236 



hand in the wall of the intestine a row of apertures and on the other 

 a series of free ciliated funnels which under those circumstances have 

 very much the form and exactly the position which Mr. Bourne 

 figures as possessed by the supposed internal opening of his segmental 

 organ, Avith the openings directed inwards. In specimens which are 

 »teased« or roughly dissected this is particularly likely to happen, and 

 the inference that this free-opening, iuAvardly-directed, ciliated funnel 

 is the internal termination of the segmental organ is a very natural one. 

 I have no fondness for «controversies« and cannot see how I can 

 benefit by »seeking« one with Mr. Bourne Avhom I only know of as a 

 rising young zoologist. I have simply stated the facts as they appear 

 to me. But I cannot help in conclusion expressing the hope (in which 

 I am sure I shall have the sympathy of all who have read Mr. Bourne's 

 very injudicious note) that he will in future bear in mind that »Colo- 

 nial Naturalists« (among whom I can scarcely yet rank myself) require 

 no other treatment, no more patronage and no more neglect, than na- 

 turalists at home. 



University of Sydney, November 27th 1884. 



2. Artificial Fecundation in the Mollusca. 



tìy William Patten, Ph.])., from Boston U.S.A. 



eingeg. 27. Januar 1885. 



üuring a short stay at the Zoological Station at Trieste my atten- 

 tion was called to the development of Holioüis and Patella. In Sep- 

 tember and early October many specimens of Haliotus were found 

 containing either ripe ova or active spermatozoa. All attempts, how- 

 ever, to procure fertilized ova were fruitless and toward the end of 

 October no more ripe ova or spermatozoa could be obtained. 



I have been unable to find in the literature upon the subject any 

 reference to the external appearance or deposition of the ova of either 

 Patella or Haliotus. The absence of any external sexual organ or any 

 gland secreting a substance for attaching the eggs to foreign objects 

 or for holding them together, and the fact that the eggs had not been 

 observed by any one led me to the conclusion that they were probably 

 deposited singly in the water and there underwent an external fecun- 

 dation. 



As the animals would not deposit their eggs in confinement I 

 determined to try artificial fecundation and was greatly pleased to find 

 on the first trial that after about four hours quite a number of the ova 

 experimented with were in the first stages of segmentation. This was 

 of special interest to me, as I know of no instance of artificial impreg- 



