RECORDS. TET 
fermentation tubes, since records made with these pencils will bear streaming steam. 
An inexpensive black pencil which writes on clean glass very readily and bears 
steam well (even better than Faber’s) may be made by stirring into melted beeswax 
enough lamp-black to make a thick-flowing liquid (as thick as will flow). ‘This is 
poured into molds made by wrapping writ- 
ing paper, in several turns, around a lead 
pencil or thick glass rod, tying near one end, 
removing the rod, squeezing the other end 
flat, turning over its edge, and fastening this 
flattened end in a split stick or clamp. ‘The 
paper should be retained as a cover, the string 
being removed and the loose edge pasted 
down. A dozen such pencils may be made 
at acost of 10 cents. In the absence of such 
pencils, flasks and fermentation tubes may 
be distinguished in the steamer by dropping 
over the neck different-sized rubber bands or 
different numbers of the same kind of band, 
or by writing with a lead pencil the number 
of the stock on a square of letter paper, cut- 
ting a hole in its center and slipping this 
over the neck of the flask or tube. When 
the steaming is over, the regular labels should 
Fig. 96.* be pasted on or the stock number written on 
with the proper pencil. 
All plate cultures and all subcultures made on a given day, no matter of what 
organism, are numbered serially, beginning with 1. These are 1, 2, 3, etc., of that 
particular day. ‘Those of any other day are also numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. ‘The writer 
Fig. 97.* 
usually numbers his plates I, II, III, etc. Labels may be pasted on the covers of the 
Petri dishes, or all may be done with the glass pencil. Cultures in tubes subject to 
frequent handling and likely to be needed for some time should have gummed-paper 
labels written in ink. ‘The above transcripts from labels on four test-tube cultures 
*Fic. 96.—Labels from test-tube cultures. 
*F ic. 97.—Wooden labels from inoculated plants. 
