The Microscope. 185 



bottom, and the water may be poured off and the diatoms cleaned. 

 It is worth while to examine under the collecting lens every 

 promising patch of brown mud, for very pure gatherings of quite 

 different species may often be collected within a few feet of each 

 other. 



Double-Staining of Nucleated Blood Corpuscles. — Dr. W. 

 M. Gray gives the following note in The Microscopical Bulletin : 



"Spread a thin layer of blood on a clean slide and dry. 

 Immerse slide in a beaker of alum carmine (Grenacher's formula) 

 for five minutes ; wash in clean water, and immerse in a beaker of a 

 weak solution of sulph-indigotate of soda or potash (the solution 

 should be of a dark blue color — ^not black-blue, as in a strong 

 solution). After the slide has acquired a purplish hue, wash in 

 water and dry. After drying, warm slightly and mount in balsam. 

 The nuclei will be a beautiful red, and the protoplasm a greenisli 

 blue." 



New Stain for Tubercle Bacilli.— The London Lancet gives 

 Prof. Lubimoff the credit of introducing a new stain, Borofucsin, 

 for distinguishing the B. tuberculosis from all other bacilli in 

 sputum or tissue, which by this method remain colorless : 



'Bf Fuchsin 8 grains. 



Boric acid 8 " 



Alcohol, absolute 3f drachms. 



Distilled water 5 " 



Spread the sputum on the cover-glass and heat in contact with 

 the borofuchsin for one or two minutes. Wash in alcohol, and 

 immerse in a saturated alcoholic solution of methylene blue for half 

 a minu.te. Wash again in distilled water, dry, and examine in cedar 

 oil or Canada balsam. 



ABSTRACTS. 



The Antenna Cleaner of Hymenoptera.- — Prof. Cook, in an 

 interesting communication in The American Naturalist on morpho- 

 logy of the legs of hymenopterous insects, thus describes the peculiar 

 arrangement by means of which the busy bee and others of its kind 

 are enabled to keep the antennae free from soil and dust : 



In the anterior or prothoracic legs of the honey-bee, he writes, 

 we first notice at the base of the first tarsal joint and in the angle 

 between it and the tibia a short, hollow semi-cylinder. 



