36 
Miscellaneous Notes. 
Professor Vines and the Cladophoraceae. 
In the introduction to “ A Revision of the Classification of the 
Green Algae,” which appeared in our last issue, it was rather care¬ 
lessly stated that the often suggested affinity of the Cladophoraceae 
with the Valoniaceae had “apparently never been expressed in a 
scheme of classification” before the appearance last year of Bohlin’s 
paper on the phylogeny of Algae and Archegoniatae. Professor Vines 
writes to point out that in his “ Students’ Text-Book of Botany,” 
(1894) the Cladophoraceae (as also the Hydrodictyaceae) are associated 
with the Siphoneae (sensu stricto) in a larger group Siphonoideae* 
The authors regret that they had forgotten this at the moment of 
writing. The fact that De Toni in his “ Sylloge ” (1889) included 
Valoniaceae in Cladophoraceae, though he placed both in the old 
Confervoideae, might also have been mentioned with advantage. 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
STAINING AND MOUNTING UNICEEEULAR ORGANISMS. 
To the Editor of “ The New Phytologist.” 
Sir 
I11 answer to a letter in your last number asking for in form at ion as 
to methods of making microscopic preparations of unicellular organisms, I 
would suggest that a method, both simple and satisfactory, has yet to be 
devised. The old-fosliioned method of drawing drops of fixative, stain 
and mounting medium under the cover glass generally ends in the loss of 
most of the material, and is besides very laborious, especially if the fixative 
and stain require to be washed out. Drying on the slide, preferably after 
fixing with osmic vapour, etc., sometimes gives better results than would 
be expected from the drastic nature of the treatment, but is not to be 
relied upon. 
The method of Overton (see Zimmermann’s Botanisclie Microteclinik 
p. 29) has, however,'given me very satisfactory results, but can hardly be 
considered as a simple process. It is necessaiy that the material be in 
absolute alcohol. I keep my material (after fixing, washing, and bringing 
up through the alcohols, by decantation, in small glass tubes) in 7o°/ 0 
alcohol, which immediately before use is replaced by absolute alcohol. 
A drop of this fluid, together with the objects to be studied, is placed by 
means of a pipette upon a slide, the alcohol is allowed in part to evaporate, 
and then a drop of dilute celloidin (or collodion) is added. The slide is 
manipulated so that the celloidin forms a very thin layer, and directly the 
solution ceases to flow, the slide is placed in 85°/ 0 alcohol, which very soon 
