& 
56 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Mar 
tions, cover with a glass cover, and the remainder are 
ready for the compound microscope. 
It is important not to have too much glycerine and to 
spread it evenly ; a knife blade answers the purpose. The 
scalpel should have a keen edge; a knife will do if sharp 
enough. The parts to be sectioned should be soaked in 
warm water for two hours at least and longer if possi- 
ble.-—G. NV. Best in The Bryologist. 
Tuberculous Pericarditis. 
Staining.— Wechsberg gives two excellent staining 
methods which he used in the laboratory of Weigert and 
in that of Ehrlich. _ In his second method he succeeded 
with a general tissue stain, including cell nuclei and pro- 
toplasm, connective tissue and elastic fibres, without 
clouding the bacillus stain in the least. It must be re- 
membered that Wechsberg worked with the very fresh 
comparatively delicate tissues of recently killed infected 
rabbits. For fixing and hardening, alcohol was generally 
employed, only the eyes were hardened for one or two 
days in 10 per cent of formalin. Some preparations were 
fixed in Flemming’s solution and colored with safranin to 
make the proliferating nuclear appearances more distinct. 
The tissues were subsequently imbedded in the usual man- 
ner, partly in celloidin and partly in paraffin. The stain- 
ing methods were as follows: (A.) 1. Section staining for 
one hour at 37° C. in the thermostat in carbol-fuchsin. 
2. Differentiation in muriated 70 per cent alcohol (Land 
2 were bacilli stains). 3. Staining with Delafield and van 
Gieson hematoxylin in usual manner (van Gieson). 4. 
Absolute alcohol,xylol and balsam. In such sections the 
bacilli were dark red, the cell nuclei blue or blue-voilet, 
the cell protoplasm yellowish brown, the connective tissue 
pale red. (B.) 1. Staining of section for an hour at 37° 
in carbol-fuchsin. 2. Differentiation in muriated and 70 
