190 MAYNIE R. CURTIS. 



end of the egg lay toward the caudal end of the duct. So far 

 as we know if an egg becomes pointed the pointed end is always 

 the end away from the funnel end of the oviduct. For con- 

 venience we may speak of the end which first passed down the 

 duct as the anterior end and the opposite end as the posterior 

 end of the egg. In an egg which is distinctly pointed the an- 

 terior end is the pointed end and the blunt end is the posterior 

 end. From the facts cited in the preceding paragraph it is 

 practically certain that the presence of a stalk attached to one 

 end of an egg also differentiates the poles, the stalked end being 

 the posterior end. 



In specimens 6 and 7 the anterior and posterior end of both 

 included and including eggs were differentiated. Both included 

 and including egg of specimen 6 were pointed. The including 

 egg of specimen 7 was stalked. In both 6 and 7 the anterior 

 (pointed) end of the included egg lay toward the posterior (blunt 

 or stalked) end of the including egg. Parker pointed out that 

 the location of the pointed end of the included egg at the pointed 

 end of the including egg indicates that the included egg has been 

 forced up the duct without reversing its poles. Patterson (13) 

 describes a double egg in which the long axis of the enclosed 

 egg meets the long axis of the enclosing egg at an oblique angle. 

 "On account of this inclination of the enclosed egg its pointed 

 end lies nearer to the blunt than to the pointed end of the en- 

 closing egg." In regard to the significance of this unusual ori- 

 entation Patterson says "This unusual position of the enclosed 

 egg doubtless has been brought about by crowding and does not 

 indicate necessarily that it was at first incorrectly oriented." 

 However, the observance of cases 6 and 7, where the anterior 

 end of the enclosed egg lies toward the posterior end of the 

 enclosing egg, indicates that the reversal of the poles of the 

 enclosed egg sometimes occurs. The small diameter of the 

 oviduct when compared to the length of the long axis of the egg 

 raises the question, How can this reversal take place? 



It has been stated that when a pointed egg \vas found in the 

 isthmus in all observed cases the pointed end was caudad. This 

 position in reference to the axes of the duct was also maintained 

 by a large per cent, of the eggs which have been found in the 



