346 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Improvements in the Cambridge Rocking Microtome.* — The 
Cambridge microtome has been improved by the addition of a new 
clamp and an adjustable object-holder (fig. 92). Either the simple 
tubular holder or the orientating apparatus is firmly clamped to the 
rocking arm by a small turn of a screw C. The advantages of this 
arrangement are that when the screw is loosened, the holder slides with 
perfect ease, giving an easy adjustment of the object towards the razor, 
and the connection of the rocking arm is very rigid. By means of the 
adjustable holder the object can be placed in the exact position for 
Fig. 92. 
c 
cutting sections in the desired plane. The body of the holder consists 
of a tube of the same size as the ordinary tubular object-holder, and it 
is fixed to the rocking arm in the same manner. The object is placed in 
a hemispherical cup, which is firmly pressed against the ojien end of the 
tube by means of two screws, one of which is shown in the figure at A. 
When these screws are tightened up, the cup is turned about a vertical 
axis. If the head of the screw B is turned, the cup rotates about a 
horizontal axis. Thus the object can be rotated independently about a 
vertical or a horizontal axis. 
(4) Staining- and Injecting-. 
Simple Method for Staining Spores.f — The procedure recommended 
by Herr A. Klein is based on the observation that spores when in a 
moist condition are easily penetrated by pigments. A loopful of a 
24 hours old culture of (say) anthrax is emulsified with two or three 
drops of salt solution in a watch-glass. To this emulsion is added a 
similar quantity of phenol-fuchsin recently filtered and freshly prepared, 
and the mixture thoroughly stirred. The watch-glass, covered with 
another, is heated over a burner to vaporisation for 6 minutes. After 
removal some of the fluid is dipped out and films made. These are 
* Cambridge Sci. Inst. Co.’s List, 1899, p. 81 (1 fig.), 
t Centralbl. Bakt. u. Par., l t0 Abt., xxv. (1899) pp. 376-9. 
