337 
Nemalion multifidum , Ag. 
Wolfe concluded that the trichogyne ‘ instead of being a mere hair-like 
outgrowth from a cell is at first a cell in the strictest sense of the word, 
which only later is specially modified in connexion with the reproductive 
processes ’. 
One of the striking features of Nemalion is the similarity in appearance 
and method of development between the trichomes and the trichogyne. 
It might not seem unreasonable to suppose that the carpogonium originally, 
like any other terminal cell, possessed the capacity of budding off trichomes, 
and that, after the male gametes lost their power of motility, this hair was 
modified into a receptive organ, and the formation of a wall between it 
and the carpogonium suppressed. The trichogyne would then represent 
a separate cell which has in some measure lost its independence. Such an 
explanation, however, looks no farther than the species under consideration. 
When we consider Nemalion and other red algae in the light of evolutionary 
relationships and study resemblances to other forms, and especially to 
Coleochaete , another interpretation presents itself which is essentially that of 
Yamanouchi. The striking resemblance between Coleochaete and the red 
algae, in vegetative structure, reproductive organs, and the development of 
the fertilized egg, lends weight to the possibility that the trichogyne-like 
outgrowth of the oogonium of Coleochaete is homologous to the trichogyne 
of the red algae. By this interpretation, the trichogyne of Nemalion would 
not represent a separate cell, and the trichogyne nucleus is probably the 
vestige of a second female gamete. 
Fertilization. 
At the time the male nucleus enters the carpogonium, the female 
nucleus may lie at any position in that cell, being perhaps more often found 
in the upper part than in the lower. Both gamete nuclei at time of fusion 
are in the resting condition. As the nuclei come together, it may be seen 
that they are somewhat unequal in size (Figs. 31, 32), the female being 
about half as large again as the male. The process of fusion of the nuclei 
is a slow one, and stages are, therefore, often found. The nuclear membranes 
melt away at the point where they come together, and the contents of the 
male nucleus pass into the cavity of the female. The chromatic nucleoles 
then fuse (Fig. 24). If nuclear union has occurred in the upper part of the 
cell, the zygote nucleus may remain in that position until after the first 
mitosis, or it may migrate back to the lower part of the cell. 
Reduction and Development of the Cystocarp. 
The zygote nucleus increases in size and remains for some time in 
a resting condition, while an additional thickness of wall is laid down com- 
pletely around the protoplast. In the resting state (Fig. 33) the zygote 
nucleus possesses a reticulum of exceedingly delicate, closely interwoven 
