94 Dr. Barry's renewed Inquiries concerning the 



ovum of the Rabbit, after fecundation, the germinal vesicle returns 

 to the centre of the ovum, and the fecundated hyaline passes to 

 the centre of the germinal vesicle. This hyaline, in consequence 

 of fecundation, now contains substances of two kinds, — one from 

 the female ovum, the other from the male fecundating fluid. 

 Through a process operating in the germinal vesicle before fecun- 

 dation, the hyaline of the ovum had prepared a sort of pabulum, — 

 minute globviles of hyaline. With this pabulum, the new hya- 

 line, a compound of male and female elements, proceeds to nou- 

 rish itself; or, in other words, proceeds to assimilate the contents 

 of the germinal vesicle, whereby there arises a material for the 

 formation of two cell-germs into which it divides. These two 

 cell-germs grow at the expense of the remaining contents of the 

 germinal vesicle, which are nutrimental cells, until the whole 

 are consumed. The membrane of the germinal vesicle, the 

 mother-cell of the whole body, has now disappeared, and there 

 are seen in the place of that vesicle two young cells, which 

 together constitute the new organic being. How shall we desig- 

 nate the hyaline of this new being ? If we call the hyaline of the 

 ovum, hyaline No. 1, and that from the fecundating substance, 

 hyaline No. 2, we have in the new organic being, hyaline No. 3. 

 No. 1 denotes the maternal hyaline. No. 2 the paternal fecun- 

 dating substance, and No. 3 composed of the first and second, 

 the hyaline of the offspring. Hence it is that the offspring 

 comes to resemble both parents ; for, be the resemblance effected 

 as it may, the so compounded hyaline of the offspring will never 

 lose a constitution inherited partly from the father and partly 

 from the mother. And how does the hyaline of the offspring 

 now begin to propagate itself, so that at last a creature shall 

 arise out of it, in stature and other peculiarities like the parents ? 

 This is effected by self-division and repeated self-division. Each 

 of the two cells just mentioned, together constituting the new 

 organic being, becomes in its turn a mother-cell, so that now 

 there are four; and in like manner there arise 8, 16, and so on, 

 until the whole assumes the appearance of a mulberry. In the 

 centre of this mulberry-like aggregate of cells there now appears 

 one larger than the rest, like a queen-bee in the hive. This is 

 the only cell in the group that has an enduring existence, i. e. in 

 its progeny ; all the others serve but a temporary purpose. (We 

 thus have a sort of aristocracy of cells ! first manifesting itself in 

 the two above-mentioned as arising in the germinal vesicle, and 

 nourished at the expense of all the surrounding cells.) This 

 large cell now moves from the centre of the ovum towards the 

 periphery, and here takes a fixed station. The hyaline nucleus 

 of this cell is now to be considered as the most peculiar germ of 

 the whole organism. Out of the nucleus of this cell, after many 

 interaiediate stages of fomiation, there at length arises the " pri- 



