Strong, Review of the Golgi Method. 119 



it must be given a place of its own alongside the silver nitrate 

 method. The clearness with which the various elements of the 

 nervous system emerge in this reaction is not less than that 

 brought about by the silver nitrate. The elements appear, 

 when viewed under the microscope by transmitted light, com- 

 pletely black after the action of the sublimate and for micro- 

 scopal investigation the action is the same as when there is an 

 actual black stain. But this stain is only an appearance due to 

 the opacity of the elements upon which, probably owing to a 

 reducing action, the mercury has precipitated. In reflected 

 light one notices that the elements appear entirely white, indeed 

 under stronger magnification they show plainly a metallic luster. 



"I will remark that the particular advantages of this 

 method consist first in the fact that the reaction can take place 

 in large pieces, further that its success is absolutely certain with- 

 out being necessarily bound by strict rules as to the time of 

 sojourn in the hardening fluid, and finally in the fact that the 

 preparations which it yields require no especial precautions for 

 their preparation, but can be treated in the usual way, like sec- 

 tions stained with carmine. 



"The mode of application of the sublimate method is only 

 distinguished from the silver method by some unessential things. 

 It likewise consists of two essential processes: 



" (a) Hardening of the pieces in bichromate, 



" (b) Transference of the same into a solution of bichlo- 

 ride of mercury and sojourn in the latter. 



" (a) The hardening in bichromate is done entirely in the 

 usual way. (See the original method). ■ I only add that the 

 reaction does not proceed in an essentially different manner 

 if consecutively stronger solutions of i, 2, 3^ are employed or 

 if the pieces are immediately laid in Miiller's fluid. In general 

 it is expedient for the pieces to be small but this is not abso- 

 lutely necessary. Good results are also obtained with large 

 pieces, indeed with whole brains. In the latter case the pre- 

 serving fluids require a long time to pentetrate by osmosis from 

 the periphery into the interior and the central portions could 

 spoil before they experienced the action of the fluid. It is nee- 



