PEEFACE. 



THIS little book has grown out of an attempt to frame a 

 collection of trustworthy formulae most likely to be useful to 

 the practical microscopist. Interspersed with these have been 

 added such practical notes and comments as have suggested 

 themselves during a very extensive course of experimenting 

 on the various materials and processes here described. 



The larger text-books do not always agree in the figures 

 given for the same formula. "Whenever possible, these have 

 been corrected by reference to the original or most authentic 

 source, but where the formula has been so vague and inde- 

 finite as to be little more than a suggestion, a detailed process 

 has been worked out experimentally. 



Although intended primarily as a guide in staining pro- 

 cesses, the most approved methods of hardening, fixing, 

 embedding, clearing and mounting, are also described. Sec- 

 tion-cutting alone has been purposely omitted, as this art can 

 only be learned properly from personal tuition. 



Although the best results in staining sections, &c., can only 

 be obtained after considerable practice, an attempt has been 

 made in every case, by the employment of solutions of definite 



