^iu^'im^'}        Botany  and  Materia  Medica.  399 
through  the  Northeastern  States  and  in  the  Northwestern  and 
Western  States  likewise. 
W.  A.  Setchell  and  J.  V.  Osterhout  (Botan- 
Media  for        uaL  Gazette^  Vol.  XXI,  p.  140)  have  experi- 
Preserving-  Algge  .     .  .  ,        r      7  . 
and  Fungi         mented  with  a  number  of  aqueous  solutions 
for  the  preservation  of  marine  and  fresh-water 
algae  for  laboratory  purposes.  One  per  cent,  chrome  alum  in  either 
water  or  sea-water,  according  to  the  habitat,  is  recommended.  The 
algae,  carefully  selected,  are  washed  free  from  dirt  and  placed  in  it  at 
once  and  preserved  until  needed  for  examination.  Very  little  washing 
is  needed  afterwards  to  permit  of  staining  by  any  of  the  ordinary 
staining  reagents.  The  color  is  not  retained  perfectly,  but  is  gener- 
ally better  preserved  than  by  any  of  the  other  media  tried.  The 
specimens  must  be  kept  in  glass-stoppered  jars ;  the  addition  of  a 
small  quantity  of  camphor  or  formalin  is  recommended  to  prevent 
mold  formations.  One  per  cent,  chrome  alum  solution  is  also  an 
excellent  preserving  fluid  for  use  with  fungi,  mosses,  ferns  and  even 
flowering  plants,  being  considered  by  the  writers  superior  even  to 
alcohol  for  this  purpose. 
One  to  two  per  cent,  solutions  of  formalin  fix  and  preserve  any 
ordinary  vegetable  tissue.  While  the  color  fades  more  rapidly  than 
with  chrome  alum,  the  cell  contents  are  preserved  equally  well.  For- 
malin, in  the  same  percentages,  works  excellently  for  fungi  and  the 
higher  plants.  Toadstools  are  preserved  in  their  natural  shapes, 
and  in  more  or  less  of  their  natural  colors,  according  to  the  species. 
Camphorated  water  is  very  useful  when  considerable  collections 
have  been  made,  and  cannot  be  examined  for  several  hours.  Per- 
haps the  most  important  use  of  camphor  water  is  to  preserve  speci- 
mens already  fixed  by  other  fluids. 
Cyanophyceae  are  best  prepared  in  solutions  containing  1  per 
cent,  each  of  chrome  alum  and  formalin.  Chlorophyceae — chrome 
alum  is  preferred,  but  either  of  these  media  will  answer.  Phaeo- 
phyceae  do  well  when  placed  immediately  in  1  per  cent,  formalin  in 
sea-water.  Rhodophyceae — the  coarser  forms  may  be  put  into  any 
one  of  the  three  solutions,  and  be  kept  in  a  very  excellent  condition  ; 
chrome  alum  preserves  more  color  than  formalin  or  camphor  water. 
For  finer  study,  the  writers  recommend  fixing  in  picric  acid,  wash- 
ing and  preserving  in  camphorated  sea-water. 
