8 (JO RECORD OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



object decolorized and rendered beautifully clear by the process. 

 When cool add fresh acid and follow with balsam as above. 



Insects whole, or their organs, and animal tissues generally may 

 be treated in the same way, which seems to suit such organisms better 

 than the old method. The action of the acid under heat is rapid * and 

 can easily be stopped when required by simply blowing upon the 

 cover. 



In preparing Sertularians and Polyzoa, where the empty cells 

 retain the air so pertinaciously, this annoyance may be overcome by 

 boiling in water and allowing to cool, replacing the water by carbolic 

 acid, when alternate boiling and cooling at intervals more or less 

 lengthened will effectually dispose of air in the cells. Those who 

 have opportunities of collecting on the sea-shoro will find that just 

 after storms many species will have been washed ujjon the beach, 

 some possibly alive. Objects thus obtained, or by means of dredging, 

 should at once be placed in small phials in a fluid consisting of sj)irits 

 of wine and water in equal parts — sea-water will do. When these 

 are taken home, they should be washed several times in fresh water 

 to get rid of the salt, sorted, and transferred to a mixture of spirits of 

 wine and fresh v/ater in equal jiarts. They can thus be kept in good 

 order for any length of time, or they may be mounted at once by the 

 carbolic process. 



Eadulas or palates of molluscs should be boiled in strong liquor 

 potassfe for a few minutes, well washed in three or four waters to 

 remove all traces of the potash, and then, treated with the carbolic 

 acid as above described, may be mounted very quickly. 



To ensure clear mounts, the balsam should always be imme- 

 diately preceded by perfectly clean acid, displacing with the aid of 

 blotting paper the acid previously used. If this be neglected, and 

 the acid first used should not be completely removed, a little cloudi- 

 ness may result from the admixture of the balsam with the water in 

 the acid. In this case the slide must be flooded in fresh acid to 

 soften the balsam, heated, and the cloudy balsam drawn off by blotting 

 paper, substituting fresh balsam." 



Wax Cells. t — ^Mr. F. Barnard gives the following as a preferable 

 process for making these cells : — Take a small piece of wax according 

 to the size and depth of the cell required, place it in the middle of 

 the glass slip, warm it thoroughly over a spirit lamp, then press it 

 upon the slide perfectly flat and even with a smooth surface. This 

 is easily done by means of what he calls a gauge made thus : on 

 each end of a slip of glass, cement with balsam small pieces of paper, 

 card, or glass of the thickness of the required cell, moisten the under 

 side and press upon the warm wax till down as far as the end pieces 

 will allow ; by moving this gauge about a little, there will be a 

 tolerably smooth and level cake of wax on the slide the thickness of 

 the gauge. 



* As some objects are injured by heat, they may be cleared by soaking in cold 

 carbolic acid for a few days, or until cleared sufficiently, 

 t ' Journ. Micr. Soc. Vict.,' i. (1880) p. 53. 



