134 QUARTERLY CHRONICLE, 
to it a drop of creosote, when the section very quickly be- 
comes transparent, and in fact almost suddenly, if the pre- 
paration had lain for about half an hour in a mixture of 
alcohol and ether. The preparation may then be at once 
covered and cemented in the usual way with dammara 
varnish. Dr. Stieda, in addition to what Kutschin recom- 
mends, puts a drop of a solution of gum dammara or of 
Canada balsam upon the preparation “before applying the 
covering glass. Preparations which have not been immersed 
at all in alcohol are rendered transparent sooner by creosote 
than by oil of cloves. 
The author then gives a list of various essential oils with 
which he has experimented, dividing them into two groups, 
the members of one of which act in the manner of oil of 
turpentine, and those of the other like creosote and the oil 
of cloves. To the first group belong the oils of turpentine, 
wormwood, balsam of copaiba, orange-peel, cubebs, fennel, 
milleflower, sassafras, juniper, mint, marjoram, lavender, 
cummin, cajeput, cascarilla bark, savine, and lemon; none 
of which have any advantage over oil of turpentine. In the 
second group of etherial oils, to which that of cloves belongs, 
we have those of gualtheria, cassia, cinnamon, star-anise, 
bergamotte, cardamoms, coriander, caraway, and rosemary. 
He considers it superfluous to make further experiments 
with these or other oils, as he finds creosote to answer every 
purpose that can be wished for in the speedy rendering of 
preparations transparent. The paper concludes with a recipe 
for a varnish to enclose wet preparations in glycerine or 
other watery fluids—viz., oxide of zinc or cimnabar, ac- 
cording to the colour that may be desired, is to be well 
rubbed up with oil of turpentine, and then added, in the 
proportion of a drachm of the oxide or two drachms of the 
cinnabar, to an ounce of a thick solution of gum dammara in 
turpentine. But what advantage this preparation possesses 
over the familiar gold-size, or gold-size with litharge, it is 
not very easy to perceive. 
4. “A Contribution to the Knowledge of the Anatomical 
Structure of the Tactile Hairs,” by M. VY. Odenius.—The 
greater part of this paper is occupied by an account of the 
structure of the peculiar spongy body which is found sur- 
rounding the roots of the tactile hairs, and the mode in 
which the nervous terminations are distributed; and the 
descriptions are illustrated by excellent figures. 
5. ‘ Observations on Ciliated Epithelium,” by Dr. P. 
Marchi, of Florence.—The principal point in this paper is 
the confirmation of the obseryation made by Friedreich, in 
yo 
