282 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 
In preparations fixed in Merkel's fluid I have never observed this 
massing of the chromosomes at the poles (see figs. 5, 6, 7). In 
these figures no anastomoses are present. I have constantly ob¬ 
served the massing of the telophase chromosomes (fig. 4) and the 
anastomoses in preparations fixed in Flemming’s osmic mixtures. 
In figures 22 and 22 a, which are drawn from preparations fixed in 
osmic mixtures, these structures are very distinct. Figure 22a; 
represents an enlarged portion of the two chromosomes to the left 
in the upper nucleus of figure 22. Figure 23 represents two 
daughter cells also fixed in Flemming’s osmic mixture. Anasto¬ 
moses are also present. Figure 23 a is an enlarged drawing of a 
portion of the upper nucleus of figure 23. The relationship of the 
parts is carefully represented. In this figure the outlines of two 
chromosomes are distinctly visible but cross anastomoses also ap¬ 
pear, which, from the appearance of the preparation when com¬ 
pared with Merkel preparations, are doubtless artifacts. These 
figures represent the identical stage drawn by Gregoire and Wy- 
gaerts (see their figs. 3 and 4). Their preparations were fixed in 
Hermann’s fluid which may account for this appearance. I have 
also observed similar structures in preparations fixed in this fluid. 
In figure 8 drawn from material fixed in Merkel’s fluid, which 
represents a more normal condition than figures 22 and 23, no 
anastomoses are present between the adjacent chromosomes except 
at their polar ends. This is better shown in the lower nucleus of 
this figure. In this nucleus the chromosomes lie in the newly 
forming nuclear vacuole perfectly distinct from one another. In 
figures 6 and 7 similar conditions are shown less clearly. The 
above mentioned authors describe the anastomoses as characteristic 
in form, chromatic in nature and content, being under stress with 
a thin portion in the middle and a cone-shaped portion where they 
join the chromosomes. This is in my opinion apparently the case, 
but I regard them as unnatural lateral portions due entirely to the 
sticking together of the colloidal or gelatinous chromosomes, which 
are brought into close contact by the fixing fluids and which again 
become separated. The separation may perhaps be due to the 
formation and increasing amount of nuclear sap. I cannot admit 
that these anastomoses in Podophyllum take any important part 
in the formation of the nuclear reticulum. The alveolation and 
reticulation, which is beginning to take place in the anaphasic 
chromosomes in the manner above described, continues in the telo- 
phasic chromosomes. The chromatic and achromatic portions be- 
