248 THE MICROSCOPICAL NEWS. 
face of the solid nourishing material (gelatine), and this nourishing 
material is made fluid, so that the pink growth sinks to the bottom, 
and the material is again allowed to solidify : it will be observed 
that the pink mass retains its colour, that is to say, that the torula, 
once pink does not lose its colour when removed from the free 
access of air. But the new increment of the mass at the bottom 
of the now solid nourishing material is not pink, but colourless. 
Schréter (Cohn’s ‘ Beitrage zur Biologie d. Pflanzen,’ ii. Heft. p. 
112) mentions in a footnote that he observed occasionally on discs 
cut from a potato, mucous droplets of a pinkish colour, which, 
when examined under the microscope, were seen to consist entirely 
of Zorula cerevisig. The cells were not coloured. 
My friend, Professor Lankester, informs me, that when carrying 
on his researches on Bacterium rubescens in the laboratory of the 
Botanic Garden, Oxford, he observed a pink torula which spon- 
taneously made its appearance in a test-tube containing Pasteur’s 
solution.— Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Sctence. 
A RAPID METHOD OF DEMONSTRATING 
TUBERCLE BACILLUS 
WITHOUT THE AID OF NITRIC ACID. 
R. HENEAGE GIBBES, M.D., who has attained a reputation 
for his excellent demonstrations of pathogenic bacteria, has 
given in the pages of the Zamce¢ the following method of treatment 
for diagnostic purposes. ‘“ The stain is made as follows :—Take 
of rosanilin hydrochloride 2 grammes, methyl blue 1 gramme; rub 
them in a glass mortar. Then dissolve anilin oil 3 c.c. in rectified 
spirit 15 c.c.; add the spirit slowly to the stain until all is dissolved, 
then slowly add distilled water 15 c.c. ; keep in a stoppered bottle. 
To use the stain:—The sputum having been dried on the cover 
glass in the usual manner, a few drops of the stain are poured 
into a test-tube and warmed ; as soon as steam rises, pour into a 
watch-glass, and place the cover-glass on the stain. Allow it to 
remain for four or five minutes, then wash in methylated spirit until 
no more colour comes away; drain thoroughly and dry, either in 
the air or over a spirit lamp. Mount in Canada balsam. The 
whole process, after the sputum is dried, need not take more than 
six or seven minutes.” 
Dr. Gibbes states that this process is also useful for sections of 
tissues containing bacilli, as they can be doubly stained without 
the least trouble. He places the sections in the stain, and allows 
