[From ^Ae Proceedings of the Royal Society.]

March 17, 1853.

1 . " On Animal and Vegetable Fibre as originally composed of
Twin Spiral Filaments, in whicJi every other structure has its Origin ;
a Note showing the confirmation by Agardh, in 1852. of observations
recorded in the Philosophical Transactions for 1842." By Martin
Barry. M.D., F.R.S., F.R.S.E.

After referring to the drawings to his paper on Fibre, published in
the Philosophical Transactions for 1842. and the opinions entertained
by physiologists regarding the peculiar views he advanced in that
paper with reference to the original composition of organic fibre,
the author states that, after the lapse of eleven years, these views
have been fully confirmed, and in proof of this refers to a paper —
"De cellula vegetabili fibrillis tenuissimis contexta" (Lundse, 1852),
by Agardh. He further remarks, that his paper of 1842 contains a
record of other observations made in a field beyond the region of
Agardh's researches ; obsers'ations which he thinks explain how it is
that fibre forms the membrane of the cell, and. what he deems of
more importance still, the mode of origin of fibre. He refers gene-
rally to the drawings in that paper, from which, in connection with
facts previously recorded in the Philosophical Transactions, he states
that it appears — 1, that fibre has its origin in the so-called "cyto-
blast," the outer part of which always passes into a ring or coil of
fibre ; 2. that when a cell is to arise, its primary membrane is formed
out of this ring or coil of fibre ; 3. that then the nucleolus of the
"cytoblast" becomes the nucleus of the cell; 4. that the outer
part of the nucleus of the cell also passes into a ring or coil of fibre,
wherewith to form deposits such as the annular and spiral, or to
weave the secondary membranes; 5, that the term "cytoblast" is
unsuitable, as the body so called does not always become a cell ;
6, that fibre is thus more universal as well as more primitive even
than the cell, for fibre not only forms the cell, but it forms other
structures without having first to form a cell; 7. that the prime
mover in both the "cytoblast" and the nucleus is the nucleolus,

which is the organ of absorption, assimilation, and secretion ; 8,
that the nucleolus is continually giving off its substance and con-
tinually renewing it, continually passing from the state of nucleolus
into that of " cytoblast" or nucleus, — so that the " cytoblast" and
the nucleus are each of them but the nucleolus enlarged ; 9, that it
is therefore the nucleolus enlarged that passes into fibre; 10, that
the nucleolus always passes into fibre, and directly into no other
form than that of fibre ; 11, that thus the whole organism arises
out of nucleoli, for fibre is but the nucleolus in another shape, and
every structure arises out of fibre; 12, that the nucleolus is repro-
duced by self- division, and that subsequently, when it has passed
into the form of fibre, the mode in which the nucleolus gives origin
to other structures is such as to imjjly even here the continued re-
production of its own substance— that mode being self-division.

The author describes particularly the mode of origin of primary
and secondary membranes, and division of the cell. He considers
that the latter is initiated by self-division of the nucleolus into halves
which become " cytoblasts," and it is completed by the formation
out of these of two young cells, the walls of which, where in contact
with one another, form a septum dividing the parent cell into two
compartments. Thus for division of the cell there occurs no folding
inwards of a " primordial utricle," as maintained by Von Mohl,
nor any division of the contents of a parent cell into two parts, around
which contents are formed the walls of two young cells, as supposed
by Nageli and Hofmeister. On the subject of annular, spiral, and
other deposits in the vessels of plants, the author remarks, that when
the divisions of an annular or spiral fibre are not continued, but par-
tial and irregular, we have the reticular form, as well as an expla-
nation of the supposed tendency in vegetable fibre to anastomosis.

The two spiral filaments composing fibre at first appeared to the
author to run in opposite directions, which he subsequently" saw was
not the case, — their direction is tlie same. This error he corrected
in Miiller's Archiv for 1850.

The author remarks, that observers in their endeavours to reach
the ultimate structure of the muscular fibril have actually gone too
far, and reached a later generation, — mistaking for the fibril a row of
quadrilateral particles, the mere elements thereof. These particles,
he observes, are known to be alternately light and dark in alternate
order ; they give origin to the twin spirals ; and for this purpose
the dark particles undergo what observers have entirely overlooked,
division and subdivision, which changes he figured in Miiller's
Archiv, 1850. The preparation in which he has again met with
the subdivision into four is still, the author states, in his possession
for demonstration to others.

2. " On the penetration of Spermatozoa into the interior of the
Ovum ; a Note showing this to have been recorded- as an established
fact in the Philosophical Transactions for 1843." By Martin
Barry, M.D., F.R.S., F.R.S.E.

Referring to a statement by Dr. Nelson, in a paper " On the re-

3

production of the Ascaris Mysta^," that the investigations m that
paper " appear to be the first in ^vhich the fact of the penetration o
^plrmatozo'a into the ovum has been distinctly -en and clea^^^^
established in one of the most highly organized ^he Entozoa
the author of the present communication remarks, that Avhen Dr.
Nelson made this statement he was evidently not aware of what had
been published on the subject. In proof of this Dr. Baxry refers to
his own paper, entitled " Spermatozoa observed within the Mammi-
ferous Ovum " (Phil. Trans. 1843, p. 33), m which he states that
he had met with ova of the Rabbit containing a number of sperma-
tozoa in their interior ; and to the Edinburgh New Philosophic^
Journal for October 1843, which contains a drawing in which se^ en
spermatozoa are represented in the interior of an ovum besides the
statement that in one instance he had counted more than twenty
spermatozoa in a single ovum. In conclusion he remarks, that Ur.
Nelson merely added a further confirmation in ova of an entozoon, to
what his own researches on mammiferous ova had enabled him to
record as an established fact nine years before.

June 16, 1853.

3 " Researches in Embryology; a Note supplementary to Papers
published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1838, 1839 and 1840,
showing the confirmation of the principal facts there recorded, and
pointing out a correspondence between certain structures connected
with the Mammiferous Ovum and other Ova." By Martin Barry,
M.D., F.R.S., F.R.S.E. ,

Referring to his account of the process of fecundation of the mam-
malian ovum and the immediately succeeding phenomena, published
in various papers in the Philosophical Transactions, the author caUs
attention to the confirmation which his views have received from
corresponding observations made by subsequent inquirers on the ova
of other animals. He more particularly adverts to a recently pub-
lished memoir by Dr. Keber. in which that physiologist describes
the penetration of the spermatozoon into the interior of the ovum, m
Unio and Anodonta, through an aperture formed by dehiscence of
its coats, analogous to the micropyle in plants.

Small pellucid vesicles, lined with ciliated epithelium and enclo-
sing a revolving mulberry-like object, such as the author discovered
imbedded under the mucous membrane of the rabbit's uterus and
described in the Philosophical Transactions for 1839, have been like-
wise observed by Keber. not only under the mucous membrane, but
also and most frequently in some part of the cavity of the abdo-
men. Keber considers these bodies to be fecundated ova. The
author agrees with Keber in considering them to be ova, but he does
not suppose them to be fecundated, nor does he think that their
membrane is the vitellary membrane (" zona pellucida"), which he
believes to have been absorbed. He considers such ova to have been
detached from the ovary along with their containing ovisac, which
in their new situation constitutes the ciliated capsule, and as they
present themselves in unimpregnated animals, he now believes that

the formation of a mulberry-like group of cells from the germinal
spot and the process of division and subdivision of the latter take
place without fecundation ; but when this happens, the mulberry is
not found to contain one cell larger than the rest, the nucleus of
which, according to his observations, is the embryo. He is further
of opinion, that in all cases of separation of ova, the ovisac or in-
ternal coat of the Graafian follicle is detached from the ovary, either
entire and along with the ovum, as in the instances alluded to, or
after the ovum has first escaped by rupture, as in the instance of the
fecundated ovum.

The author is led to the following conclusions with reference to
the structures connected with the ovum in different animals: — 1.
That in the mammalia the vesicle he described as the foundation of
the Graafian follicle, and termed the ovisac, does not remain perma-
nently in the ovary, but is expelled and absorbed. 2. That in the
Bird, the ovum, when escaping from the ovary, is accompanied by
the corresponding vesicle — the ovisac ; and that the ovisac becomes
the shell-membrane of the Bird's egg. 3. That the expelled and lost
ovisac in the mammalia therefore corresponds to the shell-membrane
in the Bird. 4. That after the formation of the ovum the albumi-
nous contents of the ovisac in the mammalia correspond to the
albumen in the Bird's egg. 5. That the author's retinacula in the
mammalia, after all, find their analogue in the chalazte of the Bird ;
and that both have their origin in the granular contents of the ovi-
sac, which at an early period are in appearance just the. same in
both. 6. That the shell-membrane of the Bird is thus a primary
cell.

He then points out the position which from his observations is to
be assigned to the several parts of the ovum in the language of
" cells ; " and shows the presence of a plurality of ova in a Graafian
follicle to be referable to the same cause as that producing more
than one yelk (ovum) in the Bird's egg.

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