water as possible in the dish at tne time of killing these 

 animals, and to pour over them a volume of the mixture twice 

 as great as that of the water in which they are. Several 

 times it has been noted at the station that the Gorgon idae which 

 have expanded in sea water which has begun to turn bad are those 

 which have given the better preparations. The small colonies, 

 or pieces of colonies, remain with their polyps distended if 

 they are killed with boiling saturated sublimate. Isis may be 

 well preserved by using a mixture of sublimate and acetic acid. 



Cora Ilium rubrum, after it has been allowed to expand 

 in running sea water, should be killed with boiling saturated 

 sublimate solution (half as much as the water containing the 

 coral) , and quickly transferred to weak alcohol. By this method 

 the color is almost perfectly preserved, while by the use of the 

 chrom-acetic mixture it is very much injured. The alcohol which 

 has been used for this coral can not well be used afterwards for 

 the preparation of any delicate organism. A colony of Antipathes 

 which was placed in such alcohol was dyed red within twenty-four 

 hours. 



2138 — No. 39, Pt. M 2 



Zoantharia 



All the species of Antipathes are fixed with saturated 

 sublimate, and, on account of the slight contractility of the 

 polyps, their preparation always succeeds. The saturated sub- 

 limate, which is used cold, should be of the same volume as the 

 water containing the animals. 



Actiniaria 



The preparation of this group is very difficult, the 

 great contractility and resistance of the muscular system of 

 the majority of the species frequently constituting insurmount- 

 able obstacles to success. Many times when it is thought that 

 the animal has been deprived of any sensitiveness, immersion in 

 a reagent of rapid action is sufficient to show sudden and sur- 

 prising contraction of the tentacles and of the whole body. 

 When several specimens of certain forms are treated with the 

 same method and under the same conditions, some die distended 

 and the rest contracted. Good results depend, in some cases, 

 on circumstances which, up to the present time, are wholly un- 

 known. After all, however, there are many species with which 

 perfect results can be attained, if great care be exercised in 

 the manipulations. 



Anemonia sulcata (Anthea cereus) is the easiest to pre- 

 pare. When well distended in running water, the animals are 

 killed with the chrom-picric solution, used in volume equal 



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