_Carmine_ is also much in vogue as a nuclear stain, and the two solutions more generally employed are Greenacher’s alcoholic borax carmine, and Orth’s lithium carmine. Under ordinary circumstances they act as general stains, affecting the ground tissue as well as the nuclei. By subsequent treatment with acidulated alcohol or acidulated glycerine the colour is discharged from the ground tissue without seriously affecting the nuclei. Used in this way, carmine becomes a good nuclear stain. It should be remembered that the sections must not be washed in pure water, as the colour will to a great extent be discharged; nor in acidulated water, as the carmine will be precipitated. Alum carmine and alum cochineal are useful nuclear stains, not requiring after-treatment. _Picro-carmines_ are also largely used. The following formulæ will be found the most useful:-- _Ammonia Picro-carmine._--Carmine, one gramme; strong solution of ammonia, three cc.; distilled water, five cc. Dissolve the carmine in the ammonia and water with a gentle heat, then add saturated aqueous solution of picric acid, 200 cc.; heat to boiling, and filter. _Picro-Lithium Carmine._--The following is generally preferred for use--Lithium carmine solution, 100 cc.; saturated solution of picric acid, 270 cc. There are several aniline dyes which are used for nuclear staining: methylene blue, methyl green, safranine, gentian violet, vesuvine, fuchsine, and Hoffmann’s blue. The usual process is to stain in 1/4 or 1/2 per cent. aqueous solutions and wash in methylated spirit. Methylene blue and methyl green have the reputation of being so readily washed out in the methylated spirit as to be worthless. This is obviated by washing the sections (when removed from the stain) in distilled water, previous to the differentiation in methylated spirit. Treated in this manner, the nuclear staining is very beautiful. This also applies to Hoffmann’s blue and partly to vesuvine; with the latter, however, it is not a necessity. Safranine and gentian violet worked better by transferring the sections directly from the stain into 90 per cent. alcohol. _Contrast Stains._--Very frequently other stains are used to dye the ground a colour which is in contrast to that employed for the nuclei. Brown, orange, or pink are used after nuclear blue or green. Carmine is generally counterstained yellow or indigo-blue; and fuchsine red, as in tubercle bacilli, is counterstained with nuclear blue. It is important that the ground stain should be made weaker than the principal stain, so that the whole tissue may be shown without detracting from the nuclei. The following colours are used as counterstains for animal sections, but they prove less useful for vegetable sections: benzo-purpurine, eosin, erythrosine, orange, acid rubin, and picric acid.