336 Mr. H. J. Carter on the Seed-like Body of Spongilla 



As regards the starch-grains and the multipUcation of the 

 spherical cells, the same remarks that I have made with refer- 

 ence to these points in the ovum of Spongilla are equally appli- 

 cable here, so I need not repeat them ; but whether the spherical 

 cells, like those of Spongilla^ possess subpolymorphism at an 

 early period, or not, I am ignorant : undoubtedly their coats are 

 more resistent when young than after the '^egg'^ is matured; 

 for they are hardly to be seen on crushing the latter, while they 

 remain for some time entire after similar liberation from the 

 young " egg/' The starch-grains are more or less present at 

 all periods in which I have examined these bodies. 



Besides the proper coats of the winter- egg of Lophopus, there 

 is a transparent ciliated one, which bears cells containing yellow 

 matter ; and it is through this that it remains attached to the 

 *' funiculus '' until matured, when it becomes deciduous. By 

 *' funiculus '^ here, I mean the cord-like appendage on which 

 those eggs as well as the spermatozoa are developed, and which 

 extends from the end of the stomach to some point of fixation 

 on the inner aspect of the tunic. 



Observations. — Having thus described the ovum of Spongilla 



Carteri and the winter-egg of Lophopus ?, it now only 



remains to compare them ; and in doing this we observe that 

 almost the only points of difference are in form and size. There 

 is certainly no hilum in the matured winter-egg of the Bryozoon 

 that I can discover : nor is this needed ; for the issue of its con- 

 tents under development are provided for in another way, viz. 

 by its separation into halves through the horizontal plane which 

 is formed by the extension of the coriaceous coat equatorially to 

 the margin of the " egg." Again, in the cellular coat the only 

 difference is, that in the ovum of Spongilla the hexagonal co- 

 lumns are composed of several cells, while in the winter-egg of 

 the Bryozoon they are composed only of one elongated cell each ; 

 there is also a slight difference in the appearance of the termi- 

 nations of these columns on the surface (as may be seen by a 

 reference to figs. 2 and 9), but otherwise not in form, size, or 

 general regularity. Much difference, however, in size exists in 

 the spherical transparent cells of the interior, and in the size of 

 their contained refractive granules, which are by far the largest 

 in Spongilla : but this appears to be the only difference ; in both 

 organisms they are refractive, and, under iodine, assume no other 

 than a light-yellow tinge. 



Thus the cirrhous appendages may be compared to the coating 

 of small spicula; the cellular coats are essentially the same; 

 the coriaceous coats the same; and the spherical transparent 

 cells of the interior, with their refractive granules and starch- 

 grains, apparently the same. 



