Botanical microtechnique

I'x useful standard methods.Intensive training can be given in the lew processes wliich experience has shown to be the backbone of research and which ha\e long served the routine needs in teaching.A course of this type should be organized to give a systematic, graded series of exercises, each exercise pointing to some definite objective and yielding superior preparations of a given type.Student interest can be maintained by working with plants that are of interest to the student or the institution, and Avith plants that are characteristic of the region.The trend in manuals of microtechnique has been in the direction of encyclopedic works of wide scope.The extensive array of processes in the research literature and reference manuals is bewildering to beginners.Teachers have found it necessary to select and to assemble suitable material in syllabus form.This manual has evolved over a period of years in connection with the teaching of a college course in histological methods.The course and the manual were designed to meet the needs of teachers and prospective teachers of plant science, and the needs of beginners in research in the basic and applied plant sciences.Since this is primarily a training manual rather than a reference work, use is made of a graded series of assignments, beginning with subjects in which orientation is easily visualized, few sectioning difficulties are encountered, and a simple stain is used.Subsequent as- signments require greater skill in the processing, sectioning, and differential staining of cell and tissue components.A few care- fully selected processing and staining methods are presented in detail.Emphasis is placed on gaining an understanding of the aim of the undertaking and the function of every operation, rather than on memorizing and mechanically following a written outline of proce- dure.After mastering the fundamentals, the worker can readily delve into the literature of specialized fields by consulting the key references in the brief bibliography.