Fertilization of the Floridee. 11 
however, the apex of the trichogyne remains concealed in the 
interior of the thallus, that is to say, enclosed within its gela- 
tinous envelope (Batrachospermum). But in both cases the 
isolated spermatia (by spontaneous movement ?) reach the apex 
of the trichogyne and attach themselves to it, at the same 
time (hardly previously) surrounding themselves with a mem- 
brane. ‘T’hen the membrane of the spermatium and apex of 
the trichogyne is resorbed at the point of adhesion, and 
through this opening the two masses of contents are placed 
freely in connexion. In this way the plasma-bodies of the 
carpogonium and spermatium unite to form a single coherent 
cell, which at first still contains two different cell-nuclei. 
In the next developmental stage the cell-nucleus of the 
spermatium has disappeared from its previous place and is 
nowhere to be discovered in the interior of the conjugation-cell, 
but in the bellied part of the carpogonium there is, as before, 
a single cell-nucleus. A fusion of the two original cell-nuclei 
to form this latter cell-nucleus could nowhere be directly per- 
ceived. Nevertheless, from the analogy of other cases, it may 
with the greatest probability be assumed that the cell-nucleus 
of the spermatium travels through the trichogyne into the 
bellied part of the carpogonium, and here amalgamates with 
the cell-nucleus of the carpogonium. 
The cell-wall then thickens in the neck of the trichogyne 
and narrows the central opening more and more until finally 
this is completely closed in the middle (figs. 1, 2-4, 6, 7, 10, 
16, 23, 35). In this way the connexion between the bellied 
part of the carpogonium and the trichogyne with the sper- 
matium is interrupted by means of a more or less thick mem- 
branous plug, and the whole conjugation-cell divided into two 
independent cells. 
These two division-cells, however, are of quite different 
value, inasmuch as only the lower cell possesses a cell- 
nucleus and now commences a rapid further development ; the 
upper one, on the contrary, is quite destitute of a formed cell- 
nucleus, and remains inactive until its earlier or later disap- 
pearance. The former represents the fecundated female cell, 
the fertilized ovicell; the latter, on the contrary, forms a 
useless part of the conjugation-product of the two sexual cells, 
which is now divided off and thrown aside, while the fertilized 
ovicell prepares for further development. 
In the interior of the separated trichogyne-cell there are 
frequently, varying in number and form, larger or smaller 
granules which behave towards colouring-agents like the 
chromatine corpuscles of cell-nuclei, but never belonged to 
formed cell-nuclei (fig. 1). I have not been able to ascertain 
