318 Phillips on a Comparative Study of the 
be protoplasmic, instead of the gelatinized outer lamelle 
of the sheath, as is held above. 
The presence of long, hair-like appendages from the ter- 
minal cells of Oscillaria have been mentioned by several 
observers. Borzi (5), Hansgirg and Gomont have de- 
scribed them, but have interpreted them as parasitic organ- 
isms. Hansgirg (35) spoke of them as follows: “The 
so-called cilia with which the end cells of many species of 
Oscillaria are provided, are independent leptothrix-like or- 
ganisms, belonging to the family OpMiothrix.” Concerning 
the development of these organisms, Hansgirg continued: 
“While I observed the creeping motion of the filaments of 
Oscillaria princeps, and examined their anatomical struc- 
ture more closely, I was not surprised one day when I 
noticed in the open ends of one of the dead filaments, many 
small amceboid cells, mostly only nine to twelve microns in 
diameter in the outflowing protoplasm. From these cells 
I noticed, after they had separated themselves from the 
general mass, that colorless pseudopodia, arranged in ray- 
like fashion, were produced and increased in size.” 
The appearance of these long hair-like trichomes on the 
terminal cells of different species of Oscillaria, and on the 
terminal cells only, cannot but arrest the attention of the 
most casual observer. They can easily be seen with as low 
a power as Zeiss’ AA objective, and for some time I was of 
the opinion that they might be parasitic organisms as 
asserted by Hansgirg and Gomont (31), but upon following 
them closely, I was convinced that this was a mistake and 
that they are a definite part of the plant, and have some 
definite function in the plant economy. If they appeared 
on any other portion of the trichome besides the terminal 
cell, it might be easier to consider them as parasites, for 
their function is not very evident, but there seems no reason 
why they should select this one cell as the point of attack, 
for it is no more vulnerable than any other cell, and in fact 
is often protected by means of a calyptra. Hansgirg’s con- 
