io2 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



thus we are unable at present to give its Continental distribution 

 with certainty. Oerley found it near Budapest and Vlissingen. 

 He also found it, or a variety, alike in Hungary and at Woolwich. 

 I cannot distinguish the Epping Forest forms from that named 

 O. rubidum Oerley. Mons. de Ribaucourt regarded O. gracile 

 as a subspecies of O. profugum, and records it as such for 

 Switzerland. Is it possible that in England it has developed 

 along definite lines, and so become a well-marked species, while 

 in Europe its affinities with O. lacteum Oerley {= O. profugum 

 Rosa) are still clearly marked ? 



Some curious facts relate to the genus Allurus. It was 

 recorded as British by Johnston, and rediscovered about 1890 

 in Dorsetshire and Devonshire. The type {A. tetrcedrus) is now 

 known to be one of our commonest worms. It occurs in every 

 part of the British Isles by streams, water-courses, ditches, 

 ponds, and water generally. The type, moreover, is very 

 constant in this country. I have found one or two varieties 

 in different parts of England, but they have been marked chiefly 

 by variations in colour (as var. luteus, etc.). But a study of 

 monographs will reveal the fact that Allurus is not a simple 

 species, and when the subject has been more carefully studied 

 its lessons will be very instructive. On the one hand we find 

 that a number of pigmy species are found in the Swiss Alps, 

 while A. hercynius Mich, has once been found in Scotland, 

 A. tetragonurus Friend at Bangor in Wales, and A. macrurus 

 Friend at Malahide, near Dublin. Following out these hints, 

 we conclude that A. tetrcedrus is dominant, and that the allies 

 have been forced into outlying districts, where a careful search 

 would probably be rewarded by the discovery of other interesting 

 forms. If the West of England, Wales, and Scotland were 

 explored with care it might be possible to gain much light 

 on some of the problems which such facts as these suggest. 



Again we have one record only for an alpine species of 

 Lumbricid {Eisenia alpina Rosa), although we certainly ought to 

 find others in the highlands of Scotland if not in other localities. 

 1 shall have occasion under another heading to speak of certain 

 garden worms found in various parts of the country, but it will 

 be well to observe here that one worm {Octolasium intermedium 

 Friend) has hitherto been found in Oxford Botanic Gardens only, 

 Dendrobcena merciensis Friend only in leaf mould in Derbyshire, 

 Hdodrilus elongatus Friend (a species which has not yet been 



