io E antes . — The Morphology of Agathis australis. 
before fertilization, and their downward progress seems to be rapid. The 
body-cell was found in a few cases. It is large, with much cytoplasm, 
a huge nucleus, and a thin wall (PL II, Fig. 16). It is accompanied by vary- 
ing amounts of cytoplasm from the tube — being either almost naked or sur- 
rounded by several times its volume of dense, coarsely granular cytoplasm. 
A correspondingly variable number of small nuclei are found connected 
with it. These contain little chromatin and a prominent nucleolus, thus 
resembling the stalk and tube nuclei of other Conifers. (Two are seen 
in advance of a male cell in Fig. 18.) It seems probable from their appear- 
ance and behaviour that these represent the stalk and tube nuclei, but since 
as many as six and eight occur at times, some of them, at least, must be of 
the great number of supernumerary nuclei, unless the stalk and tube nuclei 
have shared in the tendency to proliferate. 
The division of the body-cell was not seen. It clearly may occur 
before the descent through the nucellus is finished, perhaps even without the 
ovule, or so late as the arrival at the archegonium. The male elements 
thus formed are two large nuclei with close reticulum, surrounded by the 
dense cytoplasm of the body-cell and of the tube. At first no delimitation 
is visible within the mass. Later the cytoplasm belonging to each of the 
nuclei becomes clearly defined, and is finally bounded by a membrane 
which remains very delicate. The two nuclei are usually elongate and 
somewhat unequal in size. Fig. 17 shows rather typical nuclei at this 
stage, the difference in size being exaggerated somewhat by different planes 
of section. The extent of the cytoplasm connected with each can be faintly 
made out, though the membrane is not visible in the photograph. A slight 
amount of tube cytoplasm surrounds them. Ordinarily these two cells 
do not separate until the entrance to the archegonium is reached, but 
in Fig. 18 complete separation has occurred. One of the male cells with 
distinctly limited cytoplasm is seen, preceded by two of the usual accom- 
panying nuclei. The large nucleus is cut tangentially. The other male 
cell is above and lies outside the plane of section. 
Entrance to the archegonium is evidently not secured readily despite 
the preparation made therefor. This is shown by the heaping-up of the 
male cytoplasm in a mound of concentric layers over the male cells as they 
lie against the top of the archegonium ; by the disturbance of the cytoplasm 
of the egg throughout its extent by the entrance ; by the breaking away of 
the resistant neck-cells and their frequent transportation into the egg during 
the inrush. A considerable amount of male cytoplasm always passes in 
with the male cell as in all other Conifers, and with it sometimes the other 
male cell and the small nuclei. In such a case the sterile nuclei remain in 
the top of the archegonium and rapidly go to pieces there. Rarely the 
smaller male cell can be distinguished when proembryonic development is 
complete, and two cases were noted where the extra male nucleus persisted 
