26. _Bone._—Both transverse and longitudinal sections should be prepared, the former being the prettier and most interesting. After prolonged maceration in water, all fat, etc., must be removed and the bone dried, when as thin a slice as possible is to be cut off in the desired direction, by means of a very fine saw. If the section so obtained be placed upon a piece of smooth cork it may, with the aid of a fine file and the exercise of care, be further reduced in thickness. It is then to be laid upon a hone moistened with water, and being pressed gently and _evenly_ down upon it with the tip of the finger (protected, if necessary, by a bit of cork or gutta-percha), it must be rubbed upon the stone until the desired degree of thinness has been attained. Finally, in order to remove scratches and to polish the section, it should be rubbed upon a dry hone of very fine texture, or upon a strop charged with putty-powder. After careful washing in several waters the section must be allowed thoroughly to dry, when it may be mounted by the _dry method_ in the following manner:—A ring of gold-size must, by means of the turn-table, be drawn in the centre of a slide, and the slide put away in a warm place for several days (the longer the better), in order that the ring may become perfectly dry and hard. When this has been accomplished the section is to be placed in the centre of the ring, and a covering circle of the requisite size having been cleaned, this must have a _thin_ ring of gold-size applied round its margin. The cover is now to be placed in position and gently pressed down, a spring clip being employed, if necessary, to prevent it from moving. In about twenty-four hours another layer of the varnish should be applied, and the slide afterwards finished in the manner already described (§ 24). The above method is also applicable to the preparation of sections of _teeth_ and also of _fruit-stones_ and other hard bodies, which are incapable of being rendered soft enough for cutting.