252 Phillips on a Comparative Study of the 



tral body" or nucleus. Fischer acknowledged that the "red 

 granules" described by Biitschli were present, but that they 

 had been known for a long time and could be seen in the 

 living cells, though he did not consider them to be of any 

 morphological value. Fischer, however, failed to tell where 

 they were recorded prior to Biitschli's description, and in as 

 extended a search as could be made in the present investiga- 

 tion, it has been impossible to locate any reference to them 

 of an earlier date. 



To these objections of Fischer, Biitschli (8) observed that 

 some reagents did produce plasmolysis, but this was not the 

 usual case, and when properly handled, it did not occur at 

 all with the reagents used by him, which were Flemming's 

 chrom-osmic acid mixture, picro-sulphuric acid, with and 

 without having had osmic acid added to it, and osmic 

 acid alone. He fortified himself behind the fact that most 

 of the recent investigators had observed the colorless "cen- 

 tral body" in the Cyanophycese, and concluded that Fischer's 

 criticism was based upon unfinished and hasty observations. 

 In another work (27) based upon much more extended 

 studies of the structure of Bacteria, Fischer reaffirmed his 

 former position, and objected still more strongly to the 

 methods and conclusions of Biitschli, who thereupon pub- 

 lished the results of two very carefully performed investiga- 

 tions (9, 10) in which he reaffirmed his former views, 

 enlarged and fortified his position, and was able to demon- 

 strate the comb-like structure in the "central body" of the 

 living cell, though he pointed out differences in one and the 

 same species. Beyond this he added very little to his former 

 papers except to refute the conception of the "red granules" 

 as held by Kunster (44) and Busquet. 



Hieronymus (41) studied the Phycochromaceae and con- 

 cluded that a nucleus was present. It was composed of 

 granules upon a thread very similar to the spirem stage 

 of division in higher plants. These nuclear granules con- 

 tained a substance which represented, and performed all of 



