346 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [NOVEMBER 
limit for the size of meshes of genuine protoplasmic structure. The 
central cell of the archegonium is formed early in November, a little 
more than two months after pollination. The mitotic division which 
gives rise to the ventral canal nucleus and the nucleus of the egg 
takes place about the middle of the following May, so that the growth 
of the central cell and its nucleus extends over a period of six months. 
Throughout this entire period the growth is uniform, there being no 
cessation or 1 as would be the case in a colder climate. 
The nucleus of the archegonium initial begins to enlarge very 
early, and is noticeably larger than the nuclei of the surrounding cells 
as soon as the initial itself becomes distinguishable (jig. 22); but 
while the growth of the nucleus continues steadily, it does not keep 
pace with the more rapid growth of the central cell. In March, 
after five months growth, the diameter of the nucleus has increased 
from 1o# to 7o#. The nucleolus, which at first was inconspicuous, 
has become prominent, and the chromatin granules are evenly dis- 
tributed throughout the nucleus. At this time several large nucleolus- 
like bodies appear in the cytoplasm near the nucleus (jigs. 27, 29). 
These bodies strongly resemble those which are found between the 
blepharoplast and nucleus in the body cell of Gingko, as described by 
HrrasE (9). At first they are solid and perfectly homogeneous; but 
as the nucleus of the central cell begins to divide, they become vacuo- 
late (jig. 29), and before the mitosis has reached the metaphase they 
have broken up into innumerable small globules and granules (jig. 30): 
These bodies stain black with iron haematoxylin, and with the 
safranin gentian-violet combination they usually take the violet 
even when nucleoli are staining red with the safranin. Their exact 
nature and function was not determined, but they do not seem to 
differ, except in size, from the globules of nutritive material which are 
soon afterward brought into all parts of the egg by the haustoria. 
The ventral canal nucleus —While the growth of the nucleus of the 
central cell extends over a period of more than six months, its division, 
when once begun, is extremely rapid. The only figures found were 
in material sent from Xalapa on April 1, 1905, and fixed at Chicago 
on April 13 and 17. No figures were found in any of the numerous 
collections fixed in March. Some ovules fixed later than April 17, 
and even as late as May 13, showed the nucleus of the central cell 
