llr. E. W. L. Holt 0/1 the Ova o/Gobiua. 39 



I regret tliat great pressure of time * prevents me (as with 

 the extriulod ova) at jtvescnt fioiii making more tlian a super- 

 ficial examination of them ; hut I hope at a future date to 

 treat the suhject in a manner more worthy of it. Mcanwiiile, 

 howf vcr, in the light of my previous remarks a few notes may 

 be of interest. 



The two specimens (the stomaclis of which were full of the 

 C^/)ris-larva3 of Balanus) measure respectively 2 and 3^ 

 inciies, and the ovaries, which are by no means ripe, are 

 nearly in tlie same condition in both. The largest ova 

 measure from '(5 to '71 millim. in long diameter; they are 

 ovoidal, with one end much broader than the other. 



Numerous oil- globules can be made out, distributed in an 

 irregular manner amongst tiie granular j'olk-matter. The 

 thin zona is visible by carefnl focusing adhering closely to 

 the yolk, and having outside it another layer in which minute 

 dots, presumably nuclei, are ])resent — in fresh unstained speci- 

 mens under a high power. This layer, the granulosa, is in 

 its turn covered by the process of attachment (which is 

 exactly similar to that of the extruded ova), a fact which 

 justifies tiie supposition that the latter was everted at extru- 

 sion, as is the outer membrane in Osmenis. 



The microjjyle, a minute funnel-shaped dej)ression, can be 

 made out in favourable unstained specimens, where it is not 

 hidden by the ruptured follicular epithelium. It lies at the 

 broad end of the G^g, and the process of attachment stretches 

 out on all sides. The meshwork of the latter ceases at the 

 broadest part of the ^^Q, and the filaments continuous with it 

 pass upwards side by side almost to the o[)posite (narrow) end 

 of the Q^gj but do not actually meet there. 



In fresh specimens treated with picro-carinine the process 

 of attachment takes the carmine stain more rapidly than any 

 other part, the granulosa taking it slowly, if at all. In smaller 

 eggs, i. e. half the size of the foregoing, the process of attach- 

 ment is not seen, but minute, dcei)ly staining dots are visible 

 at the broad end of the Q^^f^, and probably represent its earliest 

 appearance. The larger stained eggs show an intimate con- 

 nexion between the process and the zona for a short distance 

 around the micropyle, being the area which afterwards be- 

 comes the pedicle. The apertures are comparatively more 

 elongated in this region, with finer interstitial matter (closely 

 applied to the zona), which suddenly thickens at the margin 

 of the pedicle. 1 could detect no layer between the zona and 



* [Mr. Holt left within a few hours for the trawling expedition on the 

 west coast of Ireland.— W. C. M.] 



