BRIEFER ARTICLES 
A METHOD OF HANDLING MATERIAL TO BE IMBEDDED 
N PARAFFINE 
(WITH ONE FIGURE) 
The usual method of handling material to be imbedded in paraftine is 
slow and tedious, and attended with some danger of damage to the 
material. Ordinarily, each batch is killed in a separate bottle, in which 
it remains up to and even through the paraffine bath. In washing, a 
cloth is usually tied over the end of the bottle, which is put under a 
running tap or thrown into a vessel of running water. Either way 
results in washing of questionable thoroughness. Then the various 
grades of alcohols and xylols are pipetted on and off, a very tedious 
process with small light objects that are likely to be drawn into the pipette 
and injured or lost. 
After trying several devices, the writer has had success in eliminating 
these difficulties by the following method: About 6.25 cm. lengths are 
cut from ordinary medium thickness glass tubing of the desired diameter. 
One end is heated and slightly flared. Over the flared end is tightly tied 
a piece of thin cloth, and the excess of cloth and string closely trimme 
away (fig. 1, A). With a stout cord, a slip knot (B) is quickly tied and 
drawn up, and holds the cloth firmly. The material is placed in this 
cloth-bottom tube, and remains in it through all the processes up to the 
paraffine bath. If the objects are large or numerous, it is better to kill in 
an ordinary bottle and transfer to the tube just before washing. 
In washing, the tube of material is placed in a vessel of less height 
(such as a small salt mouth bottle), and water siphoned into the tube 
from a supply vessel directly under the running tap (C). The tube end 
of the siphon is drawn out fine, allowing only a small amount of water to 
pass over. A section of rubber tubing in the siphon gives greatet 
flexibility. Because the water level is high in the tube, and all the fresh 
water flows over the material, washing is very thorough. Under all con- 
ditions the stream of water is uniform and gentle, even with considerable 
variation in tap pressure, as we have in Allahabad. Any number of 
tubes, each with a separate siphon, may be grouped around the supply 
vessel and washed at one time. 
Botanical Gazette, vol. 57] [70 
