Although alkaline glycerine has been recommended for several purposes in micro-technique, it is not so well known as it should be how serviceable it is as an extempore mounting solution in vegetable histology. The best mixture for general use is composed of glycerine 2 ozs., distilled water 1-1/2 oz., solution of potash, B.P., 1/2 oz. This combines the refringent property of the glycerine with the clearing action of the caustic potash, while the swelling action of the potash is considerably diminished. _Cutting Sections of Hard Woods._--The lathe and circular saw will be found as useful for cutting sections of the harder kinds of woods, as for bone structure. It may be necessary to subject the older and consequently harder pieces of wood to the action of steam for a few hours to soften them, and afterwards transfer them to methylated spirit, before making an attempt to cut sections. But the more open woods, of one, two, or three years’ growth, will show all that may be required, and these can be cut by hand, or with the microtome, as already described. With a little practice the finest and thinnest possible slices may be cut by hand. It is usual to take off the first slice to give a smooth and even surface to the specimen. Then turn the screw to raise it a little, sprinkle the surface with spirit and water, and cut with a light hand. Remove the cut sections with a fine camel’s-hair brush or a section lifter (Fig. 250) to a small vessel containing water, when the thinnest will float on the surface, and remove to methylated spirit and water, where they should remain until they can be mounted. Sections of hard woods, and those containing gum-resins, or other insoluble material, must first be kept in methylated spirit or alcohol, and finally transferred to oil of cloves, to render them sufficiently transparent for mounting in Canada balsam. If the structure of an exogenous wood is required to be examined, the sections should be made in at least three different ways: the transverse, the longitudinal, and the oblique, or, as they are sometimes called, the horizontal, vertical, and tangential, each of which will exhibit different appearances, as seen in Fig. 245: _b_ is a vertical section through the pith of a coniferous plant, and exhibits the medullary rays known to the cabinet-maker as the silver grain; _e_ is a magnified view of a part of the same; the woody fibres are seen with their dots _l_, and the horizontal lines _k_ indicating the medullary rays cut lengthwise; _c_ is a tangential section, and _f_ a portion of the same; the medullary rays _m m_, and the woody fibres with vertical slices of the dots, are shown. Instructive preparations will be secured by cutting oblique sections of the stem. The sections seen are made from the pine. All exogenous stems, however, exhibit three different appearances, according to the direction in which the section is made. [Illustration: Fig. 245.--Sections of Wood.]