1894.J MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 375 



correspondingly small on the superficial surface. These 

 are placed in a test tube containing absolute alcohol. 

 The blocks are so placed in the tubes that they lie per- 

 fectly flat upon a layer of absorbent cotton in the bottom 

 of the tube. The tube is placed in a water bath and raised 

 to a temperature of about 40° C. If the tissue is large 

 the alcohol should be changed after a short interval. In 

 the course of about one-half hour the tissue will be 

 sufficiently hardened to be proceeded with further. 



The block of tissue to be cut is removed from the 

 alcohol, dried with a piece of blotting paper and placed 

 on the table of the microtome, covered with a few drops 

 of anise oil and frozen as recommended by Kuhne. The 

 sections are subsequently stained and mounted. By this 

 process fresh tissues may be sectioned within an hour 

 after removing them from the body. 



After the appearance of Kuhne's article, I used his 

 method with very satisfactory results. Contrary to 

 Coats' experience I found the infiltrated tissue to cut 

 better than when it was simply hardened and to stain 

 quite as satisfactorily. These points of diflerence, how- 

 ever, are unimportant as either of the processes aff"ord a 

 means of rapid preparation of alcoholic tissues. The use 

 of anise oil as a medium in which to freeze the tissue is, 

 on account of the features already mentioned, to be high- 

 ly recommended. 



In applying Kuhne's method the idea was suggested 

 that where for any reason several sections were to be 

 mounted from the same block of tissue, time could be 

 saved by staining the tissue en masse. The fact that 

 anise oil and Canada basalm are nuisible renders it 

 possible to mount the sections directly from the section 

 knife when the tissue has been thoroughly infiltrated 

 with the oil. This eliminates the after treatement of the 

 sections and materially shortens the ordinary process. 



The above facts render the use of anise oil of superior 



