fixed the animals 

 during copulation. For this purpose he used sublimate-acetic acid and 

 Gilson's fluid (sublimate-acetic acid, nitric acid, and alcohol). The fixed 

 material was imbedded in paraffin and then sectioned. The sections 

 were stained with iron-hasmatoxylin, either alone or after a previous 

 staining with Bordeaux-red. Borax-carmin and Lyons-blue was also a 

 good combination. 



Demonstrating the Syncytial Appendages of Placental villi.f — 

 W. L. H. Duckworth has found that the human placenta from the sixth 

 or seventh month provides material for easily demonstrating the appear- 

 ance of syncytial masses of protoplasm. Formalin-fixed material was 

 treated with strong nitric acid (25 p.c.) for 3 days, and then after 

 washing stained with Delafield's hematoxylin. After dehydrating and 

 cleaning, the fragments were teased out on slides and mounted in 

 balsam. Instead of Delafield's solution, borax-carmin (10 days) or a 

 10 p.c. solution of Grubler's hasmalum may be used. It was found later 

 that the preliminary treatment with acid was unnecessary. 



Examining the Nervous Elements of Osseous Fishes.J — Anton 

 Nemiloff used the following fixatives : chromo-acetic acid, Lenhossek's, 

 Flemming's, Zenker's, and Hermann's fluids, trichlor-lactic ^acid, 

 Carnoy-Gilson's mixture, and the silver method of Rainon-y-Cajal. The 

 preparations were imbedded in paraffin, with bergamot-oil as clarifier, 

 in celloidin, or more frequently in celloidin-paraffin. The stains most 

 frequently used were safranin followed by light-green, iron-haema- 

 toxylin, toluidin-blue-erythrosin, "Weigert's elastin staining, and some 

 others. The observations on the fixed material were controlled by 

 intra-vitam stainings with methylen-blue, the ganglia and nerves being 

 stained in toto or by means of sections of fresh tissue in elder-pith. 



Examining the Eggs of Ornithorhyncus.§ — J. T. Wilson and 

 J. P. Hill remark that, while it is relatively easy to manipulate the 



* Anat. Anzeig., xxxii. (1908) pp. 369-85 (18 figs.). 



t Proc. Camb. Phil. Soc.xiv. (190S) pp. 425-7 (7 figs.). 



t Arch. Mikr. Anat. u. Entwickl., lxxii. (1908) pp. 1-46 (2 pis.). 



§ Phil. Trans., Series B, cxcix. (190S) pp. 31-16S (17 pis.). 



