Laboratory Notes. 7 1 
constant varieties adapted to different habitats ; and the case of the 
two British oaks is another which might be mentioned. 
A useful little paper by Mr. Miller Johnson on “ Ecological 
Terminology as applied to Marine Algae,” deals with a department 
of synecological research which has as yet been very little developed 
in this country, though several beginnings have been made. 
The rest of the Review is occupied by floristic notes, notices of 
books and papers, etc. Among the reviews is an appreciative notice 
of “ Types of British Vegetation,” containing some intelligent 
criticism. We may point out that the work is cited as “ The Types 
of British Vegetation,” whereas the first word is lacking in the 
proper title. This may seem a very small point, but the definite 
article was advisedly omitted in naming the book, in order to avoid 
any suggestion that the work included all existing types, a suggestion 
which would have been misleading. 
A.G.T. 
LABORATORY NOTES. 
A Method of Staining Microtomed Sections in the Ribbon. 
In these days of the microtome it is often desirable to ascertain 
the condition of the tissues and generally to view the structure of 
the member embedded in the paraffin before proceeding entirely to 
cut up the block. The method commonly employed is the usual 
one of floating out a piece of the ribbon, drying, dissolving the 
paraffin in xylol, and so on. And this, no doubt, is a very good way 
but it has the disadvantage of taking up much time. 
The following method, which does not appear to be generally 
known, answers admirably; it was shown me many years ago by 
Martin Woodward, a past master of technique, and we were 
employed in perfecting and extending it to double-staining when 
his untimely death put an end to the investigation. 
The ribbon is floated out on the prepared slip, not with water, 
but with an aqueous solution of safranin, gentian violet, or with 
many other aniline dyes. When quite flat, the superfluous stain is 
drained off and the slide is allowed to dry; on dissolving off the 
wax with xylol, the sections are found to be stained and it is only 
necessary to mount in Canada balsam. The depth to which the 
section is stained depends on the strength of the solution used and 
the time of exposure to its action. If it be found that the preparations 
are overstained the slide may be rinsed, after the removal of the 
wax, for a few seconds in a mixture of equal parts of absolute 
alcohol and xylol, then cleared in xylol and mounted in balsam. 
No general rules regarding the strength of the stain and the time 
of exposure can be laid down ; so much depends on the tissues 
used, but a little practice soon enables one to stain so nicely that 
no washing out or restaining is required. 
The whole process hardly takes a minute to perform and herein 
lies its great value. The aniline dyes are the most satisfactory; 
hematoxylin, as far as has been seen, gives very poor results. If 
