3i8 Phillips on a Comparative Study of the 



be protoplasmic, instead of the gelatinized outer lamellae 

 of the sheath, as is held above. 



The presence of long, hair-like appendages from the ter- 

 minal cells of Oscillaria have been mentioned by several 

 observers. Borzi (5), Hansgirg and Gomont have de- 

 scribed them, but have interpreted them as parasitic organ- 

 isms. Hansgirg (35) spoke of them as follows: "The 

 so-called cilia with which the end cells of many species of 

 Oscillaria are provided, are independent leptothrix-like or- 

 ganisms, belonging to the family Ophiothrix." Concerning 

 the development of these organisms, Hansgirg continued: 

 "While I observed the creeping motion of the filaments of 

 Oscillaria princeps, and examined their anatomical struc- 

 ture more closely, I was not surprised one day when I 

 noticed in the open ends of one of the dead filaments, many 

 small amoeboid cells, mostly only nine to twelve microns in 

 diameter in the outflowing protoplasm. From these cells 

 I noticed, after they had separated themselves from the 

 general mass, that colorless pseudopodia, arranged in ray- 

 like fashion, were produced and increased in size." 



The appearance of these long hair-like trichomes on the 

 terminal cells of different species of Oscillaria, and on the 

 terminal cells only, cannot but arrest the attention of the 

 most casual observer. They can easily be seen with as low 

 a power as Zeiss' AA objective, and for some time I was of 

 the opinion that they might be parasitic organisms as 

 asserted by Hansgirg and Gomont (31), but upon following 

 them closely, I was convinced that this was a mistake and 

 that they are a definite part of the plant, and have some 

 definite function in the plant economy. If they appeared 

 on any other portion of the trichome besides the terminal 

 cell, it might be easier to consider them as parasites, for 

 their function is not very evident, but there seems no reason 

 why they should select this one cell as the point of attack, 

 for it is no more vulnerable than any other cell, and in fact 

 is often protected by means of a calyptra. Hansgirg's con- 



