1897.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 99 



stead of the lilthy fashion of licking- pasters; to sav noth- 

 ing- of the certainty of irritation and discomfort, and the 

 evident dang"er of serious disease, from the sawing- of 

 harsh edges of dry paper across the tender surface of the 

 tong-ue. 



MICROSCOPICAL MANIPULATION. 



Stable Picro-Carmine Solution. — A satisfactory picro- 

 carmine, yielding- a solution that has been proved to keep 

 g-ood for five years, may be made as follows: 



Pure carmine is dissolved in a mixture of ammonia water 

 1 part by volume and water 4 parts, care being- taken to 

 keep the carmine in slight excess. After standing- for 

 two days filter the solution, and expose it until a precipi- 

 tate begins to form, protecting- it from dust meanwhile. 

 Ag-ain filter, and add concentrated solution of picric acid 

 (? to excess), then ag-itate and set aside for 24 hours, when 

 a third filtration must be followed by the addition of 1 part 

 of chloral hydrate to every 1,000 parts of solution. At the 

 end of a week filter for the last time, and immediately bot- 

 tle off in small, g-lass-stoppered vials. 



Stain for Tubercle Bacilli. -Hardin W. Brig-ht, M. D., 

 Professor of Histolog-y, Patholog-y and Bacteriology in the 

 Tennessee Medical College, sends us the following: Place 

 three drams water in test tube, add five drops alboline. 

 Shake thoroughly, then filter. Of above filtrate 100 parts 

 Sat. aqueous sol. Fuchsin ten parts. 80 per cent alcohol 

 ten parts. The above solution will keep better than if 

 aniline oil be used. 



Stain ten minutes in above solution, decolorize, in M) per 

 cent Nitric acid, wash in alcohol, stain three minutes in 

 aq. Sat. Sol. Methylene Blue, wash in water, dry and mount 

 in Canada balsam. The above stain is an improvement 

 over Ehrlich's. I find it unnecessary to warm solution. 

 I have a specimen stained by this method which I have 

 kept for over one year and the bacilli are as distinct as 

 when first stained. The envelope can be clearly diifer- 

 entiated from the stained protoplasmic contents of the cell. 



