THE EGG OF THE DOMESTIC CAT 



159 



In first polar spindles in two eggs which would later have degen- 

 erated, it was possible to make an approximate count of the 

 chromosomes. As the evidence of degeneration is not in the eggs 

 themselves apart from a slight change in shape, the character of 

 their chromatin content will be considered in detail. 



The first of these spindles (figs. 5, A and B and fig. 8) was in 

 the anaphase of division; its long axis was parallel to the plane 

 of the section. The scattering of the chromosomes over a large 

 area and the fact that all lay in one section simplified the matter 

 of counting them. In this spindle where there is a minimum of 

 coherence and of obscurity on account of one chromosome being 



^•^ 



*»♦ 



t.tf*%u • 



Fig. 5 A, first polar spindle in anaphase of division. B, same spindle showing 

 one possible way of pairing the chromosomes. C, first polar spindle in telophase 

 of division. The peripheral end of each spindle is upward. 



superimposed upon another, twenty-four distinct pieces of chro- 

 matin may be seen. These bodies vary greatly in size and shape. 

 The components oi one pair are scarcely visible on account of 

 their minuteness, while the largest ones are of a mass hundreds of 

 times as great. Some are spherical, others are oblong or nearly 

 square in optical section, and some are pear shaped, but none are 

 filiform. Those of the last group seem on closer examination to 

 be double, that is, to be composed of two chromosomes of unequal 

 size adhering to one another. When this fact is taken into 

 consideration in four cases (two pairs) and allowance made in 

 addition for two pairs the existence of which beneath the others 



