I lay great stress on having the mounts right way 

 up, and uniform. In the examination of a number of 

 slides this will be found a great time saver, and 

 productive of an easy conscience, no matter how many 

 slides are to be examined. 



The labels also should be so uniformly placed, that 

 the name can be read without difficulty, whilst the slide 

 is on the stage of the microscope. The importance of 

 this will be felt when comparing a number of slides. 



STAINING. 



Besides improving the look of the mount, staining 

 is useful in bringing up details in transparent parts, that 

 might otherwise be difficult to see. If Carbol fuscin, or 

 Carbol Methyl Blue be added to the Alcohol used for 

 dehydration, the tissues and chitine will be stained red 

 or green. 



When this is done the preparation must not be left 

 too long in oil of cloves, and it will be necessary to 

 immerse it for a few minutes in spirits of turpentine, 

 before placing it in the Balsam. 



DRY MANIPULATION. 



When an examination is necessary without destroy- 

 ing the specimen, it may often be accomplished by 

 inserting into the genital cavity a drop of wood naptha, 

 by means of a camels hair brush ; in a few moments the 

 harpes will be sufficiently relaxed, to allow the insertion 

 of the points of fine tweezers, the spring of which will 

 force the harpes apart, and allow a close examination 

 with a Coddington lens. 



The harpes may afterwards be gently pinched 

 together without damage to the specimen. 



This method will be found especially useful in the 

 Hydrcecias, Nonagria neurica and arundineta, and 

 any species where a rough and ready examination is 



