240 BULLETIN OF THE 



the base) of the conical spot and the envelope of the yolk a clear cres- 

 cent-shaped place, which can be plainly distiguished from the clear spot 

 and the remaining yolk-mass. A little further on, he says the crescent- 

 shaped space shows quite clearly that the nuclei do not in the least take 

 part in the formation of the outer vesicles (polar globules).^ 



If this understanding of Warneck be the right one,t it will be seen 

 that his observations on the archiamphiaster are not only very in- 

 complete compared with recent studies, but that they are radically at 

 fault in making this structure and the polar globules independent of each 

 other. It might at first seem somewhat strange that no evidence of 

 radiate structure should have come under his eyes, inasmuch as he cer- 

 tainly made use of acetic acid ; but the probable use of a concentrated 

 acid, and the absence of any staining process, — which latter is really 

 of very great additional value, — are doubtless sufficient to explain this 

 oversight. 



First there appears, then, according to Warneck, a clear crescent- 

 shaped place between the outer rim of the conical spot and the pro- 

 toplasmic envelope of the yolk, which can be clearly distinguished 

 from the clear spot and the remaining yolk. This is erroneously con- 

 sidered by Warneck as identical with a most interesting and peculiar 



* Tlie words of Warneck (pp. 121, 122) are as follows: **Der sichelfdrmige Eaum, 

 welcher die ursprliiigliche Erhabenheit [of the polar globule] von dem hellen Flecke 

 trennt (d. h. den beiden Kernen mit ihrer durchsichtigen, eiweissartigen Hiille), zeigt 

 ganz deutlich, dass die Kerne nicht im Mindesten an der Bildung der ausseren 

 Blaschen Theil nehmen. Daher muss ich mich durchaus gegen die Ansicht erkla- 

 ren, nach welcher die Blaschen aus dem Centrum der Dotterraasse entstehen sollen, 

 oder, was einerli ist, dass diese Blaschen als vesicula Purkinji oder als Ueberbleibsel 

 derselben zu betrachten seien. Ich bin ganz iiberzeugt da von und meine Abbildungen 

 zeigen dieses ganz deutlich, dass die Hiille der Blaschen urspriinglich mit der Dotter- 

 hiille ganz gleiclibedeutend, und der Inhalt derselben aus dem sichelfbrmigen Raume 

 entlehnt sei." 



t P. S. — Since writing the above, I have chanced upon Biitschli's ( '76, pp. 242, 

 243) interpretation of Warneck, which I had overlooked. Biitschli's conclusion 

 is substantially the same as that to which I have arrived, and he also finds him- 

 self compelled to pronounce Fol's interpretation wrong, without, as it seems, 

 having discovered the two passages which make the chance of such a mistake possi- 

 ble. It seems a little strange, in view of this criticism by Biitschli, that Fol still 

 maintains the same estimate of Warneck's meaning touching the relation of the ar- 

 chiamphiaster to the polar globules. Fol ('79, p. 149) writes as follows: "Lecone 

 transparent prend une forme plus evasee et sa partie superficielle donne naissance, 

 par une sorte de bourgeonnement, a un globule polaire, puis a un second, et rarement 

 encore a un troisieme." Perhaps the passage in Biitschli's work has escaped the at- 

 tention of Fol, as it at first did mine. 



