DEMONSTRATING THE NUCLEI OE NERVE FIBRES. 219 ' 
I can, however, confirm Lee’s statement that long preservation 
in alcohol is not beneficial to the staining of nerve nuclei; 
after a nerve has been kept for some days in alcohol it is 
almost as difficult to stain its nuclei as when it is in the fresh 
condition. 
The following is the method I would recommend for general 
routine work when a rapid result is wanted. The fresh nerve 
is teased on a dry slide in the usual way, the preparation 
being kept moist with the breath. A drop of absolute 
alcohol is added and then a drop of Ehrlich’s hsematoxylin, 
followed by a drop of methylene blue. Either dye may be 
used alone, but the nuclei are most deeply stained when both 
are employed. An alcoholic solution of eosin may be substi- 
tuted for the absolute alcohol ; the alcohol here is the 
essential reagent, but the eosin provides a red counter-stain. 
The preparation is then washed, cleared, and mounted in the 
usual way, and the whole operation is completed within a few 
minutes. 
