164 THE BOTANICAL MAGAZINE. \yo\. xxv. No. 294. 



abundance of chromatin substance it is pretty difficult to 

 distinguish the prochromosomes. In the' early stage of the 

 nuclear division, they are arranged in pairs and are in connec- 

 tion with the fine net work of linin substance (Fig. 1). On 

 the progress of the maiotic phase prochromosomes make their 

 appearance as fine threads, somewhat like pearl strings (Fig. 

 2). At these stages we find usually a large nucleolus in the 

 nucleus, but often small globules which are stained like the 

 nucleolus also come in view. These globules, probably of 

 nucleolar nature, increase in number as the synaptic contrac- 

 tion begins, and at the synapsis itself they appear in the 

 largest number and make a synaptic ball with the nuclear 

 threads (Fig. 3). In running out of the threads from the 

 synaptic "ball it is clearly observed that these globules are 

 arranged one after another along the threads. At this stage 

 the nuclear threads have very feeble affinities to the stains, and 

 in the well differentiated haematoxylin preparations they are 

 practically colorless, while the nucleolar globules are quite 

 black. Such small nucleoli were also found by Tischler in the 

 pollen mother cells oi Musa (10)- lu nay case they are often 

 extremely different in size. Some of them are pretty large, 

 while others are so small that they may be taken for a 

 chromatin granules. In the later stages they decrease in 

 number by and by as the growth of nuclear threads proceeds. 

 At the second contraction stage of the nuclear threads we can 

 find merely a small number of globules (Fig. 4), and at the 

 segmentation of the threads and at diakinesis they are no 

 more to be seen. But pretty often I have met with a case 

 where these globules are laid against the nuclear membrane or 

 by the side of the chromosomes at the diakinesis.* In such 

 cases they remain almost unstained as it is often the case with 

 the nucleolus which is about to disappear at the spindle 

 formation. 



The fact that these globules, most probably of the nutritive 



* An unstained mass like nucleolus which is lying in the upper part of the 

 nucleus in Fig. 5 is likely to be looked upon as a mass of such globules. 



