72 Miscellaneous. 



and reguLirly formed, is folded longitudinally ; the folds are very 

 small, invisible to the naked eye, and in this respect resemble those 

 of the brand lia of the Phalluslce. The transverse branchial sinuses 

 are united to the longitudinal sinuses by an anastomotic branch, 

 which does not project into the interior of the branchial cavity 

 beyond the longitudinal sinuses, to produce papilhe like those pos- 

 sessed by most of the simple Ascidia, The dorsal raphe ia consti- 

 tuted by a series of papillae ; it terminates in front, not far from the 

 vibratile organ, and in this region the pericoronal groove sends 

 towards it a small prolongation analogous to that which that groove 

 boars in the C'ionce. The peribranchial cavity does not commnni- 

 cate with the empty spaces left between the viscera in the posterior 

 region of the body, lacunae which may be regarded as forming by 

 their union a reduced general cavity ; it is stopped immediately 

 behind the branchia by a peritoneal lamina, like that of Ciona. 



The other organs are constituted nearly in the same way as in 

 the Cionce. The only important differences relate to the arrange- 

 ment of the sexual organs, which are collected into a single mass 

 surrounding the intestinal cavity, and to the greater length of the 

 oesophagus and rectum. With the exception of these not very 

 important distinctions, the digestive tube, the nervous system, the 

 hypoganglionic gland and its excretory duct, the heart, and the 

 principal sinuses »S:c. present the same fundamental strncture as in 

 the Cionce. 



The relations of the llliopalece with the other forms of Ascidia are 

 multiple. By their general facies, it is true, they approach the 

 Clavcliiiida) ; but we cannot place them in that family, for they do 

 not reproduce by gemmation and possess a more complex organiza- 

 tion. We must class them among the Phallusiadte, and regard 

 them as establishing a close connexion between the simple and 

 aggregated Ascidia ; by their viscera situated behind the branchia 

 and a certain number of less important characters, they are more 

 nearly allied to the Cionce than to the true PhaUusice', but they 

 nevertheless approximate to the latter by the presence of longitu- 

 dinal folds in the branchial wall. The affinities of the lihopalece are 

 therefore numerons, and they form as it were a bond of union 

 between several different groups ; in the general arrangement of 

 their organs they show a certain resemblance to the Clavelince, 

 while at the same time they are simple Ascidians very nearly allied 

 to the Cionce and also ])rcsenting some relations to the PhaUusice. — 

 Comptes Eendiis, May 19, 1S84, p. 1294. 



On the Pi-ocess of Digestion in Salpa. 

 By Dr. Ch. S. Dolley. 



The author remarked that, preliminary to giving the full re- 

 sults of a somewhat extended study of the histology of Salpa^ he 

 desired to make a few remarks in reference to certain statements 



