134 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Flemming’s Fixing-Solution.* * * § — Herr D. M. Mottier recommends the 
following composition for studies in nuclear division in plants : — 
1 per cent, chromic acid .. .. 16 ccm. 
2 per cent.'osmic acid .. .. 3 ccm. 
Glacial acetic acid .. .. 1 ccm. 
Preservative Fluids for Botanical Specimens, f — M. J. Chalon re- 
commends a saturated or 3 per cent, solution of boric acid for preserving 
vegetable specimens. This was the only one out of ten different solu- 
tions which gave satisfactory results. The solution is improved if 1 to 
5 per cent, sodium sulphate be added. 
The other solutions tried were, 2 per cent, calcium chloride ; 0*25 
per cent, chromic acid ; chromo-acetic acid ; Muller’s fluid ; salicylic 
acid ; carbolic acid ; corrosive sublimate thymol ; sodium sulphite. The 
use of formalin in 3 per cent, solution is alluded to, but its advantages 
or disadvantages are not mentioned. 
(6) Miscellaneous. 
New Method of Observing Stomates.J — Prof. F. Darwin thus describes 
a new method used by him for observing the opening and closing of 
stomates : — “ A strip of horn sheet 8-9 mm. long by 3-4 mm. wide is 
fastened by one end to a small block of cork so that the horn lies flat on 
any surface on which the instrument is placed ; the horn bearing at 
its free end a bristle to serve as index. When it is placed on a damp 
surface the index instantly rises to an angle of 20-50°, or even more, 
whereas it remains flat on a dry surface. A paper scale being fixed 
to the cork block serves to read off the movement ; when applied to 
leaves, e.g. a hypostomatal leaf, the reading is zero on the upper 
side, and varies on the under side according to the state of the sto- 
mates ; 50° means an extreme amount of variation, 30° a fair degree, 
10° a small degree.” 
Detection of Typhoid Bacilli in Faeces by Eisner’s Method.§ — Dr. 
S. Sterling writes in praise of Eisner’s method for the detection of 
typhoid bacilli in the faeces. As previously stated, the essential feature 
consists of potato-gelatin with 1 per cent, iodide of potassium, v/hich 
medium is found to be unsuitable for most of the microbes from faeces, 
and has the further merit of distinctly differentiating the colonies of 
B. coli from those of typhoid, those of the former being yellowish and 
granular and of fast growth, while those of the latter are small trans- 
parent droplets. The author states that his percentage of positive 
results with Eisner’s method is 66, while other procedures did not give 
a higher percentage than 16*5. 
Method of rapidly Identifying the Microbe of Bubonic Plague. || — 
The method devised by Mr. E. H. Hankin and Surgeon-Captain 
B. H. F. Leumann for rapidly identifying the plague bacillus is derived 
* Jahrb. f. wiss. Bot. (Pfeffer u. Sirasburger), xxx. (1897) p. 170. 
f Bull. Soc. Boy. Bot. de Beige, xxxvi. (1897) pp. 39-46. 
j Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc., ix. (1897) pp. 353-8. 
§ Cen trail)]. Bakt. u. Par., l te Abt., xxii. (1897) pp. 334-6. Cf. this Journal, 
1896, p. 357. 1| Tom. cit., pp. 439-40. 
