Preparation of Materials for Scoring

To begin the scoring procedure, a stamen is carefully removed at its base with a fine forceps. Since stamen hairs occur all the way to the base of the filament, care should be exercised to ensure a minimum of damage to the basal hairs. One may gently blow on it to remove loose pollen. The stamen is placed in a small drop of paraffin oil (Saybolt Viscosity 125/135) on a glass slide with the adaxial side of the filament down. Hairs are not normally formed on this surface, and hence few will be hidden by the filament. 

Using fine dissecting probes under a stereoscope (about 25 x magnification), the hairs can be straightened to lie fiat on both sides of the filament (Fig. 2B). The correct amount of paraffin oil may be somewhat difficult to ascertain at first. If the oil is insufficient, the hairs may tend to stick to the slide, break, or be difficult to maneuver. On the other hand, if excessive oil is used, the hairs tend to fioat and move about freely and may become more difficult to examine in one focal plane. 

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