APPARATUS 
11 
The stout razors our grandfathers used to shave with are excellent 
for freehand sectioning and even for cutting sections on the micro¬ 
tome. The blade should be flat on one side 
(Fig. 8A). Modern razors (Fig. 8 B), with 
delicate blades ground hollow on both sides, 
are worthless for cutting sections of plants. 
There should be two good hones: a 
fine carborundum hone for the preliminary 
sharpening, and a yellow Belgian hone for 
finishing. About 10X2| inches is a good 
size. If the second hone be quite hard 
and the finishing skilfully done, little or 
no stropping may be necessary. The best 
strops used by barbers are satisfactory for microtome knives. 
There are numerous forms of the paraffin bath. Those with a 
water-jacket, a thermometer, and a thermostat to maintain an even 
temperature are the most convenient. 
Fig. 8.—The type shown in A 
is good for microtome work; that 
shown in B is worthless for micro¬ 
tome work, but can be used for 
freehand sections of leaves. 
Fig. 9. —Land’s electric constant apparatus, showing diagram of the automatic switch, as 
described in the Botanical Gazette, November, 1911. 
A bath with a water-jacket and the electric thermostat devised 
by Dr. Land maintains an even temperature, in spite of any variations 
in the current. The appearance and principal features of this 
thermostat are shown in Figures 9 and 10. A detailed description of 
