METHOD OF EXAMINING CULTURES. 29 
there was an excellent growth and the diagnosis was 
made with certainty. 
Lastly, the author has heard of a practitioner who 
was in the habit of incubating cultures at the body 
temperature by carrying them in an inner pocket during 
the day and taking them to bed with him at night ! 
METHOD OF EXAMINING CULTURES. 
Requisites—1. Clean slides and cover-glasses. (These 
must be the thinnest in ordinary use, z.e., No. 1). 
2. A platinum needle. (Straight or loop). 
3. A Bunsen’s burner or a spirit lamp with a tall 
flame. 
4. The stain to be employed (see p. 37). 
5. Canada balsam dissolved in xylol. This should 
be bought ready for use. . 
6. A pair of dissecting forceps. 
7. Strips of white blotting- or filter-paper. 
Process.—1. Sterilise the needle and place a small drop 
of water (preferably distilled) in the centre of a clean 
slide. 
The disadvantage of using tap-water arises from the 
fact that it leaves a deposit of salts when it has dried, 
and these salts make the film “dirty.” The amount of 
distilled water required is very small, and sufficient can 
be obtained by holding a cold tumbler or saucer in the 
steam from a kettle. 
2. Take the culture-tube in the left hand between the 
index and middle fingers with its mouth directed to the 
right and (in the case of a culture on a solid medium) 
slightly downward. 
