520 FRANK E. BEDDARD. 
that the distal sections of the genital ducts are formed out 
of these nephridia. 
There are some facts, nevertheless, which are in favour of 
this view. 
In the young worm that has just escaped from the cocoon 
the genital ducts are more advanced in development, though 
still imperfect. This statement, however, only applies to the 
ducts of the 10th, 11th, and 13th segments ; those of the 12th, 
though not much smaller than they were during the last stage, 
are, by comparison with those of the remaining genital seg- 
ments, rudimentary. 
The latter have become ciliated. The epithelium is here, 
arranged several layers deep. Each funnel communicates with a 
short duct, which has acquired a lumen plainly intra-cellular; the 
duct passes somewhat obliquely to the body-wall, but without 
any windings, and penetrates for a short distance into the lon- 
gitudinal muscular layer. It is particularly noticeable that 
at this stage it is impossible to distinguish, except by 
their position, the sperm-ducts from the oviducts. 
Where the sperm-duct or oviduct comes into contact with 
the parietal peritoneum it is in close relation with a part of 
the nephridium ; but, as far as I can make out, there is no 
actual communication between nephridium and genital duct. 
The most careful search failed to reveal any nephridial funnel 
in Segments 10, 11, 12, and 13, other than the genital funnels, 
nor did the nephridial tubules in these segments approach very 
nearly to the septum, as if there were such a funnel present 
which I had overlooked. 
On the other hand, inthe 8th and 9th segments, at any rate, 
a nephridial tubule (solid, with no lumen) passed up from the 
body-wall to the septum, and, perforating it, terminated 
on the opposite side in a group of cells, which is no doubt a 
rudimentary funnel. Careful measurements showed that the 
position of this nephridial tube and funnel in the 8th and 9th 
segments is precisely the same as that occupied by the genital 
duct and funnel in each of the four following segments. This 
looks very much as if the solid rod communicating with the 
