OBSERVATIONS ON THK HISTOLOGY OP STRIPED MUSCLE. 69 



granules of RoUett's muscle-columns, and the row of granules 

 of the transverse network of Melland, &c.). 



2. If the granules seen at high focus in gold preparations 

 are thickenings of the sarcoplasma stained by gold, there 

 must again be a double row, one on each side of the true row 

 of granules which are only seen on the low focus, and further, 

 the former rows of granules must alternate with the latter. 

 (Vide diagram A.) Although I have examined several hun- 

 dred preparations of muscle-fibre, I have never seen two 

 rows of granules in any gold or fresh preparation, nor have I 

 seen any change in the position of the granules at high and 

 low focus. The granules have always appeared to me to be 

 in a line with, and connected with the longitudinal lines of, the 

 network (or " sarcoplasma") at both high and low focus. 



3. Rollett states that the " sarcoplasma "" is a honeycomb, 

 and that the appearance of the network is due to the optical 

 sections of the walls of that honeycomb. If this is true, I do 

 not understand why there is never any appearance of honey- 

 comb structure in finely teased preparations, whereas isolated 

 pieces of network are easily obtained. Moreover, one prepara- 

 tion obtained by Melland is, I think, almost conclusive in 

 favour of a network (fig. 15). 



4. According to Rollett, the " muscle-columns " are the 

 essential parts of the fibre, and the '' sarcoplasma " is simply 

 interfibrillar material ; we should therefore expect the latter 

 to be least abundant in the most perfectly developed muscles. 

 Now, in insects which possess the most powerful and most 

 rapidly contracting muscles of all animals, the part stained by 

 gold is more strongly marked than in other animals. This 

 seems to point to the fact that it is the most essential part of 

 the fibre and not interfibrillar material, and is therefore in 

 favour of the network view. 



5. Again, in developing muscle-fibre I have shown that the 

 network is present but only demonstrated with difiicultyj 

 whereas if it were inert interfibrillar substance, one would expect 

 it to be relatively more abundant in the embryonic fibre. 



6. If, as I have attempted to show, the nerve-ending is 



