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Abstract
A survey of histological literature shows that Delafield's hematoxylin is one of the most widely used histological stains. Personal interviews with workers in this field elicit comments which seldom appear in print. Most workers confess that it usually requires several unsuccessful attempts to make a usable stain. The experienced technician is no more successful than the self-taught beginner. I have examined, at various schools, preparations stained with so-called Delafield's stain and the range of colors and degrees of muddiness found were surprising. A somewhat greater degree of certainty and uniformity is desirable in a stain which is to be used by classes in elementary histology. Mayer's hemalum has not enjoyed the popularity which it deserves perhaps because the formula given in a widely used text is incorrect. This was found to be a source of discouragement to self-taught students in some smaller colleges.