Practical Hints. 



135 



FIG. 3 



FIG. 4. 



ance to the motion of the knife, but can be easily attached by 

 means of a screw, for the purpose of stropping. When in posi- 

 tion, and ready for cutting, the knife is pressed upon the glass 

 plate, and a slight side motion is given to it by the hands, 

 which causes it to pass through the tissue and cut a thin, even 

 section without any difficulty. With this apparatus I have 

 been able to cut a thin section of the leg of a five months foetus 

 from the knee downward, including the foot, the section meas- 

 uring two inches in length by three-quarters of an inch in 

 width. Several mechanical microtomes have been constructed 

 by various workers, but to my knowledge they are all deficient 

 in one point, viz., the knife or cutting instrument in them is 

 carried through the tissue like a chisel, or in other words, 

 the cutting edge is pressed through the tissue. But a knife, in 



