SECTION CUTTING. IQ7 
It often happens that the sections roll up on the 
knife. In this case they must be placed on the surface 
of cold water and an attempt made to straighten them 
out by careful brushing with a camel’s hair brush; when 
fairly flat they are to be lifted up on a slide or piece of 
paper (dipped into the water’ and insinuated below 
them) and transferred to the hot water as before. But 
the rolling of the sections may often be prevented by 
sharpening the knife, by re-imbedding the tissues in 
harder or in softer paraffin according to the weather, or 
by varying the angle which the knife edge makes with 
the glass runners of the microtome. These devices can 
only be learnt by experience. 
When the sections are flattened out on the surface of 
the hot water they are ready to be mounted upon slides 
or cover-glasses; slides are by far the best for beginners. 
The slides (or cover-glasses) must be perfectly clean, 
and are best kept in methylated spirit until they are 
to be used, and the spirit not wiped off. Each slide is 
then inserted separately into the water in an oblique 
position and the section moved until it lies over the 
centre; the slide is then raised out of the water and 
carries the section out with it. 
The excess of water is now to be removed by a piece 
of blotting or filter paper, and the slide placed in the 
warm incubator for a few hours. At the end of this 
time the sections will adhere by atmospheric pressure 
(like a boy’s leather sucker to a stone) and will not 
come off in the subsequent processes. If an incubator 
is not at hand the slides may be placed near the fire 
(protected from dust) and kept at the body temperature 
or a little higher for a few hours; the exact temperature 
does not matter, and no harm will result if the paraffin 
melts. 
