NOTES ON OLIGOCHATES. 63 
Turning now to the oval corpuscles of Enchytreus hor- 
tensis, we find here also white granules soluble in distilled 
water, in potash, lime water, acetic and tannic acid, with diffi- 
culty (perhaps not entirely) in oxalic acid, and also with diffi- 
culty in weak mineral acids, but easily in strong. When 
treated with osmic acid (2 per cent.) these granules are gene- 
rally reduced to smaller and more refringent bodies. This 
also takes place under the influence of alcohol, strongly recall- 
ing the much more pronounced action in the large granules in 
Vermiculus. The white granules are insoluble in ether, and 
weak mineral acids are unaffected by silver nitrate and by 
iodine. They do not answer to the xanthoproteic test, and 
are not doubly refractile. 
It would seem possible that we have in these granules, 
more firmly combined, the same two substances which are so 
easily separable in the corpuscles of Vermiculus. 
The Thread.—The coiled thread in the celomic corpuscles 
of Enchytreus hortensis is insoluble in distilled water (hot 
or cold) and salt solution. Iodine solution shrivels it slightly, 
and stains it yellowish brown. In strong alcohol the thread 
contracts to an irregular mass, which is not farther acted upon 
by ether. In strong potash (30 per cent. sol. of KOH) the 
thread is not dissolved in the cold; but as soon as the cell 
has been destroyed it uncoils, forming very characteristic 
U-shaped loops, the two limbs of the U being closely applied 
(fig. 14). When heated in strong potash portions of the 
thread are dissolved or broken up into minute globules, a 
highly refringent thick U-shaped loop remaining. On boiling 
this portion appears to be dissolved.! A solution of silver 
nitrate, oxalic and picric acids produces no effect. Glacial 
acetic acid, on the contrary, has a most marked influence. 
Under its action the thread swells up and becomes transparent, 
then melts down to an irregular coagulated mass. On further 
action this refringent mass swells up again, and begins vio- 
1 It is almost impossible to make quite certain as to whether the thread is 
really dissolved in boiling (in this and other cases), as the operation cannot 
be conducted under the microscope. 
