868 Transactions of the Society. j 



XIII. — Multiple Staining of Animal Tissues with Picro-carmine, 

 Iodine, and Malachite-green Dyes, and of Vegetable Tissues 

 with Atlas-scarlet, Sohible Blue, Iodine, and Malachite-green 

 Byes. By B. Wills Eichardson, F.K.C.S.I., Vice-President, 

 UniTersity of Dublin Biological Association. 

 {Read 9th November, 1881.) 

 Animal Tissues. 



Beautiful treble stainings may be obtained with picro-carmine 

 and iodine-green after the method described by Stirling.* I have 

 found, however, that the iodine-green tint can be effectively varied 

 by the addition of malachite-green, which sometimes, also, results in 

 a quadruple staining. 



A thin, evenly-cut cross section from the tail of a recently bom 

 kitten, for example, is susceptible of displaying these multiple 

 stainings most distinctly, owing to the diversified structure of the 

 tail. 



At the meeting of the Dublin Microscopical Club held at Dr. 

 Keuben Harvey's house, in July last, I exhibited (1) eight sections 

 from a kitten's tail ; (2) a complete cross section from the larynx of 

 a human ninth month foetus, and (3) a longitudinal section from 

 an enlarged uvula I excised some months previously, with all of 

 which the picro-carmine, iodine, and malachite-green dyes were 

 used. The majority of the tail sections were very successfully 

 stained in treble, the remainder in quadruple. The laryngeal 

 cartilages were but slightly coloured by the greens, probably from 

 insufficient exposure to their action ; for I have lately procured 

 decided staiuings of sections from the same larynx, stained two 

 years ago with picro-carmine and Eanvier's madder stain. These 

 may be called quintuple stainings. 



The uvula section showed but a slight trace of the green dyes, 

 although exposed to their action until it seemed dark blue in 

 colour. I have, since the meeting, tried to fix them in the mucous 

 glands of another picro-carmine stained section from the uvula, 

 by omitting the acetic acid washing,! and adding to the green 

 solution a couple of drops of an aqueous saturated solution 

 of arsenious acid. 



Four of the glands, three weeks after the staining, had a rich 

 greenish-blue tint, which has altered but little in depth of tone. 

 The others have changed considerably, being purple rather than 

 green. 



The structures in the tail sections, for which the green dyes 

 have an affinity, seem to be permanently stained by them. The 



* ' Text-Book of Practical Histology,' p. 69. (London, 1881.) 

 t Ibid., p. G9. 



