and its Nucleus in Chara verticillata. 25 



imbedded; nor can the approximated state of the nucleoli in 

 one nucleus and their separation in the other, coupled with their 

 relative position in the cavity of the rotating protoplasm, fail to 

 point out which was intended for the primary nucleus, and 

 which for that of the rootlet-cell. Thus these nuclei, being in 

 the clear cavity of the axial fluid instead of in the fixed proto- 

 plasm, afi'orded a much better view of the condition they and 

 their nucleoli would probably have been in, had they remained 

 in their natural situations; and the duality of the nucleolus 

 indicating a recent division of the mother nucleus, while the 

 second cell had been provided, left, with what has been before 

 stated, no doubt in my mind, that this must have been the 

 second division of the primary nucleus for provisioning the 

 rootlet-cell. 



It is by no means uncommon, moreover, to find the nucleolus 

 of the primary nucleus elongate and irregularly subdentate at the 

 border, and half an hour afterwards to find it subrotund, and so 

 on to change from elliptical to subrotund successively for several 

 times, as before stated. I have also mentioned the appearance 

 and disappearance of the vacuoles in it, which Nageli calls 

 '*^ froth ^' (loc. cit.) ; and the evidence of locomotive power in the 

 nucleus itself, or in what Nageli calls the " nuclear utricle.^' I 

 have, however, never seen any granular matter in it, neither 

 have I ever seen any granular matter in the mucus-contents of 

 the nucleus with the microscopic power mentioned; but, like 

 the nucleolus, it presents vacuoles, though this is only prepara- 

 tory to becoming effete. The nucleolus sometimes presents a 

 grumous appearance, as before stated, but this is, generally, just 

 before it disappears, and I am not certain whether it does not 

 depend on an increase in the number of vacuoles. 



Iodine makes the nucleolus contract and assume a deep 

 brown- red colour, which yields to water. Sulphuric acid causes 

 it to swell up and disappear instantly, leaving nothing but the 

 nuclear utricle behind, unaffected; just as when the nucleolus 

 disappears preparatory to the formation of a new cell. If, how- 

 ever, a weak solution of iodine be first added, so as only to con- 

 tract the nucleolus slightly, the sulphuric acid does not act so 

 rapidly, and then it may be seen to expand under the eye until 

 its outline alone remains visible, with the vacuoles, which do not 

 disappear under these circumstances. I have never been able 

 to demonstrate a capsule round the nucleolus in situ, whether 

 young or old, double or single, though I have tried in various 

 ways to do so, from the deceptive appearance which it frequently 

 presents of having one; nevertheless, in the case mentioned 

 where the nucleus was not in situ, a transparent capsule did 

 appear to exist round each nucleolus. When the nucleolus be- 



