376 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Studying' the Cell-Forms of Connective Tissue.*— A. Maxirnow 

 obtained good results from supra-vital staining with neutral red. A 

 saturated solution of neutral red in physiological salt solution was 

 injected into the intramuscular tissue of an animal just killed, and 

 after 1-2 minutes the piece of swollen tissue was snipped off and 

 examined under the Microscope. Bone marrow, spleen, and blood were 

 examined by Jolly's method. 



For permanent preparations the tissue was fixed in Zenker's fluid, in 

 formol-Zenker, or in alcohol, and then imbedded in celloidin or paraffin, 

 mostly the former. The sections were stained with polychrome methylen- 

 blue, iron-ha3matoxylin and van Gieson, or with hasntatoxylin-acid- 

 fuchsin and aurantia. 



For " mast " cells, celloidin sections of alcohol fixed material were 

 stained with a saturated solution of thionin in 50 p.c. alcohol for 24—48 

 hours, followed by alcohol ; xylol ; balsam. 



The author makes a clear distinction between mast cells and plasma 

 cells ; the former are distinguished by the granules in the cytoplasm ;. 

 the latter are round or polygonal, and their protoplasm stains deeply 

 with basic anilin dyes. 



Collecting' Material for Study of Sargassum fllipendula.t — E. B. 

 Simons collected the material near the shore of Woods Hole late in 

 July and during August. Plants, both in vegetative and reproductive 

 conditions, were abundant. Flemming's weak solution (1 p.c. chromic 

 acid 25 c. cm., 1 p.c. acetic acid 10 c.cm., water 65 c.cm.) proved a satis- 

 factory killing and fixing reagent. Sections 5 /x thick were stained either 

 with iron-alum-hgematoxylin, or with safranin and gentian-violet. 



Studying the Morphology and Development of Empusa. J — E. W. 

 Olive found in horse-dung cultures a fly belonging to the genus Sciara, 

 which was infected with an Empusa. This fly has, since March 1904, 

 been propagated along with its attendant disease, and many generations 

 have furnished material for the cytological and developmental study of 

 Empusa. The material was killed and fixed with a variety of agents, 

 mostly with varying strengths of Flemming's chromic-acetic-osmic acid 

 mixture. The insect body was generally cut in two, or pricked, to 

 allow direct contact of the fixative and the fungus hyphse in the body 

 cavity. The sections, 3-6 /j. thick, were stained with Flemming's safranin- 

 gentian-violet-orange Gr. solution, or with Heidenhain's iron-hamiatoxylin. 



"Blowing" of Condensed Milk Tins.§ — G-. H. Pethybridge finds 

 that the " blowing " of condensed milk tins is due to small yeasts, or 

 toruke, which are present in large numbers. Unlike other organisms 

 found in milk, these small yeasts are not inhibited by increasing the 

 concentration of the cane sugar ; in fact, they are capable of fermenting 

 saturated solutions of caue sugar in milk. 



Cultivations from the clots were made in Pasteur's solution at 20°, 

 and from these, plates and sub-cultures. The organism grew freely on 



* Archiv Mikrosk. Anat., lxvii. (1906) pp. 680-757 (3 pis.). 



t Bot. Gazette, xli. (1906) p. 163 (2 pis.). % Tom. cit., p. 195 (2 pis.) 



§ Economic Proc. Roy. Dublin Soc, i. (1906) pp. 306-20. 



