20 RALPH E. WAGER. 



of several cells whose cytoplasm unites to form a common mass 

 and some of whose nuclei undergo certain degenerative changes 

 while others apparently remain unchanged within the resulting 

 multinucleate structure. It has also been suggested that all but 

 one of these nuclei are transformed into pseudo-cells while that one 

 becomes the functioning nucleus of the egg. In the early part 

 of these studies it was thought that possibly all of the nuclei 

 became functionless while the functioning nucleus was reformed 

 de novo, from the nuclear material set free in the cytoplasm. 

 The examination of a very large number of sections failed to 

 furnish any growing egg without an apparently functioning 

 nucleus. It seems therefore that from the beginning of the 

 growth of the egg one nucleus retains its sovereignty, though it 

 is impossible to maintain that for a time the others do not perform 

 some of the nuclear functions. It is difficult, in examining the 

 egg when in this multinucleate stage, to determine which is the 

 functioning, or to be, the functioning nucleus. As soon, however, 

 as it becomes distinctly recognizable, it has an appearance much 

 as the one shown in Fig. 7, PI. I. Both the nucleoplasm and 

 the cytoplasm become more granular, but very shortly after, the 

 nucleoplasm appears to be of an homogeneous character such as 

 is shown in Fig. 8, PI. I. At the same time the nucleoli increase 

 rapidly in number, there being always one large one eccentrically 

 placed within the nucleus. The staining reactions of the smaller 

 nucleolar bodies indicate that they are not all of the same chem- 

 ical composition. The nucleus is frequently found to be elliptic 

 in section with its long axis at right angles to the supporting 

 layer. The growth of the egg is attended by a corresponding 

 increase in the size of the nucleus ; the number of nucleoli in- 

 crease greatly, while the nucleus, in the meantime, approaches 

 the outer portion of the egg. In some cases there have been 

 counted as many as eighty to ninety nucleolar bodies in a single 

 nucleus. Vacuoles frequently appear in the larger ones. 



The darkly staining area noted by Brauer {^91 a) as occurring 

 near the large nucleolus has been observed many times. It is 

 shown in Fig. 9, PI. II., and thus highly magnified, is, as he 

 correctly observed, due to an aggregation of exceedingly small 

 bodies, possibly of the same nature as the nucleoli. 



