184 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [June 



plate in a solution of twenty grains of picric acid, dis- 

 solved to saturation in absolute acohol,two ounces of water 

 and a little ammonia. 



Mycetozoa. — Dr. Caspar 0. Miller has developed an 

 elaborate method of studying the mycetozoa by means of 

 which he expects ultimately pure cultures will beobtaine. 

 Bacteria are present in all cultures, and he is, therefore, 

 now giving his attention to the influence that these have 

 on the growth of mycetozoa. The plan of working that 

 he most favors is as follows : — Well wash a handful of 

 hay until the water is colorless, and then leave it to soak 

 for about twenty-four hours. Pour off this water, filter 

 it and dilute with fresh water until it is of a white wine 

 color, after which add two per cent of milk to the infu- 

 sion. Filter again and sterilize for future use. The hay 

 is then cut up and placed in Erlenmeyer flasks, sufficient 

 to fill them two-thirds full. Just cover the hay with 

 water and sterilize for fifteen minutes, and repeat this 

 process the following day with fresh water. This water 

 is then poured off, and sufficient of the previously pre- 

 pared infusion of hay and milk is added to cover it to a 

 depth of one centimetre, after which the flasks are steri- 

 lized in a steam sterilizer for ten minutes on three suc- 

 cessive days. They are then ready for use. The cultures 

 were transplanted by means of a sterilized pipette. The 

 results of the experiments were communicated to the 

 Journal of the Microscopical Society, Vol. XLL, and all 

 who are interested in the aseptic cultivation of mycetozoa 

 would do well, therefore, to refer to that journal for the 

 detailed description which it contains. 



Embedding. — The following method for embedding 

 small bodies, such as spores and pollen grains for section- 

 ing in large quantities for class purposes, has been suc- 

 cessfully adopted in the botanical laboratory of the Uni- 

 versity of Ohio. The spores are placed in a small test- 

 tube and treated as for paraffin embedding. When the 



