164 Botanical Microfechnique 



place long before the capsules become brittle, and there is little need 

 for slides of old capsides. The dehydrating must be gradual, and TBA 

 is preferred. The embedded capsules shotdd be oriented carefidly in 

 the microtome, and both longitudinal and trans\'erse sections are 

 desirable. The capsule has enough internal differentiation to justify 

 the use of a triple stain; however, the simple combinations given on 

 Staining Charts II and III are usually adequate. 



The sporulating capsules are studied to best advantage either 

 from fresh plants, wet-preserved plants, or dried specimens from 

 which they can be removed and thoroughly soaked in water or 

 lactophenol (Chap. 9) . Spores can be germinated readily and the 

 jirotonema held at any stage by refrigeration under weak illumination. 

 W^ith a little planning by the instructor there is little excuse for using 

 permanent prepared slides of protonema, although these can be made 

 by the methods used for delicate algae. 



