1913] MERRIMAN—SPIROGYRA 325 
living material appears to be due to the gradual loss of the more 
liquid portion streaming each side. This leaves the interior of the 
cylindrical-shaped spindle clear as amalgamation proceeds. When 
one looks down with low power upon a nucleus in this state, as in 
fig. 22, the mass appears to have separated, though no actual separa- 
tion of the chromatic material has occurred; for use of higher power 
shows all the bodies still united in a spireme, although all the 
material has left the interior. Similar strepsinema stages in the 
whole mounts show that this amalgamated material is also in 
spireme formation (fig. 25), though no differentiation is to be seen 
but the line indicating its double nature. The general shape 
assumed by the spireme in its convolutions is flatter now than at 
the earlier stages. This flattening culminates in the elongation of 
its coils (fig. 26). As a result of these changes there is but one kind 
of material of intensive staining capacity, pointing to either pole. 
_ This amalgamation can be compared with that in Allium where the 
parallel threads made of granules fuse to form tubular chromosomes. 
In Spirogyra, as in Allium, the spireme evolves from substances of 
two staining qualities; in both, the amalgamated materials yield 
tubular chromosomes staining intensively with hematoxylin and 
anilin stains. Similar elongation of amalgamated filaments is 
shown by Bercus (1). He did not observe a spireme, and as he 
terms the earlier indefinite deeply stained bodies the chromosomes, 
these amalgamated filaments he terms *‘pseudochromosomes.”” 
As their formation from irregular masses of chromatin by absorp- 
— and condensation proceeds to an organized spireme behaving 
In its entirety as the spiremes in Allium that segment into chromo- 
Somes, it is difficult to see why these amalgamated t should 
be called “‘pseudochromosomes.” 
These coils of the spireme, now completely on the peripheral 
part of the cylinder, pull apart (figs. 26, 27). A definite transverse 
cso does not appear, but instead there is a gradual elongation 
Sie giana as of viscid masses. At last, attenuation brings 
Rida, paration of the chromatic strands, not at any definite 
§ Hine, but at various points in the spireme. This was con- 
nat . ue study of living, dividing nuclei of a more transparent 
Pirogyra. Further evidence that the spireme ruptures 

