THE CHLOKOPHYLL APPARATUS 



161 



As already stated, many botanists consider the protoplasm 

 to be arranged in a network, whose meshes are filled with 

 a solution of the pigment. Others consider the protoplasm 

 to be homogeneous, but honeycombed with vacuoles which 

 are filled with the solution of the chlorophyll. By the 

 action of dilute acids, or by treating the chloroplasts with 

 steam, the colouring matter may be made to exude from the 

 framework in viscid drops, leaving the latter colourless. 



FIG. 89. POBTION OF AEKIAL STEM OF Equisetum. 

 a, cortical lacuna; b, lacuna in vascular bundle; c, chlorophyll-containing cells. 



It then appears to have a reticular structure, but how far 

 this condition is brought about by the action of the reagents 

 is uncertain. The chlorophyll, however, is certainly not 

 uniformly diffused through the body of the plastid. 



In the process of the formation of the chloroplast 

 it is not difficult to see that its two constituents are not 



M 



