41 



during spermatogenesis f 



Gro'b'ben '78 claimed that the capsule Is derived from the 

 nucleus of the spermatid. He described a change In the con- 

 sistency and a reduction in size of the nucleus which occurred 

 simultaneously with the development of the capsule. He seem- 

 ed to he of the opinion that the nuclear material was trans- 

 ferred hy diffusion from the nucleus to the capsule. 



Herrmann '90 suggests that when one follows the parallel 

 transformations of the capsule and the nucleus, one gets the 

 impression that there Is a sort of migration of the chromatic 

 suhstance from the nucleus to the capsule. 



Brandos '97 found two substances in the nucleus of the 

 spermatid. One was stained blue with methylene blue, the 

 other red with acid fuchsln. The latter settles to one side 

 of the nucleus and then passes out into the cytoplasm. 



The later workers Koltzoff '06 and Spltschakoff '09 de- 

 *^ scribe no such d process. 



In my own investigations I have noted a decrease in af- 

 finity for chromatic stains, and in the size of the nucleus. 

 The capsule on the other hand showed an increasing affinity 

 for iron-haematoxylin and safranin. These facts suggest a 

 transfer of nuclear material. 



Finally if we may accept the views of Stauffacher '10 

 and Dersohan 'll, that basichromatin is derived from oxy- 

 chromatin, the former being deposited from the latter, we may 

 postulate a theory for the explanation of the phenomena of 

 fertilization in this crab. I do not claim that the facts 



