108 STUDIES IN ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGY: 



At first sight one might be inclined to think that its 

 position is not in favour of the hypothesis I have advanced, 

 because if the diagram correctly represents its position, 

 as I cannot doubt it does the repulsive force would be 

 exerted longitudinally, and in such case would merely 

 elongate that portion of the cell to the right of the nucleus. 

 That would be so if, immediately the 

 repulsive force begins to operate, the 

 nucleus underwent no change. But 

 it does change. The network of 

 chromoplasm filaments of the resting 

 nucleus becomes transformed into a 

 sort of skein, into which the nuclear 

 membrane and the nucleoli disappear. 

 The whole cell, with the exception of its exoplasm, 

 appears, in fact, to be broken up, and its component 

 parts to be marshalled into order by the centrosomes- 

 But in what manner ? If the broken- 

 up nucleus was between the attraction ,,-"" "* % - s 

 spheres, as shown by Schafer (Fig. 20), it / 

 is quite evident that a repulsive force 

 alone would, so long as it continued to be 

 exerted and for so long as the disinteg- \ 

 rated nucleus had no polarity, maintain 

 the substance between the attraction 

 spheres at the same distance from each of them. It 

 follows, logically, therefore, that if in the process of 

 division one part of the cell cleaves to one attraction 

 sphere, and the other part of the cell to the other attrac- 

 tion sphere, there must be a difference of polarity between 

 them. 



Suppose, for instance, the attraction spheres to be 

 similarly electrified and to repel each other, so that they 

 become farther apart, with a certain, non-electrified (or 

 similarly electrified at lower tension) substance between 



