462 



Study of the spiral uncoiling of the arms shows also that there 

 are at least two kinds of sperm. Among the sperms from the same 

 male some show the arms unwinding from right to left and others 

 from left to right. Whether there are right and left handed sperms 

 for all the numbers of arms was not determined. The relative pro- 

 portion of rights and lefts is not known but the following observation 

 indicates that there is probably no great pre-dominance of one over 

 the other. Looking at sperms from above and examining them by 

 random selection three were right and nine were left amongst twelve ; 

 or indicating the right-handed ones by W, as uncoiling with the clock 

 and the left-handed ones" by A, as uncoiling against the clock the 

 sperms occurred as follows: A"AA'A'W"A'A"AWA'A'W" 



Again looking at thirteen others from below there were seven 

 rights and six lefts as translated into the top point of view, or as 

 directly seen the following sequence in observations: A'W-A'W'W* 

 WW'AAA'A'WA' In all, ten right-handed and fifteen left handed 

 spirals in twenty-tfive random cases. 



The coiled up condition of the arms and the open bowl -shaped 

 vesicle are not peculiar to C. affinis. In C. Bartoni the sperms have 

 a similar elliptical bowl and the arms uncoil in the manner above de- 

 scribed. The number of arms is six, seven or eight. In the sperm 

 of an American Astacus, Astacus leniusculus, however, the number of 

 arms is large, more than twenty and the size of the sperm is twice 

 that of C. affinis so that its structure is more readily made out. Here 

 again the vesicle has the shape of a bowl and the arms are at first 

 coiled up.^ The contents of the bowl readily become changed by so- 

 lutions and tend to burst out through the boltom of the bowl as well 

 as through its mouth. In strong KNO3 the arms uncoil in spirals 

 much as in Figure 7, save that the number of arms is much greater 

 and each is finer though not much longer. The arms often have a 

 grouped arrangement. In general the sperm of this Astacus is more 

 like the sperm of the Astacus studied by Herrmann than is that of 

 Cambarus. 



The sperm of the American lobster, taken in winter, were also 

 found to respond to salts. Normally the characteristic radial spines 

 were not visible, but in water or even in osmic preparations they were 

 present. In strong KNO3, however, their expansion was retarded. 



Presumably the sperms of European crayfish are at first coiled and 

 take on the radiated form only after contact with liquids difi"using 

 into the spermatic fluid. In fact Huxley figured, without any de- 

 scription, testicular cells in an English crayfish with distinct spiral 



