454 INTRODUCTION. 
It should of course be borne in mind that these records and drawings were 
made a number of years ago without any of the revision that is ordinarily in- 
volved in the preparation of a paper for publication. It is not known what 
changes might have been made in case the authors had carried the material 
through to publication. 
It will be noticed that the records in this publication are remarkably full 
and readable, as was characteristic of all of Professor Whitman’s note making. 
He was always painstaking and careful in recording his observations, which were 
made with unusual attention to details. The details were also significant in 
his note making. 
In Fig. 2, Plate XX XII, an embryonic axis is indicated by the terms ‘‘an- 
1) 66 
terior,” ‘“‘posterior,” ‘‘right,’’ and “‘left.’’ Also in the explanatory material for 
this plate and for others, references to this orientation occur. Professor Whitman 
being uncertain about the evidence for the coincidence of the first plane of 
cleavage with that of bilateral symmetry, suggested the problem to Miss Clapp.! 
She obtained results with toad-fish eggs which caused Professor Whitman to 
abandon the position, at least for some years. In conversation a few years 
before his death, he indicated, however, that such an orientation of the early 
cleavage stages should be looked for in other forms. 
This publication is issued with full recognition of the fact that others, 
notably Kopsch * have more or less fully covered the same ground for other 
fishes. However, no such beautiful and elaborate illustrations of such material 
have been published, and they should be made available to students of 
embryology. ae 
The original drawings and manuscript have been deposited in the Museum 
of Comparative Zodlogy at Cambridge, Mass., where they will be accessible to 
workers who may have occasion to examine them. 
‘Clapp, Cornelia M. Some points in the development of the Toad-fish (Batrachus tau).< Journ. 
morph., 1891, 6, p. 494-501, fig. 1-3.— Relation of the axis of the embryo to the first cleavage plane. 
< Biological lectures from the Marine biological laboratory, Woods Hole. Woods Hole, Mass., 1898. 
Boston, 1899, p. 189-151, fig. 1-6. 
* Kopsch, Fr. Die entstehung des dottersackentoblasts und die furchung bei Belone acus.< Internat. 
monatsschr. anat. physiol., 1901, 18, p. 48-127, fig. 1-34.— Art, ort und zeit der entstehung des dot- 
tersackentoblasts bei verschiedenen knochenfischarten.< Internat. monatsschr. anat. physiol., 1902, 
20, p. 101-124, fig. 1-15. 
