The Methods Employed at the Naples Zoological Station for the Preservation of Marine Animals

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1899 Excerpt: ... THE METHODS EMPLOYED AT THE NAPLES ZOOLOGICAL STATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF MARINE ANIMALS. By Dr. Salvatore Lo B1anco. Translated from the original Italian by Edmund Otis Hovey.l UTENSILS. The laboratory of the station is provided with large tanks containing running and stationary sea water, a table covered with sheet lead and furnished with a drain, a great variety of glass and earthenware dishes, and tools of different kinds and materials. Cylindrical glass jars, with glass stoppers ground to fit, are used for exhibition purposes and for storage. Those with necks are employed for the most part, but those without necks and with a flat top are preferred for elegant installation. Cylindrical jars are the most economical of fluid and are the cheapest to get.1 Since glass jars are expensive, earthenware jars and basins are used for many laboratory manipulations. The small, globular vessels which have the bottom formed by a glass stopper, concave within, are recommended for small spherical animals. Hound-bottomed glass tubes are very useful, but care must be exercised to see that the walls are not too thin. The edge of the orifice should be smoothed in the Buusen flame. When the tubes are more than 30 mm. (1.2 inches) in diameter, the lip should be flared out so that a piece of bladder can be readily tied over the opening. Corks should be selected from the best stock, should be as compact as possible, and should be without cracks or other defects. In form they should be cylindrical, so as to make a good joint with the sides of the tube. The ends must be flat, with clean cut edges, so that no fragments can get into the alcohol. With large tubes it is desirable to put a plug of cotton inside the tube next to the cork, since the alcohol extracts the tannic acid...