Davis . — The Fertilization of B a trac ho sperm u m . 63 
ever fuses with that of the trichogyne, indications of the process 
ought to appear in the younger specimens, and it is very unsafe 
to draw conclusions from old examples. The nuclei in these 
structures often do not undergo any material change : Fig. 18 
illustrates such a case, the example being part of a crushed- 
out specimen of an adult cystocarp with fertile filaments and 
ripe spores (lettered s). 
In living specimens of old trichogynes certain portions 
of the cell-contents frequently appear to have a greenish 
tinge ; and not only the trichogynes but also the antherozoids 
contain these peculiarly coloured portions of the protoplasm. 
The writer has observed some instances where the colour was 
so distinctly green and the outline of the body so well defined, 
that it seemed reasonable to suppose it to be really of the 
nature of a chromatophore. One sometimes finds anthero- 
zoids which have not fused with the trichogyne that are quite 
green in colour. Fig. 5 shows the arrangement of this 
chromatophore-like body in one case, but there is no 
regularity in its form or position. The body takes a slightly 
deeper stain with haematoxylin than the rest of the cytoplasm, 
perhaps because of its granular character, and the outline is 
sometimes well shown in preserved and stained specimens 
(see Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11). Remembering how long the 
trichogynes and the antherozoids remain intact, it does not 
seem unreasonable to suppose that the trace of colour may 
be true chlorophyll with some functional value. From the 
appearance of specimens which the writer has observed, it 
seems to him that the colour deepens in tint after fertilization, 
and that the chromatophores become larger. 
The writer realizes that the process which he has called 
fertilization lacks the characteristics of that phenomenon as 
considered* by biologists, in that there is no fusion of sexual 
nuclei. Nevertheless, it is the act of cytoplasmic fusion with 
the antherozoid that gives the stimulus necessary for the 
development of the cystocarp ; and as such the term is perhaps 
not misapplied. 
