184 A VIVIPAROUS AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS, 



fertilised ova, and bound to hatch " at the end of October," — 

 for though I knew nothing about the mode of reproduction, Dr. 

 Dendy shows to his own satisfaction that my observations, which, 

 have reference solely to a viviparous Peripatus, supplied the 

 finishing touch to his splendid generalizations on the oviparity of 

 P. leuckartii — and as if the N.S.W. Peripatus was not, and could 

 not possibly be viviparous ; consequently some new and remark- 

 able conclusions are arrived at, and as so often happens under such 

 circumstances, the new turns out not necessarily to be all true, 

 because, in spite of Dr. Dendy's discoveries, among other things, 

 the New South Wales Peripatus is viviparous, and when the 

 Victorian Peripatus does lay eggs in July, not only are the young 

 not hatched therefrom " at the end of October," or anywhere near 

 that date, but at present, as far as I can learn, no one is bold 

 enough to affirm that lie ever knew a single instance in which 

 young ever did hatch from such eggs. 



If the Victorian Peripatus really is oviparous, then it is 

 oviparous, and when the matter is settled nobody can raise any 

 objections to its being so : in that case also the mode of repi-o- 

 duction of the Victorian Peripatus will certainly differ from that 

 of the New South Wales Peripatus, and if such be true, no valid 

 objection to that can be raised ; indeed perhaps certain cynics, on 

 other than biological grounds, might be disposed to aver that if 

 the N.S.W. Peripatus certainly were one thing, that in itself 

 would be full and sufficient reason why, on princi[)le, the Victorian 

 Peripatus should be something else as widely different as possible ; 

 but with such we are not now concerned. Dr. Dendy's modest 

 claim is not, however, merely that he has proved that the 

 Victorian Peripatus is oviparous, but that the common 30-legged 

 Australian Pei-ipatus wherever it occurs is so ; and that until he 

 shared his discovery with the world, he alone of all mortals 

 knew anything of its mode of reproduction. To this it may be 

 objected that Dr. Dendy's announcements were premature, and 

 that in part they were based on the erroneous supposition that 

 P. leuckartii, as it occurs in New South Wales, is not viviparous ; 

 that if the oviparity of the Victorian Peripatus were eventually 

 established, not even then would Dr. Dendy's statements about 



