96 JOSE F. NONIDEZ 
emphasize that it appears in my material irrespective of the 
preserving fluids used, but that individual differences are conspic- 
uous. Without denying some influence on the part of the re- 
agents—e.g., length of preservation, shrinkage due to the em- 
bedding process, ete.—the gradual shifting of the massive pro- 
chromosomes toward a particular pole of the nucleus is a fact 
which, I hope, will not fail to impress the mind of any impartial 
observer. 
2. The X-complex 
The interpretation of the X-complex is at present an exceed- 
ingly difficult question. None of the oogonia in mitosis being 
available, definite knowledge of the number of chromosomes in 
this sex islacking. This information is of the utmost importance, 
inasmuch as the X-complex of this form appears as an intermedi- 
ate condition between such complexes as are made up exclusively 
of sex chromosomes and those arising by the linkage of one of the 
latter with a pair of euchromosomes. The data furnished by 
the study of the conditions in the female will doubtless settle 
this question, since in the first case we should expect to find an 
exact duplication of the group of chromosomes entering into one 
of the secondary spermatocytes, whereas, in the second, only the 
dense chromosome which appears as a massive body during the 
growth period would be double. 
The view that the X-complex of Blaps is formed by the asso- 
ciation of the X-chromosome and a pair of euchromosomes was 
adopted, too hastily perhaps, in my first paper. Further study 
showed that in several cases a pair of smaller euchromosomes was 
also linked with the X-chromosome. On account of the consid- 
erable number of metaphases showing this linkage, I was led to 
believe that such association might well be the normal condition ; 
that the failures of linkage, much less frequent, might be regarded 
as abnormalities of synapsis (715, p. 182). 
Since evidence enough to support this assumption is lacking, 
no further attempt to maintain this view will be made here. It 
seems better to emphasize the differences between the complex 
under consideration and the conditions observed in other forms, 
