24 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



even in the best " fixed " material, it is almost impossible 

 to find the passage of the jacket cell contents taking place, 

 but in some fortunate sections it may be seen. 



That the proteid-vacuoles are derived from these 

 jacket cells is supported by the fact that sooner or later in 

 the development of the egg, the jacket cells become quite 

 empty ; further support is given, I think, by the fact that 

 in ripe eggs, before fertilisation, karyokinetic figures are 

 to be found in the cytoplasm ; these appear to consist of 

 spindles only, if there be any chromatin present it must 

 be in small quantity ; the figures are generally multipolar. 

 I regard these as the result of lingering potencies still 

 possessed by these, as yet, but slightly altered jacket cell 

 contents (fig. 8). 



The jacket cells appear to be very unstable in their 

 nature, being subject to numerous abnormalities ; the cells 

 are often of huge dimensions, containing many free 

 nuclei, these are produced both mitotically and amitoti- 

 cally, sometimes the two methods apparently taking place 

 in the same cell (fig. 9). 



Yet another point. When the ventral canal cell is cut 

 off, the resulting nuclei appear exactly similar ; that they 

 are not, is proved by the fact that one of them at once 

 breaks down. The two cells are generally considered as 

 having been at some time in the past of equivalent size 

 and function ; the ventral canal cell is thus regarded as an 

 arrested gamete. 



I have found several archegonia in which the ventral 

 canal cell might be regarded as abnormally large. Two 

 have very large cells, similar to those described by Coufter 

 and Chamberlain (one of them is shown in fig. 10). These 

 authors think it possible that in some cases the ventral 

 canal cell is fertilised rather than the egg ; and further 

 state that there are some grounds for believing that the 



