and Laboratory Methods. 



2G73 



A New Section Lifter. 



I have recently been doing a large amount of work on the anatomy of the 

 stems of plants and have been using with good results a method for handling 

 the tissues which does away with the long paraffin method. I give it here 

 hoping that it may be interesting to some of the readers of the Journal. 



The block of tissue is passed through a killing fluid in the usual manner, 

 absolute alcohol was used in this case. After the tissue has hardened in 96 per 

 cent, alcohol for a few days it was cut in sections with the aid of a common 

 hand microtome and section razor, the bit of tissue being placed between pieces 

 of elder pith. In this way I was able to get sections 10 microns in thickness 

 across the entire block. These sections were then taken with a brush from the 

 razor and placed in a section lifter as shown in the drawing. This lifter is one 



inch across the top and has for a bottom a piece of very fine gauze. It was set 

 in a dish of absolute alcohol and the sections floated from the brush into the 

 liquid which came up through the bottom. In this manner by simply setting 

 the lifter in the fluid the sections could be passed through as many fluids as 

 need be and finally floated out of it into a small dish of xylol or any other clear- 

 ing agent. Then with the aid of a common section lifter they were placed on 

 the slide and mounted in balsam. The same fluids were used as in the regular 

 paraffin method of staining on the slide, but this method is much more rapid and 

 I have had no trouble with either shrinking or clouding. 



If care is used in cutting the sections so as not to crush the tissue and it is 

 not allowed to dry out, rather soft tissue can be handled in this manner. I have 

 used it with good results in making slides of the ovaries of some plants. 

 University of Vermont. ^' ^- -tiOOD. 



