OVUM IN THE CAPE AND NEW ZEALAND PERIPATUS. 23 
The Formation of the Polar Bodies. 
The formation of both polar bodies takes place in the same 
way, and the process is evidently one of perfectly normal indi- 
rect nuclear division, there being no trace of the phenomena 
described by van Beneden (4) in Ascaris megalocephala; 
but it is needless to discuss these further, since they have been 
since contradicted by Carnoy (7). One peculiar point is the 
direction of the spindle, being parallel to the surface of the 
ovum, and not at right angles to it, the result being that the 
polar body does not lie immediately above but to one side of the 
germinal vesicle. Whether this is a point of any importance I 
am not able to state; but so far as I have been able to deter- 
mine, its direction does not exert any influence on the subse- 
quent history of the ovum. In all cases, as far as I know, 
which have been hitherto described, the spindle lies at right 
angles to the surface, and consequently the polar bodies lie 
immediately above the germinal vesicle. 
That the polar bodies have all the characters of true cells I 
think there can be no doubt, since, as is shown in figs. 20 a, 
b, the first polar body is exactly similar in structure to the 
ovum itself, from which it differs only in size. Both its 
nucleus and the surrounding protoplasm possess all the cha- 
racters of those of the ovum, and it is perfectly clear that not 
only one end of the spindle but also the protoplasm round it, 
are extruded in the polar body. 
Contrary to the account given by Fol (8) for Asterias 
glacialis, the germinal vesicle, after budding off the first polar 
body, passes through a resting stage, as is shown in figs. 19 and 
20 a, and the end of the spindle does not become transformed 
at once into a second spindle. 
The entire absence of polar bodies in P. nove-zealandie 
militates against Weismann’s (18) theory as to their meaning, 
which is based on the hypothesis that two are found in all 
fertilized, and one in parthenogenetic ova. It is possible that 
they may have escaped my notice, but it seems hardly likely 
