130 THE NORTHERN MICROSCOPIST. 
Dissolve in a test tube with a slight heat only, so as to avoid any 
unpleasant mishap, and filter before using. 
After a three hours’ soaking in the above, the staining will be com- 
pleted, and the sections should be mounted without delay. 
Take them out of the fluid one at a time by means of Marsh’s 
section spoon shown in fig 17, and place in a small saucer contain- 
ing methylated spirit to wash the superfluous colour away. Then 
remove the section into another vessel containing oil of cloves, oil 
of cajeput, or benzol, and as soon as it becomes translucent, place 
it upon the centre of a warm glass slip, apply balsam and benzole 
immediately, and cover with a thin glass circle or square, and hold 
it down with a spring clip, as shown in fig. 18. 
Fig. 17. Fig. 18. 
On finishing mounting, place the slides in a warm place to bake 
for a few days. The recess generally to be found above a kitchen 
oven forms a capital little bakehouse; but care should be taken 
that it is not too hot, or the balsam will be thrown into ebullition 
and the objects ruined. 
Do not attempt to clean the slides until the balsam has throughly 
hardened, when it may be removed with the point of a pen-knife. 
The slides should then be ringed with brown cement, and the next 
day perfectly cleaned and polished by means of turpentine and 
warm water. 
If it should be found that by following the above modus operandi 
a good deep carmine colour cannot be obtained, the strength of 
the mordant may be increased to fifteen per cent.; but if even 
after this, the carmine remain poor and faint, the amount of water 
added in preparing the stain should be diminished by about half 
an ounce. 
In conclusion, it may be remarked that the sections should be 
handled with the greatest delicacy throughout, and in order to 
obtain good specimens a microtome is absolutely indispensable, a 
