88 NEW BOOKS, WITH SHORT NOTICES. 



tion which has been furnished by Herr Schultze. Among other points 

 are his remarks on the use of cami^hor in the preservation of animal 

 tissues, a substance which seems even in very small quantities to have 

 a marvellously powerful preservative effect. His observations on the 

 subject of iod-seriim are important. Herr Schultze says it " consists 

 of the amniotic fluid of the embryo of Euminantia, to which a concen- 

 trated tincture of iodine, or a strong solution of iodine in hydriodic 

 acid, is added. About six drops are to be added to the ounce, 

 while shaking the mixture. The colour of the solution is at first wine- 

 yellow, but after a few hours it becomes paler ; this paleness after- 

 wards increases, and the subsequent addition of a few drops of the 

 iodine solution becomes necessary. Our mixture forms an excellent 

 fluid for the examination of delicate fresh tissues, and is also a very 

 good and very preservative macerating medium, acting in this way 

 even for hours or days. We must here give a piece of advice which 

 is of great importance in the numerous macerations of this kind which 

 are necessary, namely, to have the piece which is to be j)laced in 

 them very small, and the quantity of fluid as large as possible." 

 This solution, which is extremely simple, appears admirably adapted 

 to the purpose for which it is devised. 



In reference to the process of staining tissues, very many methods 

 are given, some of which are novel, and others well known to most of 

 our readers. We fancy that the system of double-staining, which was 

 discovered by Herr E. Schwarz, will be novel to many workers. He 

 "places the tissues in a mixture of 1 part creosote, 10 parts acetic 

 acid, and 20 parts water. The preparations are to be immersed in 

 this mixture while it is boiling for about a minute, and are then to be 

 dried for two or three days. Thin sections are to be made and im- 

 mersed for an hour in water slightly acidulated with acetic acid, and 

 then washed out in distilled water. Next they are to be put in an 

 extremely dilute watery solution of ammoniacal carmine, and after 

 being again washed in water are exposed for two hours to a solution 

 of picric acid (0*066 grm. to 400 ccm. of water). The sections are 

 then placed on a slide, the superfluous acid is allowed to flow away, 

 and a mixture of 4 parts of creosote to 1 part of turpentine, which has 

 become resinous from age, is dropped on to it. In about half an hour 

 the specimen, which has become transparent, is to be mounted in 

 Canada balsam." Now, by this process, which, it must be confessed, 

 is a lengthy one, a peculiar effect is produced. Epithelial and glan- 

 dular cells, muscles, and the walls of vessels, show a yellowish colour, 

 with reddened nxiclei, while the connective tissue is not coloured by 

 the picric acid, and only presents the carmine colour. 



In the second part of the work the reader is taught how to prepare 

 for examination the several tissues which make up man's body, and 

 then how to observe the various structures so brought out. This is, 

 to our minds, the most valuable part of the entire book ; for the 

 descriptions of the tissues are for the most j^art extremely recent, and 

 are sufficiently elaborate, while the cuts in illustration are numerous, 

 excellent, and many of them unfamiliar even to the student of His- 

 tology. 



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