ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 495 



the organs to be sectioned, while in the supra-vital state, were placed on 

 a slide in a drop of physiological salt solution and washed with the 

 fixative. This insures the organs retaining the position and attitude 

 desired. 



In order to examine sperm-cells in toto, it was found best to place 

 efferent ducts or the long spiral duct which forms the pedicle of the 

 spermatheca of the female on a slide in salt solution to which saliva was 

 added and then rupture the sheath by exciting moderate traction. This 

 allowed the sperm-cells to escape ; after running off any excess of fluid, 

 the filaments were fixed with formol-picro-acetic acid. The authors 

 note that spermatozoa are very sensitive to desiccation, but not at all to 

 the action of reagents. 



Most of the preparations were stained with Heidenhain's iron- 

 hffimatoxylin, but some were treated with fuchsin, followed by picro- 

 indigo-carmin or Unna's blue solution. 



Studying Spermiogenesis in the Squirrel.* — J. van Molle fixed 

 the material in Hermann's, Bouin's, Carnoy's, or Gilson's fluids ; of these, 

 Bouin's gave the best results. The sections were stained with the 

 safranin- gentian-violet-orange G mixture or with Heidenhain's hasma- 

 toxylin and Congo red. For examining, Beck's oil-immersion condenser 

 and Koristka's apochromatic or semi-apochromatics were used. 



Studying Spirochaeta balbiani and S. anodontse.t — H. B. Fantham 

 obtained the material from oysters and from the crystalline style of 

 Anodoiita cygnea. Much time was spent in examining these spirochastes 

 in the hving condition, and as far as possible in their natural medium. 

 For fixed and stained material the best results were obtained from thin 

 smears of gut contents or solutions of the crystalline style (sea-water for 

 Ostrea, fresh-water for Anodon), the preparations being fixed wet with 

 osmic vapour. Other fixatives used were Flemming's solution, coiTosive 

 sublimate, and alcohol, and in the case of dried smears methyl- and 

 ethyl-alcohol. The preparations were usually mounted in cedar-wood 

 oil or balsam. The most useful stains were gentian-violet (Ohlmacher's 

 formula), iron-alum-h^matoxylin, thionin, Billet's modification of 

 Giemsa and Delafield's hematoxylin, while dilute methylen-blue was 

 best for intravitam staining. The results from Romanowsky's stain 

 were indifferent. 



Demonstrating the Presence of the Spirillum of Tick Fever. | — 

 C. Levaditi and Y. Manouelian infected animals — mice, rats, and 

 monkeys — by means of subcutaneous and intra-peritoneal injections. 

 The animals were killed at varying intervals. The organs were fixed in 

 10 p.c. formalin, or in Gilson's sublimate-acetic acid alcohol. For 

 demonstrating the presence of the spirilla in sections, the silver-pyridine 

 method used for the study of Trejxinema paJJidum, was adopted. For 

 examining the details of phagocytosis the following procedure was 

 necessary : Pieces, about 1 mm. thick, of previously fixed tissue 



* La Cellule, xxiii. (1906) pp. 1-52 (2 pis.) 



t Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., xix. (1907) pp. 493-501. 



X Ann. Inst. Pasteur, xxi. (1907) pp. 295-311 (2 pis.). 



