280 GEORGE W. BARTELMEZ 



ular region (yji.) which stains intensely with neutral red, intra 

 vitam; this is the yolk nucleus, part of which at least, is derived 

 from the germinal vesicle and may be considered as cytoplasmic 

 chromatin or 'chromidial substance.' Spherule cap and yolk 

 nucleus, by their position, emphasize the polar axis, which is 

 defined by the eccentricity of the germinal vesicle (fig. 1 and its 

 legend.) The mitochondria form the third kind of granulation 

 and they alone stain with the Janus green. They differ markedly 

 in shape and size from the mitochondria of the follicle cells and of 

 all other cells in the ovary, in being smaller and apparently spheri- 

 cal in shape. Most of the workers on the bird's ovary have either 

 noted or figured the structures that have been mentioned, except- 

 ing the mitochondria which are dissolved by all the ordinary fixing 

 fluids. No one however has discussed the question of polarity, 

 doubtless because it seems to be indeterminate (see p. 288). 



Two authors have figured primordial follicles in the fresh con- 

 dition; Waldeyer ('70) and Coste ('47) in his atlas (second 

 'Poule' plate, fig. 3). This figure is somewhat diagrammatic but 

 it illustrates a constant feature of some interest; viz., the position 

 of the germinal vesicle, nearer one end of the long axis than the 

 other so that the polar axis, instead of bisecting the long axis, 

 cuts it nearer to one end (fig. 1). This means that morphologi- 

 cally the primordial follicle is bilaterally symmetrical ; one end of 

 the long axis is different from the other with reference to the ger- 

 minal vesicle. This long axis is the same as the chalazal axis (p. 

 294) and it will be remembered that one end of the latter is dif- 

 ferent from the other with reference to the embryo. The extent 

 of this second eccentricity of the germinal vesicle varies somewhat 

 in different ovaries as may be seen in figure 1 and the photo- 

 graphs, but it is almost invariably distinct in direct side views 

 and polar views. 



There is another feature of the primordial follicles which is clear 

 in many ovaries though not in all, but which is very suggestive. 

 The large germinal vesicle is not spherical but elliptical and is so in- 

 clined to the long axis of the oocyte that the polar view appears as 

 is shown in figure 1^4 and diagram II B. It is obvious that this 

 nucleo-cytoplasmic relation is the same as that between the em- 



