species of North American Oligochmta. 291 



or both so constricted and contorted that there appear 

 to be two pairs in each somite. I think that there is 

 not the slightest doubt that these glands, together with 

 the sperraathecse, are the structures mentioned by Ver- 

 rill as the cEecal lobes of the alimentary tract, situated 

 just behind the pharynx. There are certainly no exten- 

 sive diverticula like those of some species of Henlea. 

 The septal glands nearly surround the oesophagus, and 

 this fact, together with the actual communication of 

 the spermathecae with the oesophagus, would make it 

 quite natural to assume that they were all thus con- 

 nected if one should study living specimens only. The 

 gland cells surrounding the oesophagus in VII and YlII 

 are higher than those of the next following somites, and 

 this fact probably explains Verrill's statement that the 

 so-called caecal lobes "are followed by a large two-lobed 

 portion, beyond which the intestine is constricted." 



The dorsal vessel arises behind the clitellum, in XVII. 

 The arrangement of the blood vessels in the anterior 

 somites is the same as that described and figured by 

 Michaelsen (6, p. 26; Taf. II., Fig. 2) for ''Enckijtrmos 

 MobliP The blood is colorless. The anteseptal part of 

 each uephridium is small and forms the funnel only. The 

 terminal duct arises from the posterior end of the post- 

 septal part, and opens in front of the ventral setae. The 

 spermathecae are without diverticula. The duct is of 

 about the same length as the pouch, and is closely be- 

 set with glands throughout its length. The length of 

 the funnel of the sperm duct is several times its diam- 

 eter. The duct itself usually extends to XVII or XVIII 

 in a tolerably straight course, and then, making a short,^ 

 abrupt turn, retraces its course, the second part lying 

 close beside the first, and communicating with a small 

 prostate gland in XII. As one traces the duct from 

 the funnel, the diameter is nearly uniform until just after 

 the turn, where it is nearly doubled, the size being again 

 uniform until a point is reached about one third of the 



