388 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [VoL. VI. 
as 1558. The first description of the filament proper, of which I am 
aware was by Spix (1809),* but from his time onwards, frequent references 
to them occur. The older authors knew only that portion of the fila- 
ment which we now term the glandular streak (Nesseldriisenstreif), and 
they regarded this as a coiled tube occupying the free edge of the mes- 
entery. The supposed tubular character of this structure led it to be 
considered either as a reproductive organ or a reproductive duct, a view 
to which Teale (1837) was the first to take exception. He, believing with 
Rapp (1829), that testes did not occur in the Actiniz, and that the ova 
developed without fertilization, and were, therefore, rather “germ gran- 
ules” or “gemmiferous bodies” than true ova, and recognizing that the 
filaments were not oviducts, suggested that they might be analogous to 
the salivary, pancreatic and hepatic follicles of higher animals. Erdl 
(1842), by the discovery of testes, disproved the opinions of Teale and 
Rapp with regard to the organs of reproduction, but he too suggested a 
possibly hepatic function for the filaments. 
The underlying idea of these suggestions of Teale and Erdl, that the 
filaments were concerned in the digestive process, gained in popularity 
as new observations were added, while at the same time their direct 
homology with liver, pancreas or salivary glands became more improb- 
able. Without reviewing the various theories as to their functions at 
greater length, it may be stated that their participation in the digestive 
processes seems to be now generally accepted, chiefly owing to the 
observations of Krukenberg (1880), and Metschnikoff (1880), and, more 
recently, of Willem (1893). 
The earliest recognition of a difference in the structure of the upper 
and lower portions of the filaments was by Hollard (1851), who, how- 
ever, merely noted its existence. A more careful description of the 
upper part of the filament was given by Haime (1854), who not only 
recognized the acontia and the glandular streaks, but speaks of the 
upper parts as “gros cordons,’ each of which had attached to its sides 
“un feston trés regulier et muni de cils puissants.” Thorell (1858) also 
recognized the same three portions, terming the acontia “ capsule cords,” 
the glandular streaks “mesenterial threads,” and the ciliated bands, on 
account of their proximity to the reproductive organs, “ovary cords.” 
Rathke, in 1840, had observed that the acontia of Metridium dtanthus 
(Act. plumosa) were solid structures, and not hollow, as had usually been 
supposed, and a year later Leuckart (1841) advanced the idea that the 
*T have not been able to consult the paper of Spix, and know it only by a quotation given by Teale (’37). 
a ee 
