3io LESTER ■W. SHARP 



though irregular in its détails, filling tlie nuclear cavity. Closer inspection 

 reveals the fact that along certain lines the strands are uniformly finer than 

 in the intervening heavier régions. A comparison with fig. 36 and 38 

 makes it clearly évident that thèse heavier bands represent the reticulate 

 chromosomes of the telophase joined together as a continuons net by finer 

 anastomoses originating as already described. It is not claimed that ail 

 nuclei show the individual chromosomes during rest as clearly as in fig. i, 

 since the bands do not always stand so well apart from one another, nor 

 are they always so favorably oriented for observation. Furthermore the 

 thickness of many sections renders impossible an analysis of the finer struc- 

 tures. If the stain be too light the délicate anastomoses do not appear and 

 ail the strands show a lack of définition, while in overstained préparations 

 an even greater confusion results. But thin sections of material properly 

 fixed and stained rarely fail to show with careful analysis under good lenses 

 a State of affairs fundamentally like that represented in fig. l. Upon this 

 point it is impossible to insist too strongly. It is plainly impossible to re- 

 present exactiy in a drawing the gênerai appearance of the fluid structures 

 as they appear in varying levels under the microscope, together with a clear 

 delineation of the détails. In fig. 1 a faithful attempt has been m.ade to 

 show as accurately as possible on a large scale the size and shape of the 

 small divisions of the reticulum and their relation to each other, with as 

 much of the gênerai effect as can be given without producing an impres- 

 sionistic picture of little or no value for a study of the important détails. 



The above interprétation of the resting nucleus does not agrée with 

 those of Fraser and Snell (ii) and of Lundegârdh (og, lo, i::), who 

 state that in l'icia the chromosomes become indistinguishable. Further- 

 more the présent study has revealed no évidence for the pairing of the 

 bands during rest, such as has been reported by Rosenberg (og) for Dro- 

 sera and by Dehorne (ii) for Salamandra and Allium. 



The évidence obtained in Vicia does not favor the theory that the 

 resting reticulum is made up of a linin network upon which the chromatin 

 is borne as individual granules or r Pangenosomen -, as is believed by 

 Merriman (04) to be the case in Allnim. When the stain is sufficiently 

 withdrawn the finer strands become clear while the heavier portions are 

 still deeply colored, which gives the impression of separate chromatin 

 granules connected by fine strands of another material. A critical study of 

 variously stained préparations shows that the appearance is due to the 



