BY J. J. FLETCHER, M.A., B.SC. 537 



While Mr. Darwin has exhaustively treated the subject of the 

 habits of European worms, so little is known from actual obser- 

 vation of the habits of any exotic earthworms in their native 

 haunts, that I have, in the foregoing part of this paper, quoted 

 rather copiously from my notes. In what follows my object 

 is simply to describe intelligibly the worms I have collected, 

 to do which it is necessary to take note of at least the more 

 prominent anatomical characters ; but for various reasons I have 

 had to postpone the consideration of the details of the structure 

 and arrangement of the segmental organs, of the salivary and 

 intestinal (calciferous) glands, of the typhlosole, and of the 

 nervous and vascular systems, as also of the situation of the 

 nephridiopores, and of the relations of the vasa deferentia to the 

 prostates in most cases. The parasites, which in various stages 

 infest many, if not all, of these worms are also worth 

 investigating. Too often those who have worked at the anatomy 

 of foreign earthworms have had to be content with scanty supplies 

 of badly preserved material. Having now obtained a general idea 

 of some of our earthworms, I purpose endeavouring to make the 

 most of my good fortune, by re-examining them and any others I 

 can get, in detail from a morphological point of view, and with the 

 help of section-cutting. As almost the whole of the material I 

 have had for examination has been in spirit for more or less lengthy 

 periods and was, with the exception of the Mt. Wilson worms 

 which were obtained early in January, collected in winter when 

 the worms are sexually inactive, I purpose collecting fresh supplies 

 with a view to special preparation. 



The rich districts of Illawarra, of the Hunter, the Manning, 

 the Richmond, the Clarence, and others of our coastal rivers as 

 well as other parts of the colony, will doubtless yield, when 

 systematically searched, a rich harvest of earthworms, a knowledge 

 of which and of their geographical distribution cannot fail to be of 

 great interest from several points of view. As my time and 

 opportunities for collecting material are limited, I appeal to 

 members of this Society resident in favourable localities, for 

 information of any description, or for specimens either put straight 



