’ SURFACE STERILIZATION. 10g 
washed with equal care in sterile distilled water. When many inoculations are 
made with large numbers of check plants and when due care has been taken to 
work under conditions such that accidental contaminations from the same organ- 
isms are not to be feared, the writer has not found this precaution necessary. ‘The 
use of mercuric chloride should be avoided, if possible, especially on leaves, as the 
writer’s experiments have shown that it penetrates into the plant (some plants) for 
a considerable distance and prevents the action of the bacteria to this extent (fig. 
88), if not altogether, as has happened in some cases. 
THE KEEPING OF RECORDS. 
If one contemplates doing much work, a careful record of what has been done 
is as important as the experiment itself, since exact remembrance is certain to pass 
away with lapse of time. 
In all his work, the student should accustom himself to make very exact 
statements, so that others may be able to follow him. For example, he should 
not describe his organism as “yellow” or “red” without qualifications, since there 
are many yellows and reds, but should carefully compare it with some standard 
color-scale (Ridgway’s, Saccardo’s, Standard Dictionary, etc.), and govern himself ' 
accordingly. He should not say, 
“Organism does not grow at 
room-temperatures,” but rather 
should state the temperature at 
which growth does not occur, as 
15°, 25°, or 35° C., any one of 
which may be ‘‘room-tempera- 
ture,” depending on the latitude, 
altitude, and time of year. He 
should not say, “Organism is 
killed at temperature of 65°C.,” 
without at the same time stating 
the age of the culture, condi- 
tions of exposure, and time required, which might be ten days or five minutes. 
Every independent worker will in the end devise a method of note-taking which 
is more or less characteristic of his personal peculiarities and best adapted, to his 
own particular needs. For all persons there is no ove best method. The methods 
described in the following paragraphs have been settled upon as those most con- 
venient for the writer, but it does not follow that they are the most economical of 
time, or the best devisable, or the ones which independent workers should follow. 
They are here given as hints for beginners and because the method a man employs 
in his work is always a matter of more or less interest to his fellow-workers. 
First of all, there should be provided a record book in which the method of 
preparation of each culture medium is carefully described. ‘This should be a good- 
*Fic. 94—Hand-sprayer which may be used for distributing bacteria on plants. Some form is 
usually kept in every pharmacy and sold as a cologne atomizer. 
Fig. 94.* 
