294 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



plasm. The slide may then be warmed gently over a 

 name until the film begins to dry. It may then be 

 stained by placing a drop of safranin or dahlia over the 

 film. After a few minutes (three or four) the excess of 

 stain may be removed by washing with a little 50 per 

 cent, and 70 per cent, spirit. A few drops of absolute 

 alcohol are then run over the film, followed by oil of 

 cloves, and finally the preparation is mounted in balsam. 



(2) The film may be allowed to gradually dry (a 

 matter of only a minute or two if it be even and thin), 

 but before it is actually quite dry a little saturated 

 solution of corrosive sublimate is gently run over it and 

 the whole slide immersed for a few minutes in this 

 solution. The slide is then washed in the usual way in 

 water and in the alcohols (several hours), and may then 

 be stained by any of the methods applied to films or 

 sections, e.g., iron-alum-hseniatoxylin, hsemalum, safranin, 

 dahlia, carmine. These preparations show the various 

 coelomic cells and also the reproductive products. 



Sections. 



Specimens not above six inches long are large enough 

 for this purpose. Larger ones are more difficult to deal 

 with on account of the hardness of the musculature after 

 imbedding. 



Specimens intended for sectioning must, of course, be 

 treated so as to remove all the sand from the alimentary 

 canal, and it is a matter of some little difficulty to ensure 

 this. The worms should be kept in dishes of clean sea 

 water, into which a small stream of water is allowed to 

 trickle or else the water in the dishes should be changed 

 at least twice a day. The dishes should be examined 

 several times a day, and the sand, which has been voided by 

 the worms, removed. After four or five days of this treat- 



