Excerpt from Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 1867, Vol. 7: With Illustrations on Wood and Stone I purpose to speak in this paper of some points upon which I have been led to adopt conclusions at variance with those generally accepted on the mode of growth and structure of the early vertebrate ovum, not to discuss the whole ques tion. It is remarkable at how early an age the ovaries are found to contain perfect young ova. Fry of a in length, and not more than one month old, have well-developed ova in their ovaries, and the young males are even more remarkable in respect of the early development Of the male gland, in which actively moving spermatozoids are found when the fry are not above 1 in length. The germinal vesicle, which is always present in the earliest recognisable ova, contains, besides the germinal spots, a delicate translucent colloid mass, which, like a pellet of thick mucus, supports and gives great resisting power to the vesicle. From very various and not clearly ascertained causes, a fine molecular deposit, easily dissolved by weak solutions of alkaline chlorides, is apt to appear in the colloid mass. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.