1088 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Fig. 243. 



Fig. 244. 



Improved Whitney Section-Instrument.* — Mr. J. W. Queen has 

 improved tbo simple section-instrument of Mr. J. E. Whitney, de- 

 scribed ante, p. 539. 



A block of walnut with a V-shaped cut or recess (fig. 243) is facod 



at one end of this recess with 

 strips of plate glass of uniform 

 thickness. It may be used thus 

 without any screw, by holding 

 the stem (or other object to be 

 cut) in the recess with thumb or 

 finger, and advancing it carefully 

 by hand as tho end is cut. For 

 nicer work a screw with largo 

 milled head is added, which is 

 clamped to the under side of the 

 block in such a way that it may bo 

 shifted to set opposite to the centre 

 of the object to be cut, whether 

 large or small, and setting more 

 or less deeply into the groove. 

 There is a cap to fit over the 

 end of the screw to give a broader 

 bearing, and so prevent the screw 

 from sinking into the tissue. 



Alcoholic Drip for the Thoma- 

 Jung Microtome.! — Mr. W. T. 

 Sedgwick, in conjunction with 

 Mr. G. E. Stone, has devised a 

 very neat siphon drip for the 

 Thoma-Jung microtome. 



Constant pressure and flow 

 are obtained by the apparatus 

 shown in fig. 244. Fig. 245 shows 

 the end of the flexible siphon 

 tube c, fixed by a clip b to a stiff 

 wire a. The wire is attached to 

 the object-holder by the collar d, 

 which is firmly screwed down. 

 The overflow of spirit is carried 

 off by a trough, which is sus- 

 pended by a hook x. The trough 

 fits underneath and behind the 

 object-holder. The notches z z 

 are to secure a wire from which 

 a vessel is suspended beneath the 

 trough to catch the overflow. 

 When not in use the tube and wire 

 are hung upon the hookp (fig. 244). 



* Micr. Bulletin (Queen's), 1886, p. 30 (1 fig.), 

 t Amer. Natural., xx. (1886) pp. 488-90 (3 figs.). 



