CALIFOKNIA EUinaLlD.K. 



49 



these iis eliyliis cliiiiiiht is, I do so with much hesitation, as I am not at all satisfied but 

 llial inslcnd of heing organs of absorption, they may not in i-eality i)e organs of dis- 

 cdiai-ge, or in other words, glands. I found these ehanibers always empty, appearing 

 entirely transparent in sections of the intestine, aiul they never stain, apparently 

 showing a want of contents, tiiough tins may be a tempoi'ary condilioii, owing to 

 the state of the worms wiien killed, at which time these organs may have happened 

 to have been temporarily empty. As regards location, they are found princi[)ally in 

 somites vii to xii, and seldom extend further back than that somite. It is to be re- 

 memliercd tliat in somile xiii the tubular intestine changes its form and becomes 

 considerably sacculated. In somites vii to xii tliis tubular part is very poor in blood 

 vessels, or rather in large blood siinises, while in xiii these simises begin to appear in 

 large number and of large size. Thus, witii no blood sinus in the e])ithelial folds, there 

 arc many pear-shaped chambers, while on the contrary, the cessation of pear-sliaped 

 chambers is accompanied by numerous and large blood sinuses (fig. 03). The pear- 

 shaped chambers are imbedded between the epithelial cells, and j^robably all of them 

 reach the inner cavity of the alimentary canal, though, from the sections made, this is 

 not (]uite evident, h^omc of them, however, do, as will be seen from the figures 00 and 

 01. They are une(jually distributed; in some places they fairly crowd out the (ipithelial 

 cells, as in fig. 01, which is drawn from a longitudinal section, showing an unusually 

 large inuuber. Fig. 02 represents a surface view where they are less numerous, 

 and fig. OU represents a camera drawing from a transverse section of the gut. Each 

 chamber consists of six, seven, or, in some instances, of only two or three cells, arranged 

 as the clefts in an orange, around a central pore or short tube, which, however, does not 

 extend all through the papilla, but ends blindly. At the lower end these individual 

 chambers connect with numerous smaller and more irregular cells, which join 

 each other close to the transverse musculai- layer. The small central pore stands 

 frequi'iitly in connection with the alimentary cavity. In the smaller and inner 

 chambers this pore is less pronounced or entirely wanting. At the base of the 

 chambers are seen a number of small glandular masses, with grainy and opaque 

 contents (fig. 00 (jL). As regards the distribution of the chambers among the epithelial 

 folds of the same somite, it may be noted that they are principally nnmei'ous in the 

 dorsal and ventral regions, disappearing in the lateral regions (fig. 133, ep. and c. r.). 

 This is the case in all the somites where these chambers appear in the tubular intestine. 

 Chylus canals have been described by IMichaelsen as present in the intestine of En- 

 chyti'icus, but the difference between their structure and those of Argilophilus is 

 quite great. In Enchytneus these canals are principally intercellular, and connect 

 with bloodvessels or sinuses, while the pear-shaped organs in Argilophilus are extra 

 cellular, and occur in ])arts of the intestine especially poor in blood vessels. The im- 

 possibility to procure fresh worms will necessitate a closer study of these organs, to 

 be deferi'ed to a more opportune time. 



Ti/ph/nsoli: The typhlosole and tyj)hlosolar region is small, and not especially 

 pronounced in front of and in the clitellar somites. Anterior to somite xix the 



