178 Fertilization 



also been found to be constant in plants in the generative- 

 cells of every species, being the same for the male cells 

 as for the female. Sometimes it is the same for large 

 groups of plants as, e. g., for the Orchidacese 16; in the 

 Liliaceae it varies^^ between 8, 12, 16 and 24. For Ascaris 

 megalocephala it is 2, for A. lumhricoides 24. Obviously 

 this number does not have any systematic significance or 

 stand in any relation to the hereditary characters. 



However, from a continued investigation in this field, 

 we may expect important disclosures on the question as 

 to which parts of the nucleus are the real bearers of the 

 latent hereditary characters. For the present the evi- 

 dence is in favor of the assumption that they are to be 

 looked for in the chromosomes.^^ For the further work- 

 ing out of the theory of heredity this is, without doubt, 

 of the highest interest; for our hypothesis, however, a 

 decision is not absolutely necessary. 



2iStrasburger. Loc. cit. pp. 239, 242. 



22Roux, Ueber die Bedeutung der Kernfiguren, 1883. 



