THE OVAEIAN EGG. 289 



and the dark bodies, which have been till now the 

 striking points, give way to the lighter spheres of 

 albumen between which the clusters are scattered. 

 Presently the whole becomes re-dissolved : these 

 stages of the growth being completed, this little 

 system of worlds is melted, as it were ; but while 

 it undergoes this process, the albuminous spheres, 

 after being dissolved, arrange themselves in con- 

 centric rings, alternating with rings of granules, 

 around the Purkinjean vesicle. At this time we 

 are again reminded of Saturn and its rings, which 

 seems to have its counterpart here. These rings 

 disappear, and now once more out of the yolk 

 mass loom up little dots as minute as before ; but 

 they are round instead of angular, and those 

 nearest the Purkinjean vesicle are smaller and 

 clearer, containing less of oil than the larger and 

 darker ones on the opposite side. From this time 

 the yolk begins to take its color, the oily cells 

 assuming a yellow tint, while the albuminous 

 cells near the vesicle become whiter. 



Up to this period the processes in the different 

 cells seem to have been controlled by the different 

 character of the substance of each ; but now it 

 would seem that the changes become more in- 

 dependent of physical or material influences, for 

 each kind of cell undergoes the same process. 

 They all assume the ordinary cell character, with 

 outer and inner sac, the inner sac forming on 



13 s 



