THE I.ACHKVMAL GLAND 197 



iron haematoxylin, the fourtli with mucicarmin, and so on until 

 all the granuk^ stains were used. It was found that all granules 

 in these sections were stained with the various dyes. This 

 demonstrated that the granules of the same tubule and inter- 

 calary duct are capable of taking various stains. Furthermore 

 the same granule is apparently capable of taking any one of 

 these stains. This is shown in the counter staining. When 

 sections stained in either iron haematoxylin or copper chrome 

 haematoxylin are differentiated to such an extent that the gran- 

 ules are pale, then stained with mucicarmin they appear red. 

 This condition is further substantiated by sections from those 

 rare tissues which contain the peculiar ring-like or crescent 

 granules. In many of these granules the caps or crescents and 

 the rings stain black in iron haematoxylin while the bodies of 

 the granules stain red after counterstaining in mucicarmin. 

 That many granules, however, show an affinity for certain stains 

 seems very probable, as cells are present in the tubules and 

 intercalary ducts the entire granular contents of which stain 

 black with the iron haematoxylin while all the granules of the 

 neighboring cells stain red after counterstaining with mucicarmin, 

 and again a mixed condition of red and black granules is seen 

 in other cells. However, the distribution of these red and black 

 granules within one cell as well as the distribution of cells con- 

 taining either all black or all red granules in the tubules and 

 intercalary ducts is very irregular and the ratio of these cells 

 to each other is very inconstant. 



Various explanations for this selective action on the part of 

 some granules for iron haematoxylin, others for mucicarmin 

 may be advanced as follows: 



1) The granules at different stages of their development have 

 different selective action for various stains. Against this view, 

 however, is the fact that this selective action on the part of 

 granules bears no relation to their size or distribution in the 

 cell. Large and small granules, either at base or summit, may 

 take one or the other stain. The large bulging granular cells 

 of the tubules seem to have a greater affinity for mucicarmin, 

 however, many exceptions to this observation were noted. 



THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ANATOMY, VOL. 20, NO. 2 



