Literarisch-kritische Rundschau. 



373 



must be abandoiied. Biit if on the contrary the axial chromosomes 

 lead during the discession to the poles while the peripheral ones 

 lag, we may report, like the ecclesiastical censor in his report 

 to the licenser of books, "nihil obstat'^ We therefore turn to 

 the facts of cytology. When there are enough chromosomes 

 present for some to lie axial to the others the axial ones do 

 actually lead during discession, as demanded by theory 

 (Figures 3, 4, 5). When the number is limited, so that all lie 



Fig. 3. 



Fig. 4. 



on the periphery, equidistant from the axis, they move on a level, 

 constituting a crown-like figure. Now the microscopist rarely 

 draws a simple reproduction of what he sees in the optical plane 

 of distinct vision at one Single focus: he involuntarily aims at a 

 perspective representation that will convey to his public the 



•H:-^^ 



Fig. 5. 



Impression of what he has synthetised from the observations 

 obtained at successive planes by the use of the fine adjustment. 

 G e i g e r s ^) Figures 2 and 3 of anaphases, which we reproduce 

 here as Figures 6 and 7 represent such perspective diagrams, 

 showing a crown of chromosomes all equidistant from the axis, 

 which drawn in perspective, as shown by the lighter shading 

 of the chromosomes on the far side, has the semblance of a curve 

 with its concavity towards the nearer pole. It is this convention- 



1) His Fig. 1 representing a late prophase with a symmetrica! crown 

 of chromosomes lateral to the "Hermann's spindle" is rather fantastic than 

 schematic. 



