1628 Journal of Applied Microscopy 



For the study of shell structure material killed in osmic acid is to be pre- 

 ferred since it preserves the organic constituents of shell wall and spines. The 

 protoplasm is well preserved, as are also the symbiotic algae, but nuclei suffer. 

 Picro-sulphuric renders identification impossible since it destroys the shell, but 

 the preservation is good. lodin alcohol and sublimate preserve both shell and 

 contents well, but not the Zooxanthellce. Best results were obtained with Schau- 

 dinn's mixture (23 sat. aq. sol. sublimate + Yi abs. ale.) heated to 40° Cels. Dif- 

 ferential staining was accomplished with the author's methyl green-eosin mixture : 



70 per cent, alcohol - - - 300 c. c. 

 Methyl green . . . . 1 gram. 



Eosin . . . - - 1 gram. 



Dilute each 100 c. c. with 60 c. c. water before using. Stain twenty-four 

 hours. The decalcified shell stains violet, protoplasm and nucleus both bright 

 red but well differentiated, gelatinous fibers bright blue, and the by-products 

 of digestion, bluish red to green. Decalcification is best done in slightly acidula- 

 ted alcohol or in Miiller's fluid. c. a. k. 



Jennings, H. S. Synop.ses of North American This is one of the most important num- 

 Invertebrates, XVII. The Rotatoria. Am. ^^^^ jj^ ^j^g series of Synopses of North 

 Nat. 35: 725-777, with 171 figures, 1901. . . ■' " . . 



American mvertebrates appeanng in 



this journal. Two hundred and forty species are included in the key, and fully 

 two-thirds of these are figured. The paper is critical and authoritative, and will 

 be useful to all who wish to work with this widely distributed and most interest- 

 ing group of organisms. c. a. k. 



Carpenter, W. B. The Microscope and its The chapters dealing with the micro- 

 Revelations. Eighth edition, enlarged and , „• „ 



revised by W. H. Dallinger. 1 181 pp. 23 pi. scope, accessory apparatus, microscop- 

 1901. P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadel- ical methods, and the application of the 

 p la. ;» .00. microscope to geological investigation, 



constituting about one-half the book, have been entirely rewritten and enlarged. 

 The discussion of the mechanical and optical parts of the microscope is quite 

 up to date, and others than English makers receive ample and courteous treat- 

 ment, the work of American firms winning many words of commendation. The 

 editor has adopted a classification of microscopes which may prove of value to 

 prospective purchasers of microscopes. The chapter upon methods is condensed 

 from Lee's " Vade Meaim " and is good as far as it goes, though the omission of 

 formalin and the Golgi method is to be deplored. The subjects of bacteriolog}', 

 botany, and zoology are handled by eminent specialists, but have not been re- 

 written in the present edition. Certain sections, as for example, that on the 

 nervous system, should receive attention in the next edition. Zoological subjects, 

 as heretofore, predominate over the others in the chapters devoted to the reve- 

 lations of the microscope. All who use the microscope will, however, find this 

 volume a most useful one, for it presents very fully the theory and principles 

 involved in the construction of the instrument in their latest developments and 

 applications. For the amateur it furnishes a valuable compendium of applied 

 microscopy. c. a. k. 



