100 BOTANICAL GAZETTE | AUGUST 
of the spindles, but extensive observations would convince 
anyone that they have nothing whatever to do with centrosomes 7 
The protoplasm in the vicinity of the pole is often very dense 
in structure, containing no granules and few vacuoles. It fre 
quently presents the appearance shown in jig. 16, but it never 
exhibited indications of that differentiation expected of 3 
centrosphere. 
It will be apparent to the reader from this account that the 
spindle of Anthoceros during the first division follows a history 
closely parallel to that described for homologous cells in Lilium — 
by Mottier ('97), Hemerocallis by Juel (’97), Equisetum by 
Osterhout (’97), and Cobea by Lawson (’98). That is to s# 
the spindle is organized by numerous delicate fibrils of proto 
plasm that develop conspicuously during prophase in the cyto 
plasm around the nuclear membrane. The fibrils are at first 
somewhat irregularly distributed, but finally become arranged It 
the form characteristic of the respective spindles. 
Strasburger in the third edition of the Lehrbuch der Botany 
1898, p. 67, has introduced the term filarplasm to be applie 
to protoplasm having the form and activities above described 
and so clearly established by the researches of his students 
during the past three years. The writer understands that filar- 
plasm is supposed to be made up of the substance designated by 
the older term kinoplasm. However, filarplasm has morphologt | 
cal characters, as indicated by its name, and these are the three 
or fibril-like structures. The term therefore expresses admirably 
the facts of morphology without implying or assigning phys” 
logical activities to the substance. 
It will be very gratifying if future investigation should 
appears to extend the range of mitoses associated with filarp! 
into a group of plants much lower than the lowest previ : 
that 
reported (pteridophytes by Osterhout). It is also significa 
it should be a class containing one large order, the Junge 
; : eked 
niacez, where according to Farmer centrospheres are very ses 
estab 
lish filarplasm as an element in the cells of higher plants diffe 
entiated from other forms of protoplasm. This investigatio? 
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