58 OF THE PRINCIPAL WORMS 



lowisb, and in some places greenish. It is form- 

 ed of wrinkles and valves similar to those of the 

 human intestines. 



The white line, reaching from the head to the 

 tail, along the direction of the intestinal tube which 

 is situated above it, is, according to Werner^ 

 the great artery, which he has observed,rsi7) as 

 well as Willis,[2i8) to be full of red blood in the 

 lumbricus terrestris. 



§ L. About two inches from the head, in the 

 abdominal line, is a small hole which is the aper- 

 ture of the vagina, or egg-duct.(Sl9) This hole 

 opens into a canal (the vagina) nearly at a right an- 

 gle, which, bending in form of an arch, dilates into 

 two small sacks, forming the two horns of the ute- 

 rus, the structure of which is truly wonderful, (3^0) 

 "with regard to the extremely delicate slender pro- 

 ductions, turned and folded in various ways, in 

 which each horn of the uterus terminates. 



Here a w^hite tenacious fluid is contained, simi- 

 lar to human semen, in which are suspended many 

 granulated particles. 



Werusr imagines (2Si ) that the uterine process- 

 es of the female lumbricoides communicate with 

 the small vessels filled with a whitish fluid sur- 

 rounding the intestinal tube, as has been observed 

 in frogs by Swammerdam,(VJl^) and by Caoi- 

 per.(3^3) 



§ LI. The quantity of eggs enclosed in the horns 

 of the'uterus is immense. 



Their external sniface seems to be ])risi]v and 



