682 



SUMMARY OF CUllRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



order to melt paraflfin mixtures of wax and oil for imbedding, for heating 

 specimens mounted in balsam, for drying and coagulating blood, sputum, 

 &c. For this purpose M. L. Malassez has devised the apparatus (fig. 117) 

 which consists of a metal plate bent into the shape of a capital S. The 

 whole length of the plate is 50 cm., and it is G cm. broad and 2*5 mm. 

 thick. The apparatus takes up very little room, as it is only 12 cm. 

 long, 12 cm. high, and 6 cm. broad. It may be heated from below or 



Fig. 118. 



from above ; if from below it must be supported on four legs, and the 

 Bunsen burner placed underneath (fig. 117). If from above, then the 

 topmost shelf must be made to project so that the burner can go under- 

 neath (fig. 118). 



MacDonxel l. — [Exhibition of Slides.] 



[" Three dozen slides (chiefly entomological, and sections of wood) mounted by 

 Mr. H. Sharp in balsam in an ingenious manner, so as to obviate pressure 

 and distortion of the object, by pasting a rim of paper on the slide, and thus 

 leaving a space of any requisite thickness for the object. This process was 

 invented by Mr. Sharp, of Adelong, and the results were excellent."] 



Journ. and Proc. Roy. Soc. of N. S. Wales, XXI. (1887) p. 294. 

 MiNOT, C. S.— The Mounting of Serial Sections. 



[Summary of existing state of knowledge on the subject.] 



The Microscope, VIII. (1888) pp. 133-8. 



(6) Miscellaneous. 



Method of calculating the rapidity of Bacterial Increase.* — Drs. 

 H. Buchner, T. Longard, and G. Eiedlin, who have been investigating 

 the rapidity with which certain micro-organisms increase, remark that 

 the following six conditions must be fulfilled in any attempt to determine 

 maximum rapidity of development : — (1) The nutrient medium must be 

 as favourable as possible (they used cold meat infusion : peptone 5 per 

 cent., sugar 1 per cent., salt 1/2 per cent.; solution alkaline; in some 



* Centralbl. f. Bactcriol. u. Parasitenk., ii. (1887) pp. 1-7 (1 fig.). 



