137 



defined as comprising the madreporic or sand-canal, and the madre- 

 poric plate or madreporite. I proved that the ciliary current was from 

 within outwards in these organs and that they were consequently ex- 

 cretory, and pointed out the homology with the kidney duct of other 

 animals as evinced by development. I also showed that there was no 

 need for any animal living in seawater to have a special apparatus to 

 take it up. This note I afterwards published in the Annals and Maga- 

 zine of Natural History (for November 1887) one of the best known 

 and oldest scientific periodicals and found in most academic libraries. 



Monsieur Cuénot in his Études Anatomiques sur les Ophiures, 

 published at least five months later (in Lacaze-Duthiers' Archives 

 de Zoologie Expérimentale, 1888. PI. I) makes no reference to my 

 paper but writes »Le canal du sable est un simple souvenir morpholo- 

 gique qui joue peut-être un rôle chez l'embryon, mais dont l'importance 

 chez l'adulte est à peu près nulle«. 



In his »Etudes sur le Sang« published in the same journal over a 

 year later (1889, pi. 2) he writes »Les vésicules de Poli sont des glandes 

 lymphatiques parfaitement caractérisées, et non pas des organes ex- 

 créteurs comme on l'a prétendu récemment (Hartog, frères Sara- 

 s i n) « . 



It seems to me rather a hard matter first to be ignored and then 

 to be misquoted. If M. Cuénot had read my paper he would have 

 seen that from one end to the other — and there are only three pages 

 — there is no mention of the Polian bodies. 



I have only just seen the note I complain of, for I am working 

 now almost exclusively at Botanical subjects. But I think it due to 

 other workers to correct the misrepresentation at once. 



Queens College Cork, 30 January 1890. 



3. Zur Embryologie von Blatta germanica. 



Von N. C h o 1 d k V s k y , St. Petersburg. 



eingeg. 3. Februar 1890. 



Schon mehr als zwei Jahre beschäftige ich mich mit der Unter- 

 suchung der Embryonalentwicklung von Blatta germanica und habe 

 u. A. den 3./15. Januar d. J. in einer Sitzung der zoologischen Section 

 der VIII. Versammlung russischer Naturforscher und Arzte eine Mit- 

 theilung über die Bildung der Keimblätter, der Leibeshöhle, des Her- 

 zens und der Geschlechtsorgane von Blatta gemacht. Vor kurzer Zeit 

 erhielt ich eine neu erschienene Arbeit von Wheeler (Journal of Mor- 

 phology Vol. 3. No. 2 1889), welche theilweise demselben Gegenstande 

 gewidmet ist. Indem ich die Besprechung dieser Arbeit sowie anderer 



