Mr. H. J. Carter on the Structure of the Foraminifera. 319 



influence of the deliquescent yellowish liquor of iodide of potas- 

 sium assisted by a little sulphuric acid. 



Canal-system. — The canals (fig. 11 d) having been deprived 

 of their calcareous matter, became equally membranous with the 

 chamber ; and those portions forming a communication between 

 the chamber and the " interseptal canals " freely admitted the 

 largest spherules to pass through them from the former to the 

 latter (//) ; besides this, I find a number of them, in one of 

 my dried specimens without the animal, in all parts of the canal- 

 system. 



From these facts we learn that there are two kinds of spherules 

 produced in the chambers, the larger of which appear to be but 

 an advanced state of the smaller ; but whether this be the cor- 

 rect view, or that the smaller ones are the sperm-cells or some 

 other organ belonging to the chamber, remains to be shown. 

 That the large spherules cannot be viewed in any other light 

 than as propagative bodies, there can be no doubt now ; but 

 whether, again, these are impregnated or unimpregnated repro- 

 ductive agents also remains to be shown. That they are the 

 same with what I have already pointed out as the reproductive 

 agents both in the Euglyphce and in Amoeba verrucosa (loc. cit.) 

 appears also to me to be undoubted. 



The next fact is, that the passage of these bodies freely from 

 the chamber into the interseptal canals proves that one use at 

 least of the canals is, as before stated, to give exit to the con- 

 tents of the chambers. 



Lastly, the presence of starch-grains, although not wonderful, 

 as the organism is distinctly a Rhizopod, and starch-grains 

 abound in Spongilla, especially in the capsules, is nevertheless 

 interesting, as their presence also in the winter-eggs of the fresh- 

 water Polyzoa and the close resemblance of this "egg" to the 

 capsule of Spongilla thus make the presence of starch-grains 

 in all, one point, at least, which so far allies these organisms. 

 Not only this, but the resemblance of the canal-system, or rather 

 the sarcodal filaments which it contains, to the mycelium of 

 Fungi, as before noticed, and the evident connexion that also 

 exists between Spongilla and some of the parasitic developments 

 of the cell-contents of the Algse (now properly regarded by 

 Priugsheim as allied to Achlya and Saprolegnia) — whose spores, 

 first consisting of monociliated polymorphic cells, then lose their 

 cilium and become simple Rhizopods, while other developments of 

 this kind are distinct Fungi putting forth sporangia with defined, 

 cell-walled sporules, — seem to point out the passage of the animal 

 into the fungal kingdom through the Foraminifera and Sponges. 

 The parasite to which I more particularly allude is that termed 

 by Pringsheim Pythium entophytum, which grows out from the 



