5i8 FOOT AND STROBELL. [Vol. XVII. 



latter blacken intensely with osmic acid, and their morphological 

 similarity will be recognized by a comparison of Van Bambeke's 

 Fig. 4, PI. XXVI,i with our Photos 41-44, PI. XLII. 



One of the conditions necessary to meet the demands of 

 Van Bambeke's theory as to the destiny of the yolk-nucleus 

 is that the deutoplasmic granules must not be present until 

 the yolk-nucleus has disintegrated, as their formation is depend- 

 ent upon this disintegration. " Deuxieme stade — Desagrega- 

 tion de ce corps vitellin. Troisieme stade — Metamorphose 

 graisseuse des elements figures issus de cette desagregation " 

 (30), p. 512. 



Van Bambeke's figures illustrate this point, as they show 

 no indications of the presence of deutoplasmic granules until 

 after the disintegration of the yolk-nucleus. 



This condition is not met in the egg of Allolobophora. 

 The deutoplasmic (osmophile) granules are present long before 

 the disintegration (scattering) of the yolk-nucleus, and they 

 can be demonstrated during every stage of the development 

 of the egg. We find them in nearly all the cells of the ovary, 

 from the small cells near the proximal end, which show the 

 first indication of a yolk-nucleus (Photos 28, 29, PI. XLII), to 

 the large oocytes, first order, at the distal end (Photos 42-44, 

 PI. XLII). 



If their presence can be thus demonstrated, where a disin- 

 tegratmg yolk-nucleus is out of the question (Photos 28-35, 

 PI. XLII), does it not suggest that the two phenomena are in- 

 dependent of each other and have no causal relation .-* Further- 

 more, similar osmophile granules can be demonstrated in the 

 tiny cells surrounding the ovary (Photos 49, 50, PI. XLII), 

 in the egg membrane itself or a capillary space within 

 it (Photos 44 and 48), and in the spaces between the eggs 

 (Photos 46, 47). 



Van Bambeke's method of identification of the fat granules 

 is their reaction to osmic acid and their solubility in turpen- 

 tine. " La nature graisseuse des granules se traduit par leur 

 coloration noire au contact des liqueurs a I'acide osmique, et 

 par leur solubilite dans la ter6benthine " (30), p. 546. 



1 See Photo 96, PI. XLV, for reproduction of this figure. 



