CYTOLOGY OF EOCRONARTIUM MUSCICOLA 
enlarges these nuclei increase rapidly in size (figs. 20-23). They also 
become more sharply staining, and migrate toward the center of the cell. 
Here they soon come into actual contact and finally fuse (fig. 24), the 
membranes of the two nuclei being dissolved at the point of contact and 
a common cavity resulting. The chromatin strands of the two nuclei 
intermingle completely even before the deep constriction about the 
common nuclear cavity has disappeared. The resulting fusion nucleus 
soon rounds up, and for a time two nucleoli are present (fig. 25). The 
absence of any evidence of disintegration in these nucleoli, combined 
with the fact that in later stages the fusion nucleus contains a single 
large nucleolus, indicates that the two bodies soon fuse. 
The fusion nucleus assumes at once the resting condition (fig. 26), 
a delicate reticulum being formed. It undergoes also a pronounced 
increase in size, and in this and subsequent stages stains sharply. As 
it prepares to pass from the resting condition into mitosis, the chro- 
matin granules fuse to form larger masses at the interstices of the 
network (fig. 27). These larger masses then gradually take on an 
elongated shape, and a definite thread is formed. This is thrown 
into definitely thickened loops which appear to be eight in number 
(fig. 28). Since the diploid chromosome number is eight, these loops 
probably represent the chromosomes. The spirem condition (fig. 29) 
which thus results is striking in appearance, and the large number of 
nuclei at this stage in the preparations show it to be of relatively long 
duration. 
The spirem gradually passes to one side of the nucleus (figs. 30, 31), 
and finally contracts into a typical synaptic knot (fig. 32). In some 
cases the nucleolus is caught in this (figs. 31, 32), in others it lies free 
in the other half of the nucleus (fig. 30). The nucleolus shown in 
figure 32 stands out clearly as a red sphere within an enveloping tangle 
of blue chromatin. In figure 33 a nucleus is shown in which the spirem 
has apparently undergone longitudinal splitting. Nuclei presenting 
this appearance are uncommon in the preparations, and the writer is 
in doubt concerning the point. In subsequent stages the spirem seg- 
ments (fig. 34), and the segments shorten into chromosomes. The 
nucleolus persists throughout all stages of mitosis, and passes into one 
of the daughter nuclei in late telophase. 
The spindle (figs. 35, 36) resembles in shape and general appearance 
those which are formed in the conjugate divisions in the hyphae of the 
sporophore but is larger. The achromatic fibers form a well defined 
