Journal of Applied Microscopy. 



171 



Fig. 5. 



The third part of this apparatus con- 

 sists of a washer very similar in con- 

 struction to and identical in principle 

 with the tissue washer described by 

 Prof. Gage in his article in the July 

 Journal (Figs. 2, 3, and 4, b). The washer 

 consists of two parts — an oblong brass 

 box 24 centimeters long, 19 centimeters 

 wide, and 9 centimeters deep (Fig. 3, c). 

 At one of the lower corners is an inlet 

 tube (i) to which is attached a piece of 

 rubber tubing extending to the tap (t), 

 from which is derived the supply of wa- 

 ter. Inside this box (c), which is water 

 tight, is a second box (d), made one cen- 

 timeter smaller all around, so as to easily 

 fit inside the first. From the upper edges 

 of this inside box, there projects a fiange 

 (f), which rests upon the upper edges of 

 the outside box. Thus a water space of 

 about one centimeter is left between the 

 outer and inner box. The inner box, un- 

 like the outer one, is made of perforated 

 brass and allows the water to pass free- 

 ly through it. By means of five cross- 

 partitions, which intersect at right an- 

 gles, the perforated box is divided into 

 twelve compartments, each six centi- 

 meters square (Fig. 2, c). Each com- 

 partment is large enough to hold one of 

 the slide carriers. In this way a con- 

 stant and gentle current is maintained, 

 and the preparations do not become 

 dislodged from the slides. 



The slides, with the preparations at- 

 tached, are placed in the notches back to 

 back. Then the carrier with its fourteen 

 slides is placed successively in the var- 

 ious reagents contained in the jars de- 

 scribed above. When hematoxylin and 

 some counterstain, as picro-fuchsin, are 

 used, six jars are necessary to complete 

 the outfit (Fig 5). 



The advantages of this apparatus over 

 the old method are obvious at a glance. 

 1 he slides are not touched, either with 

 fingers or forceps, from the time they 

 are placed in the carrier until they are 



removed from the clearer to be mounted. 

 They are held in a stable position, so 

 that it is impossible for the preparations 

 to be injured by hitting against each 

 other or the sides of the jar. By exer- 

 cising a little care in lifting the carrier 

 from the liquid, only the gentlest of cur- 

 rents is produced. In the hands even of 

 an unskilled operator, the danger of in- 

 jury to the sections is reduced almost to 

 zero. Fourteen slides can be prepared 

 with the labor incident upon the prepar- 

 ation of one by the old method. When a 

 large number of slides is being prepared, 

 it expedites matters to start a second 

 carrier of slides as soon as the first car- 

 rier is removed from the first bottle, and 

 so on until the whole number to be pre- 

 pared is under way. This applies espec- 

 ially to serial work or the making of 

 large numbers of duplicate slides for 

 classes. 



In a word, this apparatus, which, in 

 its simplest form, need consist only of 

 the carrier and the reagent jar, simplifies 

 and makes available for wholesale pre- 

 paration the best and most accurate 

 method of staining, namely, the method 

 of staining on the slide. It removes all 

 danger of accident to the sections. The 

 danger of distortion is reduced to a 

 minimum. Great rapidity is obtained, 

 and a complicated process is simplified. 



A. B. Mix. 



Cornell University. 



Read at the twenty-first annual meeting of the 

 American Microscopical Society, Syracuse, N. Y. „ 



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