Mr. Stiles read a paper on “The preparation & staining of wood sections”

The process of cutting these was fully described and many details connected with it explained both verbally and experimentally.

Before being stained sections of wood require bleaching, and attention was drawn to the usual method of doing this. The purpose of staining is twofold – not only is the natural beauty of the wood greatly increased, but also its minute structure is much more permanently brought out. Thus, when two colours are used in staining a section of a young stem of oak, the woody portion of the stem will take one colour and the pith and bark another and this selection of colour is of considerable value in studying the structure & determining the constituents of a stem.

Mr. Stiles gave a detailed account of the processes of single & double staining in various colours illustrating his paper by the exhibition of various objects treated according to the methods described.