1915] HUTCHINSON—ABIES BALSAMEA 465 
male cell gradually surrounds the conjugating nuclei so that there 
is never any possibility of mistaking the fusion nucleus for an 
unfertilized egg nucleus.”’” And Norn (22) states: ‘‘Nachdem die 
Kopulation der Kerne erfilgt ist legt sich das Plasma der Sperma- 
zelle und deren Stirke wie ein Mantel um die beiden Kerne herum.”’ 
The description is similar for Taxodium (4), Torreya (15), Sequoia 
(16), and Thuja (14). In Ephedra (13), a dense cytoplasmic mass 
develops about the egg nucleus and extends downward in the cyto- 
plasm of the egg. In Abies a finely granular cytoplasmic layer 
develops about the egg nucleus during its movement toward the 
center of the egg (figs. 7,14). This area extends along the path of 
the nucleus in the form of a short streamer. The male nucleus 
penetrates the mantle, but there is no appreciable addition to its 
mass by cytoplasm accompanying the same (fig. 19). At the telo- 
phase of the first division, the excess material from the egg cyto- 
plasm is added to the ‘‘mantle” (figs. 49, 50, 55). 
The darkly staining bodies described in Abies as globular or 
irregularly shaped and vacuolate, according to conditions, have 
been variously interpreted. NicHots (21) writes: “In the egg 
nucleus frequently the entire chromatin content of the nucleus 
seems to have resolved itself into nucleoli and pseudo-nucleoli. 
Yet even after a study of a large number of preparations one is 
unable to formulate any satisfactory conclusions as to the nature 
of these structures.” Describing the egg nucleus*of Taxodium, 
CoKER (4) says: “In addition to the reticulum and plastin nucleoli 
there are also present numbers of chromatin nucleoli.” And 
Lawson for Libocedrus (17a) states that ‘‘It is impossible to dis- 
tinguish the true chromatin from the nucleoli and other irregularly 
shaped bodies which stained like chromatin, and seemed to be 
closely associated with the latter.” These bodies seem to resemble 
very much the karyosomes which SHARP (24) has described in the 
resting nuclei of Vicia Faba. ‘They appear in connection with 
the chromatic network and resemble the latter in staining quality. 
They seem to represent an elaboration product of a process actively 
going on during rest.”” A study of Abies has led to the conclusion 
that the darkly staining bodies are storage materials derived from 
the cytoplasm. 
