INOCULA TIONS B Y PLA TINUM WIRES. 55 



will be seen later, to cover-glasses for microscopic examina- 

 tions, are effected by pieces of platinum wire (No. 12 

 English gauge, .02 French gauge) fixed in glass rods 

 8 inches long. Every worker should have three such 

 wires. Two are 2\ inches long, one of these being 

 straight (Fig. 1 4, c\ and the other having a loop turned 

 upon it (Fig. 14, b). The latter is referred to as the 

 platinum "loop" or platinum "eyelet," and is used for 

 many purposes. " Taking a loopful " is a phrase constantly 

 used. The third wire (Fig. 14, a) ought to be 4! inches 

 long and straight. It is used for making anaerobic 

 cultures. Cultures on a solid medium are referred to 



FIG. 14. Platinum wires in glass handles. 



c. Straight needle for ordinary puncture inoculations, b. " Platinum 

 loop." a. Long needle for inoculating "deep" tubes. 



(i) as "puncture" or " stab " cultures (German, Stichkultur), 

 or (2) as "stroke" cultures (Strichkultur), according as 

 they are made (i) on tubes solidified in the upright posi- 

 tion, or (2) on sloped tubes. 



To inoculate say one ordinary upright gelatine tube 

 from another, the two tubes are held in an inverted posi- 

 tion between the forefinger and thumb of the left hand 

 with their mouth towards the person holding them ; the 

 plugs are twisted round once or twice to make sure they 

 are not adhering to the glass. The short, straight platinum 

 wire is then heated to redness from point to insertion, and 

 2 to 3 inches of the glass rod are also passed two or three 

 times through the Bunsen flame. It is held between the 

 right fore and middle fingers, with the needle projecting 



