804 OVAEY AND INTRA- OVAEIAN EGG IN TELEOSTEANS. - 



membrane begins to disappear, they burst through, forcing in each 

 case a small amount of nucleolar substance in front of them — the 

 outer pole of the nucleolus. They then take up a position amongst 

 the surrounding yolk-spheres. The nucleolar portion which is 

 thrown off does not assume any definite shape, but rather becomes 

 loosely interspersed amongst the yolk-spheres. It still stains 

 readily. Unfortunately, up to the present date no observer has 

 been able to obtain the ripe egg of the conger. I am on this 

 account unable to make any definite statement as to what becomes 

 o£ the vesicles just described. I can only throw out the suggestion 

 that there is probably some connection between these vesicles and 

 the oil-globules. The supposition is based simply on the striking 

 resemblance which the vesicles have to oil-globules, and on the 

 absence of any theory which accounts for the existence of the 

 globules in any other way. 



Scharff (loc. cit.) mentions clear vesicles with granular nucleolar 

 contents as being budded off in Trigla, but supposes that the vesicles 

 are formed in the nuclear substance itself. The ovum of Trigla has 

 a large oil-globule, or it may be two or three small ones (the last case 

 being rare). Should the vesicles described by Scharff prove to be 

 analogous to those I have just described, a still greater probability 

 will be given to my suggestion. Personally I am inclined to think 

 that the vesicles are analogous, although not noticed by Scharff as 

 coming from the nucleoli. I have not met with any other products 

 of the nucleoli, such as the tubular prolongations described by 

 Balbiani (10) in Geophilus. When the nuclear membrane has disap- 

 peared the nucleoli have given off so many of these spheres, and have 

 themselves taken up a position so far back from where the nuclear 

 membrane originally was — partly, no doubt, on account of their outer 

 poles having been carried away — that the space of the nucleus has 

 become small and irregular. Since^ as I have already said, it is 

 extremely difficult to procure a ripe conger, I have not in this species 

 been able to follow through the so-called disappearance of the nucleus. 



II. The Small Ova. 



In fig. 4, which has already been referred to, the three classes of 

 ova are distinctly seen. 



To study the small ova from their very commencement, one should 

 begin at the point where the small ova are for the first time distinguish- 

 able from the minute, i. e. when the ovary is in a quite unripe condi- 

 tion, a year and a half probably before the small ova will be extruded ; 

 but since the small ova show no change till the time when the great 

 ova have to be discharged, the early period may be passed over. 



