104 
L. Digby 
is dealing witli telopbases and interkinetal stages of progi-essive arche- 
sporial divisions, and not witli telophases of the last archesporial mitosis 
leading to the prenieiotic rest whichwül be described later on in this paper. 
Crepis virens bas been sho^^^l by Eosexberg (46) to possess only six 
soniatic clu-omosomes, the lowest nnmber hitherto recorded in plants. 
This character considerably siiuplifies the investigation of its nnclear 
divisions. 
Teiophase. 
The chi-oniosomes, at anaphase, are grouped at either pole of the 
fast disappearing spindle (PI. VIII fig. 1) ; they proceed to di'aw closely 
together into a compact niass. The phases which immediately foUow 
are rendered some-\vhat obscure owing to the contracted form of the 
nncleus, and to its diffuse staining reaction, which obscures detail. 
As the nnclear wall forms, the chroniosomes separate from one an- 
other, and become transformed into a more or less continuous beaded 
spireme (fig. 2). The nncleoh are siirroimded by a clear space, which 
is traversed by fine radiating threads, and these connect the nucleoÜ with 
the more or less peripherally arranged spii'eme. The chromatic granules 
of the spireme continiie to fragment nntil the nncleus eventually acquires 
a finely chromatic granulär character, which is difficult to reproduce 
accurately m a chawing (fig. 3). Beer (3, PI. 67 fig. 73) has figured such 
a teiophase in Crepis virens and vTites that “the material of the chromo- 
somes beconies gradually dispersed through the nncleus nntil it again 
reaches the state of a more or less even reticulum, or assunies the ap- 
pearance of a cloudy flocculent precipitate” (p. 721). 
The spünUe fibres rapidly give place to a reticulum, and the famüiar 
large chromatic ‘bodies’ are to be seen scattered in the cytoplasm (fig. 4). 
Theü- origin has not been definitely ascertained, but it is probable that 
they are fragments of nucleolus and other substances extruded during 
mitosis as suggested by SiRASBEmGER (51). So characteristic are they 
of teiophase views that their presence affords a useful criterion for de- 
termining the stage of nuclear activity, for they gradually disappear 
during the subsequent prophase. 
It wiU be reaUsed that the ahnost complete dissolution of the chromo- 
somes into a granulär precipitate, renders it impossible to trace the rela- 
tionship between the chromosomes of the teiophase and the chromatic 
aggregations of the interkhietal resting stage. In this respect, therefore, 
Crepis virens does not lend itself to so critical an investigation as sonie 
plants, such as the Oenotheras m which Davis (7 ) was able to trace the 
