ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICKOSCOPYj ETC. 447 



orange. Bordeaux E and G. colour the three last mentioned sub- 

 stances, nuclei, and glandular tissue, the former giving a red and the 

 latter a more yellow tint. Fresh are less successful than alcohol pre- 

 parations. Biebrich scarlet colours the most different tissues deep red. 

 It is not suitable for chromic acid preparations. Cell-nuclei stand 

 out sharply. Gold-orange serves for fresh or alcohol or chromic acid 

 preparations. Bone is deep orange-red, cartilage gold, connective 

 tissue reddish. It is especially valuable for glandular tissue ; it gives 

 a splendid appearance to liver injected with Berlin blue, the blue 

 vessels showing on a gold ground ; sections of skin give fine images. 



The preparations after washing and clearing are best mounted in 

 balsam. Oil of cloves is mostly used for clearing. Very delicate colours 

 are, however, often injured by the yellow of the oil of cloves, and in 

 such cases oil of lavender should be substituted, or a quite colourless 

 oil of aniseed. 



Dr. Griesbach gives a word of caution against the too hasty abandon- 

 ment of the older media in favour of the new anilin colours, pointing 

 out in regard to their use in permanent preparations that our experience 

 of their durability is not yet long enough. Whatever the future may 

 bring, however, in this respect, they cannot fail to be of the greatest 

 use in histology. 



Double Staining Nucleated Blood-Corpuscles with Anilin 

 Dyes.* — Dr. V. Harris describes a series of experiments the object of 

 which was to find out the best combination of anilin dyes for double- 

 staining. With hematoxylin and picrocarmine it is believed that a 

 definite effect may be always calculated upon when they are used in 

 combination. With anilin stains, however, the results arrived at 

 appear to differ very materially if the methods of employment are 

 made to vary in even a very slight degree. It is only in the case of 

 a very few combinations that any certain result has hitherto been 

 expected. 



The only entirely successful combinations were the following : — 

 Eosein and anilin green ; fuchsin and rnethylen blue ; fuchsin and 

 Bismarck brown ; eosin and vesuvin ; iodine green and Bismarck 

 brown ; Hoffman's violet and Bismarck brown ; anilin violet and 

 rnethylen blue. 



The green dyes were not at all permanent. This was proved with 

 both malachite and iodine greens. 



Even with the above successful combinations the results varied in 

 a most extraordinary manner, whilst the circumstances of the staining 

 operation and the solutions appeared to be unvaried, the very greatest 

 care being required to produce a constant result. One thing necessary 

 for success was certainly that the solutions should be quite fresh. 

 This is likely to prove a great objection to the general introduction 

 of anilin dyes into use. 



The result was materially affected by the time each dye was 

 allowed to remain in contact with the blood. 



* Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci., xxiii, (1883) pp. 292-301. 



