106 
METHODS IN PLANT HISTOLOGY 
5. Absolute alcohol, 5 or 6 seconds. 
6. Transfer quickly to 10 per cent Venetian turpentine and pro¬ 
ceed as in the previous schedule. 
The surprising beauty of successful preparations will compen¬ 
sate for whatever failures may occur. Nuclei and pyrenoids should 
show a brilliant red, while the chromatophores and cytoplasm should 
be dark blue. The cell walls should show a faint bluish color. 
Haidenhain’s Iron-Alum Haematoxylin and Eosin.—Follow the 
schedule for iron-haematoxylin until the glycerin has been washed 
out in 95 per cent alcohol. Then stain for a minute in a solution of 
eosin in 95 per cent alcohol. Wash for a minute in 95 per cent alcohol, 
then a minute in absolute alcohol, and then transfer to the 10 per cent 
Venetian turpentine. 
Haidenhain’s Iron-Alum Haematoxylin and Safranin.—-Follow 
the schedule for iron-haematoxylin until the glycerin has been washed 
out in alcohol, and then add to the 95 per cent alcohol several drops 
of a solution of safranin in 95 or 100 per cent alcohol and allow the 
stain to act for 30 minutes or an hour. Then dehydrate in absolute 
alcohol and transfer to 10 per cent Venetian turpentine. 
Other Stains may be used. Aqueous stains should be used before 
starting with 10 per cent glycerin. Alcoholic stains should be in 
strong alcohol—about 90 per cent—and should be applied just after 
washing out the glycerin. 
This method is equally good for filamentous fungi and also for 
the prothallia of Equisetum and ferns, for delicate liverworts and 
mosses, and similar objects. 
If you have a good turpentine, good stains, and avoid moisture , 
the Venetian turpentine method should not be difficult, and the results 
with filamentous and unicellular forms and other small objects 
surpass anything yet secured by other processes. 
