Canal-system in Foraminifera. 65 



by Mr. Carter, which only requires a few references to papers 

 with which we have long been familiar to place on its right 

 footing ; indeed it scarcely requires an expression of opinion 

 from us. The following is the passage referred to (p. 377) : — 



" Before Schultze's or Carpenter's books were published, I 

 had described and illustrated, in the 'Annals,' the canal- system, 

 ' nummuline' tubulation, and general structure of the Foramini- 

 fera, both in the recent Operculina and in the fossilized Num- 

 mulite ( l Annals,' 1852, vol. x. p. 161, pi. iv.). Even Schultze 

 in his book, as well as I can remember (for I have not the 

 work by me to refer to), gives me the credit of having dis- 

 covered the ' canal-system,' which at least proves the priority 

 of my publications ; and since then up to the present time I 

 have more or less occupied myself with the structure of 

 Foraminifera, as my papers in the ' Annals ' will show." 



As the first portion of this sentence stands, it appears as 

 though Mr. Carter claims not only the discovery of the "canal- 

 system," but also, by inference, that of the " nummuline tubu- 

 lation," and ignores researches on the same subjects published 

 before Max Schultze's l Ueber den Organismus der Polytha- 

 lamien' in 1854, and Carpenter's l Introduction to the Study 

 of the Foraminifera ' in 1862. It seems incumbent upon us 

 therefore to point out what the real sequence of discovery was ; 

 and this may be easily done by reference to the following- 

 memoirs, viz. : — 



1. Williamson, " On the Structure of the Shell and Soft 

 Animal of Polystomella crispa" 1848. Trans. Micr. Soc. 

 Lond. vol. ii. p. 159. 



2. Carpenter, " On the Microscopic Structure of Nummulina f 

 Orbitolites, and Qrbitoides" 1849. Q. J. Geol. Soc. vol.vi. p. 21. 



3. Williamson, " On the Minute Structure of the Calcareous 

 Shells of some Recent Species of Foraminifera," 1850. Trans. 

 Micr. Soc. Lond. vol. iii. p. 105. 



4. Williamson, " On the Minute Structure of a Species of 

 Faujasina" 1851. Q. J. Micr. Science, vol. i. p. 87. 



These were all published, as will be seen, before Mr. Carter's 

 well-known and excellent paper " On the Form and Structure 

 of the Shell of Operculina arabica" 1852 (Journal of the 

 Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, January part, 

 1853). We are well acquainted with Mr. Carter's previous 

 paper "On Foraminifera, their Organization and their existence 

 in a Fossilized State in Arabia, Sindh, Kutch, and Kattywar " 

 {ibid, vol. for 1849) ; but it does not appear to us to contain 

 any thing affecting the present issue. Neither need we allude 

 to Dr. Carpenter's various contributions to the ' Philosophical 

 Transactions' between 1856 and 1860, which, though published 



Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol. xiv. 5 



