1892. ] Briefer Articles. 93 
sists essentially of securing particularly vigorous, actively growing 
yeast plants, which are transferred directly to moist slabs of plaster of 
Paris, on which they develop the spores very rapidly. The sudden 
change from the condition with abundance of nutriment to one‘with 
almost total absence of it, appears to call out the extreme reproduct- 
ive safeguard of the species against annihilation. 
Hansen advocates starting with pure cultures, from which some cells 
of yeast are transferred to beerwort for a short time at common room 
temperature, then a small quantity of the active cells is again removed 
to fresh beerwort for 24 hours at a temperature of 26-27° C. A supply 
of the cells thus obtained is sown upon sterilized blocks of plaster of 
Paris, which are made sufficiently moist to slightly glisten, and are 
afterward kept in a moist chamber at proper temperature. 
The method followed in my laboratory was to add a little yeast, 
taken from a fresh cake of Fleischmann’s compressed yeast, to a Pas- 
teur solution. In a day or two, when the disengagement of gas 
Showed that the yeast was in active growth, the liquid was poured 
out of the flask, some of the flocculent material adhering to the glass 
Spores are easily colored with methyl violet; and fine permanent 
mounts may be made by the coverglass method as used for bacteria. 
The work was carried out by Messrs. Wright and Van Pelt of the 
present senior class.— J. C. ARTHUR, Purdue University, La Fayette, Ind. 
EDITORIAL. 
\ 
HERE Is a wide field for American ingenuity in devising new 
adaptations of apparatus used in other departments, and in inventing 
new forms of apparatus, with which to illustrate the main truths of 
vegetable physiology. Much work of this kind must be done before 
the science can be so generally taught in high schools and colleges as 
ts position as a fundamental science demands. Special forms of ap- 
Paratus will naturally be brought out to meet the requirements of in- 
Yestigators working in original lines, which will enrich the available 
Supply, but new methods of making old truths clear by means of 
