﻿460 
  J. 
  W. 
  JENKINSON. 
  

  

  cylinder, 
  while 
  the 
  gelatin-albumen 
  preserved 
  its 
  spherical 
  

   form. 
  

  

  I 
  suggest^ 
  therefore, 
  merely 
  of 
  course 
  as 
  a 
  working 
  hj^po- 
  

   thesis, 
  that 
  the 
  entrance-cone 
  — 
  the 
  plug 
  of 
  apparently 
  watery 
  

   substance 
  which 
  fills 
  up 
  the 
  entrance 
  funnel 
  — 
  is 
  in 
  reality 
  the 
  

   agent 
  which 
  produces 
  this 
  deep 
  depression 
  at 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  

   the 
  egg, 
  and 
  carries 
  the 
  spermatozoon 
  with 
  it 
  into 
  the 
  interior; 
  

   and 
  that 
  it 
  does 
  so 
  in 
  virtue 
  of 
  its 
  greater 
  surface 
  tension. 
  

   We 
  should 
  expect 
  then 
  a 
  more 
  watery 
  proteid 
  like 
  albumen 
  

   to 
  behave 
  toward 
  a 
  less 
  watery 
  one 
  such 
  as 
  egg-yolk 
  as 
  the 
  

   albumen 
  behaves 
  toward 
  the 
  acetic 
  acid 
  ; 
  and 
  this 
  is 
  in 
  fact 
  

   the 
  case. 
  A 
  small 
  drop 
  of 
  albumen 
  will 
  enter 
  a 
  large 
  drop 
  of 
  

   egg-yolk, 
  while 
  conversely 
  a 
  small 
  drop 
  of 
  yolk 
  spreads 
  over 
  

   the 
  surface 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  drop 
  of 
  albumen. 
  

  

  The 
  substance 
  with 
  the 
  greater 
  surface 
  tension 
  is 
  of 
  course 
  

   derived 
  from 
  the 
  egg 
  itself. 
  It 
  appears 
  only 
  when 
  the 
  sper- 
  

   matozoon 
  comes 
  in 
  contact 
  with 
  the 
  egg, 
  and 
  we 
  must 
  

   therefore 
  ascribe 
  to 
  the 
  male 
  cell 
  the 
  important 
  function 
  of 
  

   withdrawing 
  water 
  from 
  the 
  cytoplasm. 
  It 
  is 
  further 
  pro- 
  

   bable 
  that 
  this 
  intense 
  hygroscopic 
  activity 
  may 
  be 
  located 
  in 
  

   a 
  particular 
  organ 
  of 
  the 
  spermatozoon, 
  the 
  acrosome 
  ; 
  Miss 
  

   Foot 
  and 
  Vejdovsky 
  have 
  indeed 
  already 
  suggested 
  that 
  this 
  

   is 
  the 
  active 
  agent 
  in 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  the 
  enti^ance-cone. 
  

   In 
  this 
  connection 
  it 
  is 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  interest 
  that 
  Moves 
  

   should 
  have 
  described 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  the 
  acrosome 
  in 
  the 
  

   salamander 
  and 
  guinea-pig 
  from 
  the 
  sphere 
  of 
  the 
  spermatid, 
  

   a 
  body 
  related 
  most 
  intimately 
  to 
  the 
  centrosome 
  ; 
  for, 
  as 
  I 
  

   believe, 
  and 
  as 
  I 
  hope 
  the 
  experiments 
  next 
  to 
  be 
  described 
  

   may 
  show, 
  the 
  activity 
  of 
  the 
  centrosome 
  also 
  depends 
  very 
  

   largely 
  on 
  its 
  power 
  of 
  absorbing 
  water 
  from 
  the 
  cell. 
  

  

  2. 
  The 
  second 
  series 
  of 
  experiments 
  starts 
  from 
  the 
  observed 
  

   concentration 
  of 
  a 
  watery 
  substance 
  in 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  the 
  sperm- 
  

   sphere. 
  

  

  I 
  began 
  by 
  placing 
  a 
  small 
  crystal 
  of 
  ammonium 
  sulphate 
  

   in 
  a 
  drop 
  of 
  filtered 
  albumen 
  on 
  a 
  slide. 
  As 
  the 
  crystal 
  

   begins 
  to 
  dissolve 
  a 
  pool 
  or 
  vacuole 
  of 
  its 
  own 
  solution 
  is 
  

   formed 
  immediately 
  round 
  it, 
  and 
  outside 
  this 
  there 
  quickly 
  

  

  