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and perhaps much easier assimilable substance. On fig. 3, PL YII a 
group of nearly perfectly formed spermatozoa is to be seen which 
attracted by a chemotactic stimulus arrange themselves on the surface 
of an egg-cell. On the other side of the same figure are some sper¬ 
matids visible which are beginning to arrange and move toward the 
egg-cell. 
The egg-cells figured on figs. 4 and 5 PL YII, are affected partly 
by young spermatocytes (fig. 4, left side, fig. 5. right side, below), partly by 
amoebocytes (fig. 5, right side, above), and partly by spermatids (fig. 4, beiow). 
In comparing the two figures some differences are to be seen as regards 
the taking up the substance of the affected egg-cells. The spermatocytes 
and amoebocytes shown on fig. 5 migrate into the interior of the egg¬ 
cell so that their outlines become obliterated, and the plasms of the 
affected and affecting cells apparently unite, on the contrary, the sper¬ 
matocytes and spermatids figured on fig. 4 are separated from the egg¬ 
cell by a clear, sharply defined space. These two kinds of attachement 
were observed — for the amoebocytes — by Obst (15) as well who 
regarded the clear, area as corresponding to the cytoplasms of the «nu¬ 
tritive cells», but this wiew is certainly erroneous, es may be seen 
from fig. 4 on which the cytoplasms of the affecting cells are clearly 
visible. It is at the present impossible to explain the signification of 
this difference, but it seems to be very probable that the clear area 
represents the diosmoting substance of the egg-cells dissolved by the 
enzymes produced by the phagocytes, and which is not colourable. 
In this case the amoebocytes and spermatids must represent the 
affecting cells, and that they devour the egg-cells, and not viceversa, is 
shown by the fact that the egg-cells exhibit all the signs of degene¬ 
ration. The signs of degeneration of the egg-cell are to be seen on the 
cell figured on fig. 5 as well, therefore it is quite indubitable that the 
cells which are in its cytoplasm, and which are apparently devoured by 
it, are phagocytes and not devoured nutritive cells. 
There is by all means a very interesting phenomenon that germ- 
cells may transform themselves into phagocytes, without changing their 
germ-cell character, but their rôle is sufficiently explained by the fact 
observed already by Platner, i. e. that the young germ-cells may 
change their shapes and positions like amoebes, which capacity is 
naturally very restricted, but by all means sufficient to move toward 
the nourishment source. 
Exceptionally even the case may occur that amoebocytes migra¬ 
ted too deeply into the interior of an egg-cell become digested, but this 
is a quite exceptional phenomenon and has no particular importance. 
