152 



Journal of Applied Microscopy. 



their work according to the patterns 

 supplied by the society, users of instru- 

 ments continued to find the same diffi- 

 culty as before, viz., objectives of one 

 maker would not fit the microscopes of 

 another. 



The society has therefore recently gone 

 over the subject again, and has had 

 made a number of standard taps and 

 dies which are reliable, and which are 

 now offered to makers of microscopes 

 desiring to comply with the standards 

 of the society. 



Great care should be exercised in 

 transferring very delicate tissues from a 

 lighter to a denser fluid, to prevent 

 shrinking. This is especially true when 

 transferring from absolute alcohol to 

 such clearing fluids as chloroform, tur- 

 pentine, cedar oil, etc. This can be ac- 

 complished easily by carefully intro- 

 ducing the clearing fluid into the dish 

 containing the alcohol, so that it shall 

 remain in a stratum below the alcohol. 

 The specimen will gradually sink into 

 the clearing fluid as the alcohol is dis- 

 placed. The same process may be fol- 

 lowed with advantage in embedding deli- 

 cate tissues if they are cleared in chloro- 

 form or some other solvent for paraffin. 

 Bits of paraffin are gradually dropped 

 into the chloroform, and, as they dis- 

 solve, become infiltrated into the tissue 

 more and more as the solution becomes 

 denser. Slight warming will allow the 

 tissue to take up a greater amount of 

 paraffin. From such a bath the tissue 

 can be embedded after remaining a very 

 short time in the melted paraffin. 



Prof. G. H. French, writing of his 

 method of preparing the glandular stom- 

 ach of birds (Jour, of App. Micro., Vol. I, 

 No. 6) says, "In. staining, borax carmine 

 was used where it was desired to bring 

 out the general structure. For differen- 

 tiation, the various double stains, eosin- 

 methylin blue, eosin-methyl green, hae- 

 matoxylin-gold orange, haematoxylin- 

 borax carmine, and picro carmin were 

 employed. The last two gave the best 

 results. The Erlich-Biondi-Heidenhain 

 stain gave fine results with nearly all 

 the tissues, but in none so marked 

 differentiation as in those of the gizzard. 



Pure carbolic acid has proven an ex- 

 cellent clearing agent for polyzoa, parts 

 of insects, vegetable tissues, etc. It does 

 not render them brittle like some of the 

 other agents. It should not be used 

 where the details of very delicate tissues 

 are sought, as the tissue is apt to shrink 

 after being put in the balsam. 



A macerating and staining medium, 

 especially for vertebrate nerve tissues, 

 is made in the following way: to 100 cc. 



of water add 5 grams ammonium chro- 

 mate, 5 grams potassium phosphate, and 

 5 grams of sodium sulphate. The fresh 

 tissue is left in the fluid from one to 

 five days, when it is transferred to a 

 mixture of this fluid and ammonia 

 carmine, equal parts, for twenty-four 

 hours. 



Publications Received for the 

 Journal Library. 



studies from the Zoological Laboratory, 

 The University of Nebraska. Henry 

 B. Ward, Director. No. 22.— A 

 Treatise on the Parasitic Worms of 

 Domesticated Birds. 

 Studies from the Zoological Laboratory, 

 The University of Nebraska. Vol. I, 

 No.'s 1-20. 

 Development of Methods in Microscopi- 

 cal Technique. Henry B. Ward, 

 University of Nebraska. Reprint 

 from the transactions of the Ameri- 

 can Microsocopical Society, 1897. 

 Zoology in the High School Curriculum. 

 Henry B. Ward, University of Ne- 

 braska. Reprint from the proceed- 

 ings of the National Educational 

 Association, 1897. 

 Note on Taenia confusa., Henry B. 

 Ward. Reprint from the Zoologi- 

 schen Anzeiger, No. 540. 

 Minutes of the New Jersey State Micro- 

 scopical Society, April, '71 to June, 

 '94. Oct. '94 to April, '97. 

 An Apparatus for the Bacteriological 

 Sampling of Well Waters. H. L. 

 Bolley, Fargo, N. Dakota. Reprint 

 from the Centralblat ror Bacteriolo- 

 gie u. s. w. Band 22. 

 A Method of Teaching Histology. Charles 

 Minor Blackford, Jr., University of 

 Georgia. Reprint from the Charlotte 

 Medical Journal. 

 Twenty-second and twenty-third An- 

 nual Reports of the American Postal 

 Miscroscopical Club, June, 1898. 

 Laboratory Guide for the Dissection of 

 Loligo pealii, for use in the Bio- 

 logical Laboratory of Chamberlain 

 University. W. F. Mercer. 

 Bulletin No. 5, 1896.— U. S. Dept. of Agri- 

 culture, Div. of Veg. Pathology. The 

 Pollination of Pear Flowers. Merton 

 B. Waite. 

 Bulletin No. 9, 1896.— U. S. Dept. of Agri- 

 culture, Div. of Veg. Pathology. Bor- 

 deaux Mixture, Its Chemistry, Physi- 

 cal Properties, and Toxic effects on 

 Fungi and Algae. Walter T. Swingle. 

 Bulletin No. 10, 1896.— U. S. Dept. of 

 Agriculture, Div. of Veg. Pathol. 

 Copper Sulphate and Germination. 

 Treatment of Seed with Copper Sul- 



