256 THE DIVISION OF LEUCOCYTES 



excess of it on lymphocytes might be. On one occa- 

 sion a "basophile" leucocyte was found lying on the 

 jelly with its granules arranged in rows, and forming 

 a sort of radiating pattern. Moreover, the granules 

 were in the centre of the cell, which is an unusual 

 position for them, and there were clear spaces outside 

 them which evidently contained the lobes of the nuclei, 

 although the latter were not stained, as it is very diffi- 

 cult to stain the nuclei of basophile leucocytes in vitro. 

 The condition had not been seen before, but it was 

 passed over, for at the time lymphocytes were being 

 sought for. Some days afterwards another basophile 

 cell was seen in a similar condition, and then it was 

 more carefully observed. The lobes of the nucleus of 

 this cell could just be made out, and they were external 

 to the granules. The cell- wall itself was indented in 

 three places, so that the leucocyte looked like the pro- 

 peller of a steamship. The granules were deeply stained 

 and turning black (fig. 89) , which sometimes occurs in 

 vitro in the stained granules of basophile cells ; and they 

 were again arranged in indefinite lines or rows. It 

 was this arrangement of the granules which specially 

 arrested attention. The Altmann's granules of lympho- 

 cytes form up into rows to form the chromosomes, and 

 it looked as if something of some similar nature was 

 .happening on this occasion in a leucocyte. 



This curious condition of the basophile leucocyte 

 seemed to have occurred in response to the excess 

 of azur dye. Still more of it was therefore added to 

 some coefficient jelly which also contained atropine, 

 polychrome dye, and extract, with the idea of de- 



