168 



June 28th. 



MICROSCOPICAL MEETING. 



The Staining of Vegetable Tissues. 



The President, Mr. G. D. Saw'^er, read the following short 

 paper, contributed by the other hon. secretary (Mr. T. AY. 

 Woufor) — explanatory of the objects which were that niyht to be 

 exhibited under the microscopes : — 



Mr. T. CURTEIS, of 244, High Holborn, one of our honorary 

 members, has sent down for the Society's cabinet some slides to 

 illustrate the new process of staining vegetable tissues described 

 in a paper read before the Quekett Society recently, a description 

 of which method will be published in the next number of the 

 journal of that Society. 



All microscopists know there are great ad^■antages in being 

 able either to inject or stain animal tissues, because by these 

 methods of i)re2)aration, structures not i-eadily visible or easily 

 made out without such preparation are brought out with great 

 distinctness and clearness. Processes for staining vegetable 

 tissues have been adoi)tcd by many microscopists, and one of our 

 members, Dr. Halifax, some fourteen years since, carried on a 

 series of experiments in staining vegetable tissues by placing 

 living portions of plants in solutions of various kinds, and, after 

 some time, varying from a few hours to days, making sections of 

 the various parts, such as stem, leaves, and floNvers, and tracing 

 the presence of the staining material in the several parts. The 

 present process appears to depend on the use of tlie aniline dj'es, 

 which, in the case of the diatoms, seem to have the property of 

 attacking and fixing the todochrome, thus bringing into greater 

 contrast the silicious valves. 



Besides the slide of Lkmophora, mounted by Topping, Mr. 

 Curteis has been able, through the kindness of Mr. Tatem, of 

 Reading, to send two slides for the cabinet, further illustrating 



